Alibaba has announced the details of its planned expansion in Europe. The London offices will become a European hub while it opens a country office in Milan.

In the coming months, Alibaba will open new offices in France and Germany as it seeks to open new markets in the region. It has made two appointments; Amee Chande will be the MD in the UK while Rodrigo Foresio will be the MD of Alibaba in Milan.

Market experts will be put in place in the Italian and European offices to help factor business to China. These will enable Chinese customers to gain access to the retail businesses in Europe that are most appropriate to their needs, while enabling those retailers to get a foothold in China.

Chande was the Managing Director at Nutricentre, a subsidiary of Tesco, and had a number of senior roles at Staples, Walmart and McKinsey. Meanwhile Foresio had a number of senior roles at Italian businesses including Cinecitta Istituto Luce srl and Buonitalia.