Alibaba Tries to Draw Brands on Amazon to Its Global Site

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is trying to attract established brand names on Amazon.com Inc. to its global e-commerce site AliExpress, stepping up efforts to expand its footprint on the Seattle-based firm’s home turf.

AliExpress, Alibaba’s online retail portal for markets outside China, is trying to entice more major brands by promising lower shipping fees and offering to take a lower cut of sales than Amazon does, according to people familiar with the matter. Alibaba confirmed the initiative to recruit more brands in a Tuesday statement, though it didn’t name any. It also claimed that in some cases, listing on AliExpress could halve the cost of selling via Amazon, without elaborating.