SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) today announced an agreement with Kobe Inc., a newly formed company by the renowned basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. The Alibaba Group will release Kobe’s recent video narrative, Kobe Bryant’s Muse, exclusively through Tmall Magic Box on August 8, 2015. In addition, Alibaba Pictures, an affiliate of Alibaba Group, will work with Kobe Inc. to create a series of Kobe branded products and distribute them through Alibaba Group’s popular retail platforms including Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com, which are accessed by over 350 million active buyers throughout China. This is the latest of international retailers partnering exclusively with Alibaba Group to access Chinese consumers with their content, goods and services.
The video narrative, Kobe Bryant’s Muse, was produced in its entirety by Kobe himself, where he shares his philosophies of life and reviews the ups and downs of his life on the court. The narrative will be available for viewing at Tmall Magic Box for 8 RMB.
“I believe there is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own,” said Bryant. “This narrative is an intimate look at who I am as a person, not what I am. My dream is that others are inspired by my personal story and create epic life stories of their own.”
“We are pleased to partner with Kobe to inspire young people all across China and encourage them to dream big and reach for their potential,” said Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group. “Kobe is an innovative entrepreneur who has established a legacy that extends far beyond the basketball court and is someone who can bring positive impact to the players and fans of basketball in China. As the champion of entrepreneurs, Alibaba is proud to welcome Kobe into our ecosystem to work together on this meaningful project which we hope can have a positive impact on the youth in China.”
To promote Kobe’s personal narrative, Alibaba Group and Sina will collaborate with Kobe Inc. to create a brand new social media platform, bringing new avenues of connecting China’s young people directly to Kobe and his philosophies. Moving forward, Alibaba Group and Sina will establish a “SMEP” (Star, Media, Platform) model of collaboration in the cultural arena, aiming to further connect inspirational figures with Chinese youth so their achievements and legacies can be learnt and shared among the youngsters.
Andrea Fairchild, President of Kobe Inc. commented: “As Kobe Inc. looks to expand in China, the partnership with Alibaba Group and Sina will help us reach a vast number of Chinese youth who are looking to reach their full potential and be inspired by others. They offer an opportunity for Kobe Inc. to bring content, products and services to a diverse crowd with various cultural backgrounds.”
Arthur Wei, Sina’s Senior Vice President added: “We are thrilled to work with Alibaba Group and Kobe Inc. to introduce Kobe’s philosophies and his inspiring life story to Chinese’ youth. Kobe is a be-loved figure with over 3 million followers on his Sina Weibo account, and his stories are destined to inspire and motive many of his fans.”
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.
Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
- Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
- Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
- Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
- Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
- AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
- Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
- 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
- Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
About Kobe Inc
In 2013, Kobe founded Kobe Inc., a new endeavor that aims to share the journey of others to unlock potential by being the leading global network of inspiration that provides content, products and services to youth.
