Alibaba Group invests in Korean fashion platform Ably with a view to European expansion

Alibaba Group, the parent company of Alibaba, AliExpress, Tmall and Taobao, among others, is investing 68 million euros (100 billion won) in the Korean online fashion platform Ably. The investment is aimed at the global expansion of the platform, with an emphasis on the US, Europe and Asia.

This is reported by Asian press, including Korean JoongAng Daily and Tech in Asia. It is the first foreign investment in Ably and also marks the first time that Alibaba takes a stake in a Korean e-commerce platform.

Founded in 2018, Ably focuses primarily on women’s fashion. According to market tracker WiseApp, the platform has 8.78 million monthly active users (as of October 2023). At the beginning of 2024,

the company recorded an annual turnover of 1 trillion won. In addition to Ably, the parent company also operates other fashion platforms, such as 4910 for men’s fashion and Amood for women’s fashion. These platforms operate in Korea and Japan. Alibaba sees the investment in Ably as a strategic step for further growth in Europe, the US and other Asian markets.

This investment in Ably, in which the Chinese company has acquired a 5 percent stake, is part of Alibaba Group's broader strategy to expand internationally. In addition, Alibaba has been competing with rivals such as Pinduoduo (parent company of Temu) and ByteDance ( parent company of TikTok) for several years under the name Alibaba E-Commerce Business Group, the integrated platform of Taobao, Tmall, AliExpress, the second-hand platform Idle Fish and the new e-commerce platform for luxury brands Lazada .

"Alibaba has a solid pipeline for [Ably] to leverage and expand into Europe and other countries in Asia," the company said in a statement to the Korean JoongAng Daily . What exactly the investment means for Ably is not yet clear. Alibaba's infrastructure and global network would allow the Korean platform to introduce Korean fashion to Europe while also contributing to a revitalized digital experience for European consumers.