Supermarket giant Woolworths is aiming to tap growing Chinese consumer demand for Australian products by setting up shop on  Alibaba's Tmall Global. The embattled retailer took the move to defend its business after it found other retailers and individuals were selling its products through the Chinese site.

The Sydney Morning Herald says that Sydney-based Woolworths has engaged eCargo Holdings Ltd. to build a storefront on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.-owned Tmall, as well as coordinate inventory, packing and distribution, eCargo said in a statement to the stock exchange Tuesday. Tmall will sell about 80 products including Woolworths' Select and Woolworths Gold milk powder, Swisse vitamins and Devondale milk powder.

Woolworths' Tmall Global site is unlikely to generate significant revenues in the short term, but it gives the retailer a foothold in the Chinese e-commerce market, which is forecast to more than double over the next three years to $US1.5 trillion, according to New York based research firm eMarketer.

Tmall Global allows foreign companies sell direct to Chinese shoppers online without having to register a physical presence in China. While Tmall Global is much smaller than Tmall, accounting for about 10 to 15 per cent of the customer traffic, it attracts wealthier Chinese consumers looking to buy genuine international brands and products.

The value of online retail in China is forecast to more than triple from 2014 to reach 10 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) by 2020, according to a study by Bain & Co. and Alibaba released last month. 

According to ABC News, Woolworths has confirmed that it had opened the Tmall store but sought to downplay the significance of the move.

"We found that a number of Woolworths products are being sold through other retailers on Tmall," a spokesperson for the supermarket said. "As a consequence, Woolworths has established a store on the site to sell a small, selected range directly to Chinese consumers.

"Woolworths is Australia's leading online retailer and we are continuously scoping new options for our online businesses.

Bloomberg reports that foreigners are chasing a slice of that market without incurring the cost of physical stores. For instance, China's annual shopping bonanza last month included cut-price Scottish oats from London-based J Sainsbury Plc and Dutch waffles from Royal Ahold NV on Tmall.

Woolworths' shares added 0.1 percent to A$23.54 at 1:10 p.m. in Sydney, trimming the stock's decline this year to 23 percent. eCargo more than tripled to 31 Australian cents, taking the e-commerce company's market value to A$166 million ($119 million).

Many Australian businesses are profiting from Chinese demand for locally produced food and groceries. This move by Woolworths will make it one of companies ways following the path of overseas retailers including Macy's Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp who are setting up shop on Chinese online site.