Costco working with Alibaba to enter Chinese market

American retailer Costco Wholesale (COST.NASDAQ) is partnering with Alibaba (BABA.NYSE) for its expansion into China, The New York Times reported. Costco will open a virtual storefront on Alibaba’s Tmall website, and hopes that by employing local knowledge and a low-cost structure it can avoid missteps encountered by other large retailers when moving into China. Costco said it believes that working with Alibaba will give it credibility, as well as mitigate supply chain issues. In July, a Chinese market research company forecast that the Chinese online retail market would generate sales this year of RMB2.76 trillion, or about US$450 billion, up 46% from 2013.