The British Museum has announced that it is to go into business with online retail giant Alibaba to sell British Museum-branded goods through one of its subsidiary sites.
The deal will see online marketplace Tmall.com sell the museum’s products in China, with the venture supported by Alifish which will  provide e-retailing and data mining support helping the British retailer tailor its offer to the Chinese market, including physical stores in China.

“It is an exciting prospect for the British Museum to be working with a company of Alibaba’s stature as part of the Museum’s product licensing campaign,” the museums manager of merchandising and licensing Craig Bendle said.

“The British Museum is a museum of the world, for the world and this programme provides a unique opportunity to share the Museum through both online and physical store activities.

“We are very excited to be showcasing details from the British Museum’s collection exclusively in China on the Alifish licensing platform and to see the establishment of a range of British Museum stores across China, filled with attractive, quality products inspired by objects from the Museum’s collection.”