Alibaba Announces NBA Legend Tony Parker as Newest Global Ambassador Ahead of the Olympics
The announcement comes two weeks ahead of the Olympics.
Tony Parker is continuing to add to his extensive post-NBA resume.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the four-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic representative of France is now the newest global ambassador for Alibaba, the multinational technology company that connects B2B buyers and suppliers from countries all over the globe.
The partnership is beneficial for both as we near the July 26 Olympics start date. Parker brings years of marketing experience to the table, including buying a 20 percent stake in the French basketball club ASVEL in 2009, launching his very own basketball academy in Lyon several years later in 2015 and becoming the majority shareholder of Lyon Basket Féminine (now known as ASVEL Féminin) in 2017.
Last year, it was also announced that Parker had signed a multi-million dollar deal to become a global representative of Adidas, a shoe he frequently sported during his twenty-year playing career.
For Alibaba, the e-commerce platform continues to increase its revenue each year. When Footwear News covered Singles Day in 2020, a gross merchandise volume of 498.2 billion yuan, or about $74.1 billion at the current exchange was the confirmed total revenue amount for the global shopping festival, with the United States being the top international market for brands selling to China, contributing more than 36.2 billion, or $5.4 billion in GMV. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were also among the other biggest-selling countries.
Singles Day is just a snapshot of what the company draws in as a whole, and their influence has only grown in the four years since. Last month, the online retail service also signed David Beckham as a global brand ambassador, proving its commitment to remaining at the forefront of collaborating with major sports figures.
The recent signings of Parker and Beckham are part of an initiative to increase their European fan base and cover more than 15,000 merchants before the Olympic games kick-off.