Taobao Has An Image Problem, Which Is Why They Are Tapping Millenials

Taobao, the leading Chinese online marketplace backed by Alibaba, has attracted some serious flames over the products on their platform. The site’s penchant for grey market goods has ignited global rows over the company’s responsibility for everything from fake handbags to counterfeits drugs.

Following a very public rejection from the world’s largest nonprofit anti-counterfeit organization, and a slap on the wrist from the U.S. Trade Representative in December, Alibaba has being running an all-out anti-counterfeiting campaign, and their latest weapon is millennials.

This week the company held a Taobao ‘Maker Festival’, inviting 72 millennial merchants with a focus on self-made brands. Alibaba is hoping to “shift the site’s reputation as a consumer-to-consumer sales channel to a lifestyle destination,” according to the company’s blog.

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