Alibaba launches e-marketplace in the US

Alibaba has launched 11Main.com, an e-marketplace in the US with thousands of boutiques designed to replicate shopping on a local Main Street.

11Main.com gives shoppers access to between 1,000 and 2,000 virtual boutiques where they can purchase niche and hard-to-find items.

“We want it to be like shopping Main Street from the web,” said Mike Effle, 11Main.com president and general manager. The site offers products from categories including Fashion & Style, Home & Outdoor, Jewellery &Watches, Baby & Kids, Collecting & Art, and Crafts, Hobbies & Toys.

Effle said 11Main.com is operated with the expertise from three e-commerce vendors: Auctiva and Vendio Services Inc., both acquired by Alibaba in 2010, and SingleFeed, which was bought by Vendio in 2011. The three vendors offer merchants tools to help sell online either via standalone e-commerce sites or on the web marketplaces of Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc.

About half of the stores launched on 11Main are current clients of the three vendors. 11Main.com also has a merchandising team to recruit and sign up shops.

Effle stressed that 11Main.com is different from other sites in that each shop is a professional business and not hobbyists looking for some extra cash. Many operate boutiques in small towns or neighbourhoods of chic cities and want to reach more shoppers. They are specialty shops, boutiques and shop owners.