Ali Accelerates Expansion in Korean Market... Official Sponsor of Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games

Exclusive Sales of Official Licensed Products for the Winter Youth Olympic Games
Driving Expansion in the Domestic E-commerce Market

AliExpress is stepping into sports marketing as the official partner of the '2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games' held in Korea. AliExpress will exclusively sell officially licensed products of the event and support the games through technical assistance. The company is accelerating efforts to expand its market share in the e-commerce sector by increasing engagement with domestic consumers.

On the morning of the 4th, Ray Zhang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, stated at the '2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games Partnership Meeting' held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, "We are pleased to participate as the e-commerce partner of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games."

AliExpress officially sponsors the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games. Lei Zhang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, Im Hyun-jun, Marketing Team Leader of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, and Leon, Head of Olympic Business at Alibaba Group, are holding the mascot doll "Mungcho" for a commemorative photo at the press conference held on the morning of the 4th. (From left)
[Photo by AliExpress]

AliExpress Operates Exclusive Licensed Online Store for Winter Olympics

The 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, opening on the 19th, is the first-ever Youth Winter Olympics held in Asia. This is the fourth edition of the event, hosted in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province.

Through this sponsorship partnership, AliExpress will operate the exclusive licensed online store for the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games. Specifically, AliExpress will open the 'Gangwon 2024 Official Olympic Online Store' exclusively on its website and official app, selling products such as the event mascot 'Moongcho' dolls, badges, apparel, accessories, and stationery. To support this, a special winter sale will be held from 4 PM on the 8th until 3:59 PM on the 12th, offering winter clothing and warming products at discounts of up to 70%.

AliExpress is also contributing to the stable operation of the event. Alibaba Cloud, an Alibaba Group affiliate to which AliExpress belongs, supported the ticketing system for the opening ceremony and competitions. They developed solutions tailored to the requirements of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee. Additionally, they supported the hosting of the 2024 Gangwon Youth Hackathon for local talent development.

"Koreans Are a 'Ppalli Ppalli' Nation" ... Pushing for Same-Day Delivery, Accelerating Korean Market Entry

Since entering Korea in 2018, AliExpress has rapidly penetrated the Korean market with its ultra-low price strategy, leading to a surge in users. According to app and retail analytics services WiseApp, Retail, and Goods (WiseApp), AliExpress was the app with the highest increase in Korean users last year, with monthly users rising by an average of 3.71 million. In November alone, the average monthly user count reached 7.07 million.

Because of this, AliExpress is expected to take a more aggressive approach to the domestic e-commerce market through its sponsorship of the Winter Youth Olympic Games. The event involves over 15,000 participants from more than 80 countries worldwide. AliExpress, emphasizing ultra-low prices and cost-effectiveness, can directly target the youth demographic with limited spending power. Ray Zhang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, said, "It is significant not only for consumers but also for us that AliExpress now offers not only local (Chinese) products but also official licensed products," adding, "We believe that providing such services is more valuable and precious than sales figures alone."

In fact, AliExpress plans to open a domestic logistics center this year and start next-day delivery. On this day, CEO Zhang said, "I have heard that Koreans are a 'ppalli ppalli' (quickly quickly) people. We will meet Korean consumer demand with fast delivery for 'ppalli ppalli'."

AliExpress also established a customer service center in Gyeonggi Province on November 22 last year and has been implementing free returns and quality assurance services. This was in response to counterfeit product controversies among domestic consumers. CEO Zhang stated, "Although our service level is not yet perfect, we are striving to improve the user experience to a higher standard," adding, "the results will be visible within a few months."

Ray Jang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, is speaking at the "2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Partnership Meeting" held on the morning of the 4th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.
[Photo by AliExpress]

Alibaba Group Strengthens Sports Marketing

In addition to the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, Alibaba Group plans to support the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics as a global official partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Leon Xi, Head of Olympic Business at Alibaba Group, said, "As a technology company, Alibaba will operate cloud-based Olympic broadcasting and competition management services, as well as an official licensed store using AliExpress," emphasizing, "We plan to empower the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games through various means via AliExpress and Alibaba Cloud businesses."

CEO Zhang also said, "The Olympic motto 'Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together' aligns with AliExpress’s management philosophy," adding, "Inspired by the Olympic spirit of actively supporting young athletes to realize their dreams, AliExpress hopes to promote continuous mutual growth and development with various partners and organizations in Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.