Alibaba to launch US e-commerce website

Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, is expanding its US operations through an invitation-only website for retailers called 11 Main.

The site is meant for specialty shops and boutiques offering products including clothes and jewelry that aren’t available at mass-market retailers, according to a statement on the website.

The platform is opening soon, and the home page asks customers who want to shop early to request an invitation. Alibaba has expanded its US foothold with investments in ShopRunner, Quixey and Fanatics as it seeks to move beyond China and compete with sites such as Amazon. com.

Alibaba, which is heading toward an initial public offering this year in New York, set up an investment team in the US in October to work with entrepreneurs focused on Iinternet commerce and to help the company learn about local operations.

“The US is still a huge market - per capita spending is a lot higher than China,” said Mark Tanner, the founder of China Skinny, a Shanghai-based research and marketing agency.

“The acquisitions of local companies could be part of their plan to learn.” Alibaba last month filed for an IPO, and the company has been valued at $168 billion, according to analyst estimates.

The Hangzhou-based company operates websites including Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com, and generated about $8 billion in revenue last year.

The new website’s name is a reference to the “Main Street” shopping experience, San Mateo, California-based 11 Main said in the statement. “We’re constantly introducing new shop owners who represent the diversity of Main Street,” said Mike Effle, president and general manager of 11 Main. Abbygail Reyes, a California-based spokeswoman for 11 Main, didn’t respond to an e-mail and text message seeking additional comment.

Bloomberg