Dec. 26 (NBD) -- Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba is extending its reach to the jewelry and affordable luxury industries through a recent deal reached between its business-to-consumer platform Tmall and Danish jewelry manufacturer Pandora. 

Under the terms of the deal, Tmall will collaborate with the jewelry brand in the areas such as brand strategy, big data-based product planning, brand marketing, and new retail, so as to push the latter's growth in China. 

Pandora's flagship store on Tmall, opened on October 28, 2016, has had 1.23 million followers. At this year's double 11 shopping festival, it registered a turnover of more than 10 million yuan (1.5 million U.S. dollars) in a short seven minutes. 

With regard to the new deal, Anthony Tong Asinas, managing director of Pandora China, told NBD that the company is not just trying to sell more jewelries, but expects to display its brand and get more fans through different channels while acquiring suggestions concerning the brand's future growth. 

The deal is just a beginning, and the company will continue innovating its models to provide a seamless online-offline service to customers, Asinas added. 

According to an industry insider, the deal between Tmall and Pandora shows that people interested in jewelries and affordable luxury are increasingly getting used to online purchasing. Especially in China, the "long tail effect" of the Internet can help upscale brands reach out to customers in small cities that are beyond the reach of physical stores.  

Their tie-up is expected to usher in a new era of jewelry retailing based on the new retail model, said Liu Xiuyun (also known as Er Ding), president of the apparel division at Tmall.  

A report jointly released by Bain & Company and Fondazione Altagamma forecasts the global luxury market to reach 1.2 trillion euros (1.4 trillion U.S. dollars) this year, with Chinese buyers to make up 32 percent of the overall market. 

Bain & Company also predicted that the online sales volume of personal luxury goods worldwide will add 24 percent to 23 billion euros (27.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017. 

To brands, Tmall is not only an e-commerce marketplace, but represents a combination of information and technology, noted Luna Wang, product director at Pandora China.

Pandora will combine its own expertise with platform and data technologies to amplify its brand advantages, Wang added. 

According to Tmall's Liu Xiuyun, in addition to the collaboration with e-commerce retailers, Tmall has invested in many video sites and platforms relating to navigation, new media, and content marketing. Moreover, it has developed many new technologies and tools, which can help Pandora find its potential customers. 

Riding on the wave of new retail and unmanned retail, Tmall has established partnerships with many other jewelry and wristwatch brands apart from Pandora, including Chow Tai Seng and Casio. 

More players are expected to flock to the fashion e-commerce market, which in turn will fuel the competition. 

Cao Lei, director of the China e-Commerce Research Center, said to NBD the new retail era featuring omni-channel integration has arrived, and integrating online and offline experience is expected to be a mainstream retailing format in the future. 

The new retail model can create a complete closed-loop system for consumption to optimize customer experience and meet customer needs for both quality and experience, enjoying a strong competitive edge over the traditional e-commerce model and brick-and-mortar stores.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn