Alibaba to step into U.S. online marketplace arena

It’s been a few months since Alibaba announced its upcoming IPO, slated to be the biggest listing since Facebook’s in 2012. With its current value sitting at $128 billion, investor anticipation is palpable.

But the announcement of its IPO came mid-year 2013 and the date for the public offering still hasn’t been set. So what has China’s eCommerce giant been doing in the interim? Well, according to today’s headlines, Alibaba has been hatching a new scheme to take over Amazon. And that scheme is 11 Main, its new, stylish online marketplace, which is about to launch.

Currently, the site is in preview mode, and as far as online sources can tell, no launch date has been announced. The sneak peek, however, reveals high-quality photography of boutiques and small indie-style shops, the type that in-the-know folks would frequent. The tag line for 11 Main reads, “The best address for your business.”

For those who are interested in selling on 11 Main, it’s by invitation only. To get online merchants to fill out the application, essentially, there’s a digital sign on the door enticing them with features like targeted marketing, special offers funded by 11 Main and a better overall customer experience when compared to Amazon. “11 Main is a shopping destination where hand-picked shop owners connect with customers in a stylish and professionally merchandised marketplace,” the website explained.

Despite a small error on the site where visitors try, but can’t, click through to discover 11 Main’s key categories, the site looks sleek and clean. The error, however, does create a mystery as to what the site is trying to be. Instead of going after Amazon, is 11 Main going to be more of a rival to sites like Etsy or Gilt? Comments on 11 Main like, “We hand-pick shop owners who sell interesting, high-quality products” make it sound like that.

But, if those statements are just there to indicate that they’ll flush out the poorly rated sellers on Amazon, then there should be cause for concern in Seattle. If it’s everything that Amazon’s cracked up to be minus the sketchy vendors but plus a stylish façade, all 11 Main will need is to boost up its infrastructure – a task that is easier said than done. Because after all, when a customer can order a product on Amazon and have it arrive at their doorstep two days later or less, well, that’s just hard to beat – even by a company worth $128 billion.

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