Alibaba has unveiled plans to ramp up the number of international brands on its Tmall Global marketplace, pledging to add 1,000 over the next 12 months.

The Chinese ecommerce titan is launching a ‘brand incubation’ programme to increase the number of international brands it offers on its Tmall platform and increase the engagement of those already selling on it.

The online retail group will offer a raft of measures to “to help brands flourish in China”, including an English-language customer-service system and a pledge to have any new brand’s storefront live on the Tmall website within 30 days of registration.

Tmall will also offer a range of incentives, such as top-performing brands being given access to livestreaming campaigns set up specifically for them and promoted on the Taobao Live channel on a monthly basis.

The incubation programme will also be tiered so that brands that sell more are able to access a broader range of benefits.

Alibaba’s move to bolster the number of international brands on its Tmall platform follows high-profile UK retailers such as M&S, Sainsbury’s and Next exiting the platform in recent years.

President of Tmall import and export Alvin Liu said: “We’ve seen more and more brands choosing Tmall Global as their favoured platform to tap into the China market.

“These brands quickly see the importance of the digital analytics we provide to better understand the Chinese consumers’ preferences and develop relevant strategies for their online business – and even to bolster their offline business.”