Alibaba Group Holding said on Monday that it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with Unilever NV to help the consumer products group reach more Chinese shoppers.
The British-Dutch maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry's ice cream opened a store on Alibaba's online marketplace Tmall in 2011.
The partnership will allow Unilever to expand its distribution channels to reach rural consumers in China and use data from Alibaba's online marketing unit, Alimama, and its cloud business to improve its digital advertising strategy, according to a statement released by Alibaba on Monday.
"We are very pleased to amplify our partnership with an industry leader such as Unilever," Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong was quoted in the statement as saying. The companies did not disclose any details of the financial terms of the partnership.
Unilever's sales in China fell 20 percent in the final three months of 2014 as retailers cut inventories to deal with a slowdown in the country. Unilever makes more than half its sales in emerging markets.
It reported stronger-than-expected sales in the most recent quarter and said it saw signs of improvement in its major markets such as the US, China and India.
