AliExpress opens first physical store in Madrid

AliExpress, an Alibaba subsidiary, has opened its first physical store in the Spanish capital Madrid. The Chinese say Spain is their major target in Europe.

Madrid gets world’s first

The 740 sqm store in Madrid offers products of sixty brands, including Chinese products (think of Huawei smartphones), multinational brands (like Apple) and local Spanish labels. It mirrors the success of earlier (pop-up) stores in Spain and aims at convincing not only Spanish customers, but more importantly also Spanish companies to enter its online platform. AliExpress wants to more than triple its number of Spanish partners to 10,000 by the end of the year.

Alibaba considers Spain to be its gateway to Europe, Alibaba’s director for Spain Rubén Bautista told La Vanguardia, as the country is AliExpress’ third largest foregin market after the United States and Russia. Bautista says other countries may follow, but that Spain remains the priority. “We will adapt to local demands”, he said about other store openings.