Humbled Amazon Turns to Rival Alibaba for Help in China

Amazon.com is hurting in China, and looking weaker. Yesterday, Chinese reporters discovered that Amazon had opened a store on rival Alibaba Group Holdings’ Tmall platform, a website for verified brands like Nike, Apple and P&G to sell to Chinese shoppers.

Tmall is a prized venue for Western brands trying to reach Chinese consumers, who are concerned about product safety and avoiding fraudulent goods. Brands pay service fees to run their own stores on the site. Alibaba’s other major platform, Taobao, connects millions of small sellers with buyers, who can find just about anything but have to worry about fake goods.