Australia's Seafolly to sell swimwear online in China

Australia’s swimwear brand Seafolly will soon open its first online store in China on the country’s largest cross-border ecommerce platform Tmall Global. With 1.4 million Chinese tourists visiting Australia in the past 12 months and exposed to Australian beach lifestyle, CEO Paul Kotrba sees the Chinese market as critical to the firm’s global expansion plan.

Alibaba Group subsidiary Tmall Global has more than 70,000 brands and retailers and receives more than 40 million unique online visitors daily.

The Tmall rollout of Seafolly will be followed by a series of marketing campaigns to support the brand’s development into the new market, according to media reports.

China is the fastest growing swimwear and beach casual wear market in Asia, with an average of 9.6 per cent annual market growth from 2013 to 2017.

Last April, the swimwear retailer opened its first European store in Cannes.

Started in Sydney in 1975, Seafolly is sold in 41 countries, through its own channels, leading retailers and major online sites.