Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group appeared ready to unveil its first US direct-to-consumer online shop on Wednesday morning — a move that could eventually put pressure on Amazon, eBay and other giant e-commerce retailers.
Alibaba’s US site is called 11main — a name, it said, that is “inspired by the shopping experience found on Main Streets across America.”
The site is currently in beta and on Wednesday morning still featured a “We’re opening soon” banner. It promises to feature a wide range of products, including “one-of-a-kind items, not available at mass merchants and other large e-commerce sites,” the company said.
“Our shop owners are currently unpacking and getting settled,” the site said, while offering visitor a chance to be among the first to shop by offering them and invitation.
Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba, run by Chairman Jack Ma, is the world’s largest e-commerce site with sales last year of $6.5 billion in the nine months ended Dec. 31.
Its China-based retail e-stores operate under the names Taobao, Juhuasuan and Tmall. It also runs a global marketplace under the AliExpress name.
Alibaba is planning a US initial public offering on Aug. 8 that is the most hotly anticipated issue since Facebook’s record IPO in 2012. It could raise more than $15 billion — and some are forecasting it could be the world’s first $1 trillion company after its IPO.
Alibaba will become the largest Chinese company to list in the US.