Taobao and Malaysia’s Atap.co launch new retail concept furniture store

• The 4500 sq ft Experience Centre is at The Square, Jaya One, in Petaling Jaya
• Will allow shoppers to see, touch and feel products before making purchases online

TAOBAO, a social commerce marketplace under China’s Alibaba Group, and Atap.co, a Malaysin online home design platform, unveiled the first Taobao Home Experience Centre at The Square, Jaya One, in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The new retail concept store is the result of a partnership with Taobao’s home & living channel Jiyoujia. Established in 2015, Jiyoujia offers home and living products curated from items on the Taobao platform.

Commenting on the launch, Mickey Xiong, country director of Taobao and Tmall World for the Southeast Asia & Hong Kong markets, said, “Today’s launch is yet another demonstration of our commitment to partnering with Malaysian businesses and serving customers better with innovative and digital-enabled services. We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Atap.co to bring Taobao Home Experience Centre to Malaysia, where we have seen strong demand for high quality and well-designed home & living products, with impressive growth year over year in the category.

“With its new retail format and customised services, we are confident the store will offer Malaysian consumers a seamless and superior shopping experience.”

The 4500 sq ft Experience Centre will allow Malaysian shoppers to see, touch and feel products from Jiyoujia, especially the larger items, before making purchases online.

Atap.co founder Sim Moh Sheng, said, “The Experience Centre is more than just a showroom; it is designed as a one-stop shop to bridge the gap between the online and offline shopping experience.

“Customers can browse any Jiyoujia product at the Experience Centre and simply hover their mobile phones to scan the QR codes attached on the products for more information; while our Atap.co consultants are ready to answer any queries, offer expert advice for home décor ideas and consultation on renovation.”

Atap.co is a platform where home-owners can connect with interior designers for expert advice on home makeover. The online home design services provider has over 450 interior designers on its network. The company also counts 25 Malaysian developers among its partners by helping them with their home furnishing needs for property projects.

The one-stop solution store, managed by Atap.co, offers in-home delivery and installation services fulfilled by certified professional vendors and installers at a nominal charge. In addition, Malaysian customers can also purchase a local warranty by Atap.co.

The Taobao Home Experience Centre is furnished by Atap.co with local tastes and preferences in mind, with most of the furniture sourced from two of the most popular merchants on Jiyoujia: Hancock Home and Coconordic.

According to Coconordic founder Klevn Wu, “We are excited to introduce our products through this Experience Centre. Through Taobao and Atap.co, we are now able to serve Malaysian customers more conveniently as we are able to build emotional connections with local customers through this offline store. Understanding their needs better will also help us provide products that cater to their styles.”

Hancock Home partner and store manager Cherry Chu, said, “Over the past few years, Malaysian customers on Taobao have been reaching out to us to buy our products and want it to be delivered to Malaysia.

“With today’s partnership, we have a reliable local partner, Atap.co, who will be managing all the third-party services such as logistics and after-sales installation, making Hancock Home more accessible to Malaysian customers.”