“聞酒香，輕晃酒杯，然后小抿一口?！?/p>

一個(gè)意大利籍的侍酒師（sommelier）正在用醇和的羅伯特蒙大菲（Robert Mondavi）紅酒向一群酒客講解紅酒。其中一些著裝考究，側(cè)耳傾聽；還有一些握著酒杯，仿佛他們正漫游在葡萄莊園，或者端坐在中間嵌有葡萄酒桶的酒桌上，就著奶酪和肉食。

這原本是納帕爾酒莊觀光手冊(cè)上描繪的場(chǎng)景，而現(xiàn)在，這發(fā)生在千里之外的工業(yè)城市——杭州。這個(gè)加利福尼亞式的品酒區(qū)位于阿里巴巴公司園區(qū)，該活動(dòng)是蒙大菲酒園為吸引阿里巴巴龐大的用戶群體的一部分。

幾乎所有的賓客都是中國(guó)人，而且年輕。其中一些人小心翼翼地輕抿或者啜飲紅酒，就像美國(guó)人喝梅子白蘭地（slivovitz）和清酒（soju）那樣小心謹(jǐn)慎。甚至，侍酒師只是最基本指導(dǎo)下如何握紅酒杯都會(huì)引來(lái)贊嘆聲。這場(chǎng)景就是跨文化交流的寫照，從中也可一瞥阿里巴巴和美國(guó)公司面臨的高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

在過(guò)去的五年里，阿里巴巴一直是最熱門的電子商務(wù)公司，融合了 eBay 和亞馬遜的模式，3.86 億的用戶在 2015 財(cái)年貢獻(xiàn)了 3940 億美元的銷售額。是其國(guó)內(nèi)最大競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手銷售額的 6 倍之多。阿里巴巴創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)巨大市場(chǎng)和龐雜的物流體系，能夠即時(shí)為國(guó)內(nèi)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)提供服務(wù)?！盀閷で笾袊?guó)消費(fèi)者，我們正采取新的零售模式，線上配送速度也比任何一個(gè)國(guó)家快?！睂殱嵈笾腥A區(qū)電子商務(wù)總裁許敏（Jasmine Xu）說(shuō)。這些潮流令人印象深刻，以至于強(qiáng)勢(shì)的亞馬遜都成為阿里巴巴的合作伙伴之一。2014 年，阿里巴巴的首次公開募股（IPO）也是業(yè)內(nèi)的一件大事。

而如今，阿里巴巴略顯疲態(tài)。受中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退和京東等競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手崛起的影響，阿里巴巴增速放緩。股價(jià)從 IPO 后最高的 115 美元跌至如今的 80 多美元，縮水了 26%。為了保持增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭，馬云和阿里巴巴 CEO 張勇計(jì)劃依賴美國(guó)公司——美國(guó)的品牌對(duì)中國(guó)消費(fèi)者有極大的吸引力?！按藨?zhàn)略對(duì)阿里巴巴的未來(lái)至關(guān)重要，”馬云表示。

為了吸引這些美國(guó)大牌，其中包括寶潔、雅詩(shī)蘭黛和梅西百貨，阿里巴巴將自身描述為這些品牌進(jìn)入世界人口第一的市場(chǎng)的捷徑。阿里巴巴在營(yíng)銷、數(shù)據(jù)分析和配送方面幫助外國(guó)公司。而且，阿里巴巴最近還上線了對(duì)國(guó)外品牌吸引力更大的天貓國(guó)際，幫助國(guó)外公司去除了很多障礙，如稅務(wù)、監(jiān)管和物流，這些恰恰是國(guó)外品牌進(jìn)駐中國(guó)市場(chǎng)所處的困境。阿里巴巴的底氣都源于其將普通的光棍節(jié)打造成雙十一購(gòu)物狂歡節(jié)，強(qiáng)力證明了自己的實(shí)力。2015 年阿里巴巴雙十一 140.3 億美元的銷售額，這是美國(guó)所有電商感恩節(jié)、黑色星期五和網(wǎng)絡(luò)星期一（Cyber Monday）銷售總額的兩倍。

“Sniff, swirl, then swish.” An Italian-born sommelier guides a crowd of tasters through generous pours of velvety Robert Mondavi reds. Some of the well-dressed guests listen intently. Others clutch their glasses as they wander among lush gardens or settle at upright wine-barrel tables to nibble on cheese and charcuterie.

It’s a scene straight from a Napa Valley tourism brochure—but it’s taking place 6,200 miles away from that cradle of Cabernets. Beyond the gardens lies the industrial sprawl of Hangzhou, China; a thick cloud of urban smog hangs just a few feet above the party. And the California-style tasting area is a pop-up, built on the campus of e-commerce giant Alibabaas part of a campaign by Mondavi to tap Alibaba’s enormous customer base.

The guests are almost all Chinese and young, and some sniff and sip the wine warily, the way Americans might approach slivovitz or soju. Even basic instructions from the sommelier about how to hold a wineglass draw appreciative ahs. It’s a scene of cross-cultural courtship—and a glimpse of a broader effort with high stakes for Alibaba and American companies alike.

Alibaba is the hottest e-commerce company of the past five years, a fusion of eBayand Amazonwhose 386 million active users accounted for $394 billion in sales in fiscal 2015—six times the sales volume of its biggest Chinese competitor. The company created a huge marketplace and a sophisticated distribution network just in time to serve a generation of Chinese consumers attaining middle-class prosperity. “We are seeing Chinese consumers adopt new retail formats and online shopping faster than any of their global counterparts,” says Jasmine Xu, president of e-commerce for Procter & Gamble Greater China. Those trends fueled a rise so impressive that even the mighty Amazon became an Alibaba partner, and the company’s IPO was one of the business highlights of 2014.

Today, however, Alibaba looks mortal. Its growth has slowed, hampered by China’s ebbing economy and by competition from a growing crop of rivals like JD.com. Its stock has fallen 26% from its post-IPO highs, from $115 to the mid $80s. To reignite its growth, chairman and founder Jack Ma and CEO Daniel Zhang plan to lean on U.S. companies—brands that hold enormous appeal in China. “This is an incredibly important strategy for the future of Alibaba,” Ma says.

To woo these iconic companies—among them P&G, Estée Lauder, and Macy’s—Alibaba is pitching itself as a shortcut to the world’s most populous market. Alibaba is helping foreign companies with marketing, data analytics, and shipping. And more recently it has sweetened the pot with a newer service, Tmall Global, that lets U.S. brands sidestep many of the taxes, regulatory hurdles, and logistics hassles that trip up foreign companies in China. All this comes from the company that turned the obscure Singles Day holiday into a lucrative shopping phenomenon. Alibaba’s $14.3 billion in Singles Day sales in 2015 were double the U.S. e-commerce total from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday combined.

如果一切如馬云和張勇所愿，那么阿里巴巴和美國(guó)公司必將從中獲得豐厚的回報(bào)。阿里巴巴從每筆交易中抽取 2%-5% 不等的交易費(fèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利，2015 財(cái)年，阿里巴巴收入達(dá)到 120 億美元。投資公司 SunTrust Robinson Humphrey 分析師鮑勃?佩克（Bob Peck）預(yù)估到 2017 年，美國(guó)和歐洲的產(chǎn)品每年在阿里巴巴平臺(tái)上營(yíng)業(yè)額將達(dá)到 300 億 - 400 億，這將給阿里巴巴額外增加 20 億美元的收入。而且盡管絕大多數(shù)國(guó)際大牌的產(chǎn)品都是中國(guó)造（這頗為諷刺），但是以阿里巴巴如此大的體量，每年美國(guó)對(duì)中國(guó)的進(jìn)口商品額都保持兩位數(shù)的增長(zhǎng)，2014 年，美國(guó)向中國(guó)的進(jìn)口額達(dá)到了 1200 億。

張勇坦言，這是最樂觀的情況。“在美國(guó)售賣的商品不一定在中國(guó)開賣。”阿里巴巴面臨的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就是：這些美國(guó)品牌僅僅將阿里巴巴的平臺(tái)作為一個(gè)“展示柜”，然后拋棄這個(gè)平臺(tái)，選擇其他的銷售渠道，研究機(jī)構(gòu) China Market Research Group 分析師 Ben Cavender 如是說(shuō)。

淘寶是阿里巴巴的主站，于 2003 年上線，基本就是中國(guó)版的 eBay。淘寶是一個(gè)電子虛擬集市，小型公司和個(gè)人賣家占據(jù)統(tǒng)治地位。從鑲滿珠寶的 iPhone 手機(jī)殼到活蝎子，商品無(wú)奇不有。早期，淘寶也是國(guó)外品牌山寨品的聚集地——如今，這一問題依然存在，阿里巴巴已經(jīng)采取整頓措施。

2008 年上線的天貓采取了與淘寶完全不同的商業(yè)模式，天貓也是張勇獨(dú)創(chuàng)的理念。他將天貓定位于一個(gè)銷售高質(zhì)量服裝、食品和電子產(chǎn)品的平臺(tái)，當(dāng)然，也瞄準(zhǔn)奢侈品牌。在天貓，消費(fèi)者可以買到各式高質(zhì)量商品，從 Olay 潔面乳到博柏利大衣。阿里巴巴也將未來(lái)的增長(zhǎng)押在了天貓上。雖淘寶仍是最大的平臺(tái)，第三季度總銷售額達(dá)到 690 億美元，相比之下，天貓是 430 億美元，但是天貓當(dāng)季總銷售額同比增長(zhǎng)了 56%。是淘寶增速的 4 倍之多。

If all goes as Ma and Zhang hope, Alibaba and American companies could reap enormous rewards. Alibaba earns money by charging fees of 2% to 5% on transactions on its sites, and in fiscal 2015 it took in $12 billion in revenue. Bob Peck, analyst at investment firm SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, estimates that U.S. and European goods could generate $30 billion to $40 billion in annual sales on Alibaba by 2017. That could add as much as $2 billion a year to Alibaba’s top line. And while many of the goods sold by international brands are, ironically, made in China, an Alibaba bump of that size could still generate a double-digit percentage increase in U.S. exports to China, which totaled about $120 billion in 2014.

That’s the best-case scenario. As Zhang admits, “What sells in the U.S. doesn’t necessarily sell in China.” For Alibaba there’s the risk that U.S. brands will use it to “showroom” goods—and then abandon it for other sales channels, says Ben Cavender, an analyst with China Market Research Group. Still, it’s a relationship with tremendous potential, and Fortune recently took a closer look at its rapid evolution.

Alibaba’s flagship website, Taobao, which launched in 2003, is essentially China’s eBay. It’s an eclectic virtual bazaar dominated by small businesses and individuals selling to one another, where shoppers can find oddball collectibles from mom-and-pop retailers, jeweled iPhone cases, and live scorpions. In its early years Taobao also became a market for counterfeits of foreign brands—a problem that persists today, though Alibaba has taken steps to curb it.

Alibaba’s other site, Tmall, went live in 2008 with a business model sharply distinct from Taobao’s. Tmall is Zhang’s brainchild. He positioned it as a marketplace for higher-quality clothing, food, and electronics, with a focus on luxury brands. This is where visitors browse and buy everything from Olay face creams to Burberry coats. It’s also the site on which Alibaba has staked its growth. Taobao is still the bigger platform, generating $69 billion in gross sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $43 billion for Tmall. But Tmall’s gross sales grew 56% year over year that quarter, four times as fast as Taobao’s.

天貓的銷售額增長(zhǎng)歸功于不斷擴(kuò)大、有品牌意識(shí)的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)群體。據(jù)瑞士信貸（Credit Suisse），目前，中國(guó)有 1.09 億人資產(chǎn)凈值介于 5 萬(wàn) - 50 萬(wàn)美元之間，到 2022 年，這一群體人數(shù)將達(dá)到 5 億。這為中國(guó)電子商務(wù)的發(fā)展提供了良好的條件：40% 的中國(guó)人在網(wǎng)上買東西，美國(guó)僅為 10%。

這些人最想要的就是國(guó)外產(chǎn)品。與本土同類產(chǎn)品相比，國(guó)外品牌總是自帶光環(huán)；近年來(lái)曝光的一些丑聞也加劇了這一趨勢(shì)，如在食品和化妝品中違規(guī)添加有害的化學(xué)品。蘇敏（音譯）就是典型的例子；“我我喜歡在天貓上買化妝品，”她說(shuō)，但是她只相信科顏氏（Kiehl』s）和蘭蔻（Lanc?me）等品牌，相對(duì)安全?！拔乙膊粫?huì)在實(shí)體店購(gòu)買，”她說(shuō)。

Tmall owes its growth to China’s rapidly expanding, brand-conscious middle class. Currently there are 109 million Chinese people with a net worth between $50,000 and $500,000, according to Credit Suisse, which estimates that those ranks could surpass 500 million by 2022. It’s a demographic that’s very comfortable with e-commerce: 40% of Chinese consumers buy groceries online, for example, compared with only 10% of Americans.

What many aspirational Chinese want most is goods from abroad. Foreign brands often carry a better reputation than their Chinese equivalents; recent crises involving toxic chemicals in Chinese-made food and cosmetics have fueled that sentiment. Min Su, a fortysomething professional driver in Hangzhou, underscores the point. “I’m addicted to buying beauty products on Tmall,” she says. But she trusts only brands like Kiehl’s and Lanc?me, saying they’re safe to put on her skin. “I don’t buy in stores,” she says; she doesn’t trust them either.

美國(guó)公司若想俘獲蘇敏這類的消費(fèi)者，天貓就提供一個(gè)入口。然而，對(duì)于國(guó)外品牌而言，也是喜憂參半。“即使是大品牌，想在中國(guó)投入運(yùn)營(yíng)也及其困難，”分析師 Cavender 表示。與其他所有國(guó)外品牌一樣，與天貓達(dá)成合作關(guān)系的品牌要建立政府認(rèn)可的業(yè)務(wù)單元，開設(shè)中國(guó)銀行賬戶。這些證書和許可證必須個(gè)人親自辦理，通過(guò)多級(jí)部門，僅僅開設(shè)銀行賬戶就要耗費(fèi)數(shù)月之久。其結(jié)果就是那些早已在中國(guó)投資基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)的美國(guó)大公司，如耐克、寶潔、蓋璞，甚至亞馬遜就很好地利用了天貓平臺(tái)的優(yōu)勢(shì)，而其他品牌仍因政策原因遲滯不前。

為了解決這個(gè)問題，張勇在 2014 年上線了天貓國(guó)際。天貓國(guó)際是一個(gè)跨境的交易平臺(tái)，規(guī)避了很多監(jiān)管問題。通過(guò)天貓國(guó)際銷售產(chǎn)品的國(guó)外公司不必在中國(guó)設(shè)立分部或開設(shè)中國(guó)銀行賬戶；通過(guò)幾天的操作它們就能在天貓國(guó)際上開賣了。阿里巴巴旗下的螞蟻金服負(fù)責(zé)與品牌所在國(guó)家銀行處理交易流程問題。菜鳥物流則很好地解決了配送和庫(kù)存問題。

而且，更誘人的條件在于：通過(guò)天貓國(guó)際進(jìn)駐中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的公司能支付更低的稅。阿里巴巴與中國(guó)政府合作在四個(gè)城市建立了“保稅倉(cāng)”。從這些保稅倉(cāng)發(fā)貨不同于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的進(jìn)口關(guān)稅流程，有些甚至不征稅。還有一些在僅征稅 10%，條件是有消費(fèi)者購(gòu)買了該商品，這與正常流進(jìn)口流程 30%-40% 關(guān)稅形成鮮明對(duì)比。阿里巴巴官方表示：中國(guó)政府對(duì)此持歡迎態(tài)度，因?yàn)檫@能拉動(dòng)國(guó)內(nèi)消費(fèi)。

Tmall offers U.S. companies a portal to consumers like Min. But selling on the site is only half the battle. “It’s incredibly difficult to set up operations [in China], even if you are a large brand,” says Cavender, the analyst. Like all foreign companies, Tmall partners must establish a Chinese-licensed business unit and a Chinese bank account. Paperwork to obtain licenses and permits must be filed in person, often with multiple agencies. Even opening a bank account can take months. Consequently, big U.S. companies that had already invested in China infrastructure—Nike, P&G, Gap, and, yes, Amazon are prominent examples—have taken advantage of Tmall. But for others the bureaucracy remains daunting.

Zhang attacked this problem by creating Tmall Global, which debuted in 2014. It’s a “cross-border” marketplace that creates a huge, helpful regulatory loophole. Foreign companies that sell only through Tmall Global don’t need to set up Chinese subsidiaries or bank accounts; in practice, they can start selling to Chinese consumers in a matter of days. Alibaba’s payment spin-off, Ant Financial, handles transaction processing with the brands’ home-country banks. Alibaba takes care of shipping and inventory through Cainiao, its network of logistics partners, a service for which Tmall customers pay extra.

Perhaps most appealing: Companies that import through Tmall Global can pay lower taxes. Alibaba has worked with China’s government to create “bonded” warehouses in four cities. Goods shipped through these points aren’t subject to standard import duties. Some aren’t taxed at all; others are taxed at discounted rates of 10%, and only after shoppers purchase them. This compares with the 30% to 40% wholesale tax rates standard for such brands, says Cavender. It’s a deal the Chinese government was willing to offer, Alibaba officials say, because it meant consumers would spend more money at home.

張勇將天貓國(guó)際描述為美國(guó)公司與“數(shù)字時(shí)代的中國(guó)”中間缺失的一環(huán)。張勇是馬云的得力干將，2007 年加入阿里巴巴，曾在普華永道等公司有任職經(jīng)歷。他言語(yǔ)輕柔，你不得不貼過(guò)去才能聽清楚，但是語(yǔ)氣確是十分自信?！拔覀儧]什么可失去的了，”他說(shuō)，“天貓國(guó)際幫助這些公司學(xué)習(xí)中國(guó)市場(chǎng)，不用大規(guī)模投資就能理解中國(guó)消費(fèi)者?！?/p>

就目前來(lái)看，這一策略極具吸引力。好市多（Costco，美國(guó)最大的連鎖會(huì)員制倉(cāng)儲(chǔ)量販店）通過(guò)天貓國(guó)際在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)首次閃亮登場(chǎng)；早些年，梅西百貨一直努力在中國(guó)建立自有電子商務(wù)渠道，起伏不定，但現(xiàn)在入駐了天貓國(guó)際。而那些早已在中國(guó)廣為認(rèn)可的品牌，如寶潔也利用天貓平臺(tái)，因?yàn)檫@可以將新產(chǎn)品更快地推向市場(chǎng)。現(xiàn)在的問題是：這些品牌是僅僅小試一把，還是準(zhǔn)備深耕天貓國(guó)際平臺(tái)。

在阿里巴巴總部園區(qū)，年輕的員工聚在一起歡笑、玩手機(jī)。很多人騎著阿里巴巴標(biāo)志的自行車在各棟樓之間穿梭。硅谷式的各種福利設(shè)施，如哺乳室和乒乓球臺(tái)，每層樓都有配備。盡管如此，參觀者也能根據(jù)一些標(biāo)志物認(rèn)出這是在杭州，而不是硅谷。一排排的竹類植物點(diǎn)綴在寬闊的辦公室，每個(gè)辦公桌上也有一棵，預(yù)示著好運(yùn)，長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的竹節(jié)使得空曠的辦公桌看起來(lái)像林間空地。雖然園區(qū)有各種高科技設(shè)施，但是座便器本質(zhì)上就是在地面開了個(gè)洞罷了，每個(gè)衛(wèi)生間還有一個(gè)簍子供員工倒茶葉渣。

身處這些建筑里的阿里巴巴員工正在為國(guó)外品牌進(jìn)行基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)。2014 年，當(dāng)好市多（Costco）計(jì)劃在中國(guó)開賣食品的時(shí)候，好市多用貨船把幾噸堅(jiān)果運(yùn)往寧波的“保稅倉(cāng)”，除此以外，其他的都交給菜鳥物流就行。阿里巴巴的配送網(wǎng)絡(luò)不是中國(guó)最快的，京東在中國(guó) 40 個(gè)城市推出了當(dāng)日達(dá)服務(wù)，相比之下，阿里巴巴僅在 6 個(gè)城市推出了同類服務(wù)。菜鳥物流的優(yōu)勢(shì)在于廣度，菜鳥物流可以配送到中國(guó)每個(gè)地區(qū)，超過(guò) 200 個(gè)城市支持次日達(dá)。明年，菜鳥物流倉(cāng)庫(kù)面積將擴(kuò)大五倍，達(dá)到 5400 萬(wàn)平方英尺，比紐約中央公園面積還要大。其中有很多就用來(lái)存放國(guó)外商品。

阿里巴巴也幫助國(guó)外公司判斷哪類商品在中國(guó)最受歡迎。比如，在阿里巴巴的幫助下，梅西百貨將重點(diǎn)商品集中在配飾、鞋子、毛巾和床單，國(guó)外品牌這些“觸膚類”產(chǎn)品深受中國(guó)消費(fèi)者的喜愛。在食品領(lǐng)域，阿里巴巴在中間的文化轉(zhuǎn)化作用非常重要。比如，中國(guó)人不擅長(zhǎng)烹飪大蝦，于是阿里巴巴幫助國(guó)外漁民開發(fā)基礎(chǔ)教學(xué)視頻，教消費(fèi)者如何烹飪甲殼類食材。所以，金寶（Campbell）也很快意識(shí)到其湯類產(chǎn)品對(duì)中國(guó)消費(fèi)者有吸引力——但不是作為一道獨(dú)立的美食，而是其他食材的蘸料。金寶也請(qǐng)了一位中國(guó)廚師為天貓國(guó)際平臺(tái)研發(fā)配方。

Bernie Chou 是羅伯特蒙大菲（Robert Mondavi）中國(guó)區(qū)的總經(jīng)理，她說(shuō)中國(guó)人不愿意買全尺寸、750 毫升一瓶的紅酒，可能一次性喝不完。于是，蒙大菲在中國(guó)推出了 187 毫升裝的產(chǎn)品，是原來(lái)四分之一大小，所以消費(fèi)者不花大價(jià)錢就能喝到 Chardonnay、Cabernet 、Sauvignon 和 Merlot 這些知名紅酒。

阿里巴巴也下了一番功夫推廣這些美國(guó)合作伙伴，利用海量的購(gòu)買數(shù)據(jù)精準(zhǔn)營(yíng)銷。比如一位消費(fèi)者經(jīng)常購(gòu)買阿拉斯加深海鱈魚，那么很大程度上，這位消費(fèi)者也對(duì)其他同類產(chǎn)品親睞有加。如果一個(gè)消費(fèi)者在其他商家那里買了紙尿褲，那么天貓就為為其推送寶潔旗下的紙尿褲、衛(wèi)生紙和其他嬰兒產(chǎn)品。

這些品牌純正的美國(guó)身份總是一而再、再而三地被強(qiáng)調(diào)。在天貓上，這些美國(guó)品牌總是會(huì)用紅色大字體標(biāo)上“美國(guó)制造”。去年春季，華盛頓蘋果委員會(huì)（Washington Apple Commission）在天貓上開展了一輪促銷，雖然銷售額只有 10 萬(wàn)美元，但是該促銷的到達(dá)的范圍，卻令人印象深刻：1840 萬(wàn)中國(guó)消費(fèi)者打開了促銷頁(yè)面，“美國(guó)制造”的標(biāo)簽起到了很大的作用。而且，這些在天貓平臺(tái)開賣的蘋果還有額外的保障：消費(fèi)者掃碼就能知道蘋果的身份。

雖然國(guó)外品牌在阿里巴巴平臺(tái)獲得了足夠大的曝光度，這些品牌也對(duì)此感到樂觀，但是說(shuō)到具體的銷售額，所有的品牌都三緘其口。阿里巴巴拒絕透露這些國(guó)際品牌具體的銷售數(shù)據(jù)，張勇也承認(rèn)目前美國(guó)商品僅占全部銷售額很小的一部分。在采訪中，寶潔公司表示其在中國(guó)的電子商務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)包括但不局限于天貓，在中國(guó)的線上銷售規(guī)模也超過(guò)了美國(guó)和歐洲。寶潔拒絕透露每年在中國(guó) 70 億美元營(yíng)收中有多少來(lái)源于電子商務(wù)渠道，僅僅表示在過(guò)去的四年里，線上渠道銷售數(shù)據(jù)增長(zhǎng)了 100 倍。

在阿里巴巴平臺(tái)上大范圍的曝光也為國(guó)外品牌帶來(lái)了可觀的銷售數(shù)據(jù)。今年 9 月，雅詩(shī)蘭黛在天貓國(guó)際進(jìn)行了為期 6 天的促銷活動(dòng)，最終銷售額達(dá)到 130 萬(wàn)美元；4 月份一次兩天的大促銷賣出了總價(jià)值 60 萬(wàn)美元的面霜。銷售專家指出這類促銷都伴隨著較大的折扣，但如果這些促銷幫助品牌在雙十一而有塊立足之地，那就超值。

In his stark office in Hangzhou, Zhang describes Tmall Global as the missing link between American companies and “digital China.” Zhang, 43, is a Jack Ma protégé and finance guy who joined Alibaba in 2007 after a career that included a stint at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He speaks so softly you have to lean in to hear him, and his simple navy suit hangs baggily on his slender frame. His message, though, is confident. “You have nothing to lose,” he says, addressing an imagined American executive. “Tmall Global gives these companies the ability to learn the Chinese market and understand the Chinese consumer without a massive investment.”

So far that pitch has proved alluring. Costcohas used Tmall Global to make an impressive China debut. Department store stalwart Macy’s tried and failed earlier this decade to establish its own e-commerce presence in China; now it has a “storefront” on Tmall Global. And some companies that already sell widely in China, including P&G, are using Tmall Global because it lets them bring new products to market faster. The big question is whether the brands now dipping a toe in these waters will commit further and dive in.

On Alibaba’s headquarters campus, young employees cluster, laughing and messaging on mobile phones. Many ride Alibaba-branded tandem bikes from one building to another. Silicon Valley–style perks, such as lactation rooms and Ping-Pong tables, dot every floor. Still, a visitor sees plenty of reminders that she’s in Hangzhou, not Menlo Park. Rows and rows of bamboo plants punctuate the massive office floors; there’s one placed on each desk for good luck, and the tall reeds make open desks look like forest clearings. For all the campus’s high-tech trappings, most of its toilets are essentially just holes in the floor, and each bathroom includes a bucket where employees dump their tea leaves.

Tucked among these buildings, employees are building up Alibaba’s infrastructure for foreign brands. In 2014, when Costco decided to start selling food in China, it shipped several tons of nuts via freighter to a bonded warehouse in Ningbo. It didn’t have to handle any logistics beyond that, thanks to Cainiao. Alibaba’s shipping network isn’t always China’s fastest: JD.com, for example, boasts same-day delivery in 40 cities, compared with only six cities for Alibaba. But its reach is tremendous. According to Cainiao executive Wan Lin, it ships to every district in China and can ship overnight to 200 cities. Cainiao will quintuple the warehouse space it leases, to 54 million square feet, over the next year—setting aside a space bigger than New York City’s Central Park, largely to accommodate foreign goods.

Alibaba also helps companies figure out which products might fare best in China. For Tmall Global, the company helped Macy’s focus its selection on accessories, shoes, towels, and sheets—the kind of “touch the skin” categories where China’s shoppers covet foreign brands. In the food world, Alibaba’s cultural translation is particularly vital. To most Chinese, for example, lobster may as well have come from Mars. Alvin Liu, general manager of Tmall Global, says the site has helped U.S. fishermen develop instructional videos to teach consumers how to cook the crustacean. Campbell’s quickly learned that its soups were prized—not as freestanding dishes, but as sauces for other meals. The company hired a Chinese chef to create recipes for Tmall; one explains how to make a traditional sweet-and-sour sauce out of a tomato-based soup.

Bernie Chou, the general manager for Robert Mondavi in China, says many Chinese shoppers hesitated to buy a full-size, 750-milliliter bottle of wine that they might not like or finish. Mondavi, a division of U.S. conglomerate Constellation Brands, responded with 187-milliliter bottles, each a quarter the size of a normal bottle, so that drinkers could try Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot without a big investment.

Alibaba puts plenty of promotional muscle behind its U.S. partners. It can tap its huge well of purchasing data to target their marketing, reasoning that someone who buys, say, Alaskan black cod is more likely to splurge on other American delicacies. If a consumer has bought diapers from any manufacturer, Tmall will pitch the person offers for P&G’s diapers, wipes, and other baby products.

The American origin of these brands, meanwhile, is emphasized at every turn. Tmall web pages for their products often feature the phrase “Made in USA” in a massive font, in red type. Last spring the Washington Apple Commission held a promotion on Tmall Global. It generated only about $100,000 in sales, but Rebecca Lyons, a marketing manager for the association, was impressed by its reach: 18.4 million Chinese consumers clicked on the promotion, and the apples’ American cachet was a big draw. Thanks to that publicity, Washington apples have now penetrated Sam’s Club and other retailers in China. Those sold on Tmall have an additional benefit: a QR code that lets purchasers use their smartphones to verify the fruit’s origin.

While U.S. brands are generally upbeat about the exposure they’re getting from Alibaba, almost everyone involved is mum about how much they’re actually selling. Alibaba declines to disclose total sales for international products, and Zhang acknowledges that goods from the U.S. still represent a small percentage of sales volume. Of the 10 American companies Fortune spoke with, all declined to reveal their sales totals from Tmall and Tmall Global. “It’s still early days for our business in China,” said a Campbell’s spokesperson in a typical response. P&G, which sells everything from Pampers to Gillette razors through Tmall, was more openly bullish but not much more specific. It says its China e-commerce business, which includes but is not limited to Tmall, is now the company’s largest online retail operation, surpassing those in the U.S. and Europe. P&G declined to reveal e-commerce’s share of its $7 billion in annual China revenue but said its value had grown 100-fold during the past four years.

Heavily publicized promotions generate a lot of the buzz and dollars for foreign brands on Alibaba. During one six-day Tmall promotion in September, Estée Lauder registered $1.3 million in sales; during a two-day sale in April it sold $600,000 worth of La Mer face cream. Retail experts note that items often sell at steep discounts during such promotions. But it all might be worth it if it helps brands get a foothold on Singles Day.

雙十一也是張勇的杰作，他一手將單身狗自嘲的光棍節(jié)轉(zhuǎn)變成了國(guó)內(nèi)最大的購(gòu)物狂歡節(jié)?！懊绹?guó)零售商若碰上這樣大規(guī)模的促銷活動(dòng)絕對(duì)會(huì)措手不及，”證券公司 Wedbush Securities 零售業(yè)分析師和主管 Gil Luria 說(shuō)。今年的光棍節(jié)，蘋果、雅詩(shī)蘭黛、羅伯特蒙大菲和梅西百貨都參與其中。為了應(yīng)對(duì)美國(guó)產(chǎn)品銷售量的激增，菜鳥物流安排了 200 臺(tái)運(yùn)輸機(jī)——傳統(tǒng)的商業(yè)飛機(jī)已經(jīng)不能滿足需求了。

雙十一前 8 分鐘，阿里巴巴平臺(tái)的銷售額達(dá)到 10 億美元；當(dāng)天總交易額為 140.3 億美元。（當(dāng)天，京東和其他電商也進(jìn)行了促銷活動(dòng)，但規(guī)模與阿里巴巴不在一個(gè)量級(jí)。）那么國(guó)際品牌表現(xiàn)如何？阿里巴巴并未透露具體的銷售數(shù)據(jù)，而是說(shuō)所有參與雙十一的消費(fèi)者中，33% 也就是 3000 萬(wàn)名消費(fèi)者購(gòu)買了國(guó)際品牌。好市多在所有國(guó)際品牌中排名第一，所售商品涉及內(nèi)衣褲、廚房用品以及食品，其中就包括 245 噸堅(jiān)果，價(jià)值約 410 萬(wàn)美元。

這是否說(shuō)明國(guó)際品牌在天貓上取得了成功？現(xiàn)在下定論還為時(shí)尚早。太陽(yáng)信托（SunTrust）分析師 Bob Peck 認(rèn)為今年光棍節(jié)，阿里巴巴實(shí)現(xiàn)了國(guó)際品牌銷售目標(biāo)?；诎⒗锇桶?3000 萬(wàn)購(gòu)買國(guó)際品牌的消費(fèi)者和他自己對(duì)天貓消費(fèi)模式的研究，Bob Peck 估計(jì)國(guó)際品牌雙十一銷售額為 20 億美元，其中一半銷售額歸為美國(guó)品牌，也就是說(shuō)，國(guó)際品牌的銷售額占到了當(dāng)天總交易量的 14%。寶潔表示 2015 年光棍節(jié)銷售數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)新高，僅 3 小時(shí)便超越了去年全天。即使是一貫言辭謹(jǐn)慎的張勇也用驕傲的勝利語(yǔ)氣說(shuō)道：“雙十一證明了中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)消費(fèi)能力?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

That, too, is a creation of Daniel Zhang, who latched on to a day celebrated ironically by romantically unattached Chinese college students and turned it into a behemoth e-shopping event. “You better believe U.S. retailers will jump on any event that drives this level of commerce,” says Gil Luria, retail analyst and managing director at Wedbush Securities. New sellers at the 2015 blowout included Apple, Estée Lauder, Robert Mondavi, and Macy’s. To accommodate an anticipated surge in American sales, Cainiao chartered 200 transport planes—traditional commercial plane “belly cargo” wasn’t going to be enough to ship everything, Wan Lin explains.

In the first eight minutes of the big day, Nov. 11, Alibaba sold $1 billion; by day’s end the total was $14.3 billion. (JD.com and other Chinese e-commerce sites also held Singles Day sales, though at nowhere near the same scale.) How did international brands do? On that topic, Alibaba is boosterish but fuzzy. Alibaba would not break out dollar values but says that 33% of its Singles Day shoppers, 30 million in all, made at least one purchase from international brands or merchants. Costco was the top international seller, Alibaba said. The bulk retailer enticed Chinese consumers to buy underwear, kitchen supplies, and a host of food items—including 245 tons of mixed nuts, about $4.1 million worth by Fortune’s back-of-the-envelope calculations. (Costco did not reply to multiple requests for comment.)

Evidence of success? It’s far too early to tell. Still, Bob Peck, the SunTrust analyst, thinks Singles Day 2015 delivered on its international promise. Based on Alibaba’s 30-million-customer count and his analysis of Tmall spending patterns, Peck estimates that international brands sold $2 billion worth of goods on Singles Day, with about half of that going to American brands. That would mean international sales accounted for 14% of revenue that day—in line with the share Peck thinks they’ll eventually post year-round. P&G says that it saw record sales on Singles Day 2015, surpassing 2014’s total in a matter of three hours. And even the soft-spoken Zhang is willing to take a cautious verbal victory lap: “This day demonstrates the power of domestic China consumption,” he tells Fortune.