AliExpress Under the EU's Watchful Eye. Its Impact on E-commerce and the Commercial Real Estate Market

While AliExpress is known for its robust measures against counterfeiting and copyright protection, the U.S. government has also noted that in recent years, this platform has experienced a significant increase in the offering of counterfeit products. This includes goods openly advertised as counterfeits and others falsely promoted as authentic.

According to a U.S. Federal Investigation Division report, AliExpress has accounted for up to 18% of counterfeit products marketed on global e-commerce platforms. Likewise, data suggests that between 5% and 8% of products sold on AliExpress are counterfeit. However, the problem of online counterfeiting is not exclusive to AliExpress, as it extends to other platforms such as Facebook, Tokopedia, Amazon, and DHgate, among others.

The magnitude of the counterfeit products market on e-commerce platforms is alarming to government authorities since, according to private sector estimates, it generates sales valued between two and 4.5 trillion dollars annually, resulting in potential losses for legitimate businesses and consumers.

In this regard, the U.S. government and European authorities have pointed out that although AliExpress and Alibaba Group have policies prohibiting the marketing of counterfeit products and items obtained illegally or infringing on third-party rights, and despite requesting commercial licenses from sellers, establishing regulations related to "circumvention" devices and illegal programs, and imposing penalties, the company has not demonstrated a strict verification process and decisive actions to prevent and punish the evasion of trade restrictions.

As of the first quarter of 2023, Alibaba Group occupied approximately 23.7 million square meters globally in office buildings, logistics warehouses, commercial space, data centers, land, and other facilities. In Mexico, according to SiiLA, its subsidiary AliExpress has a Class A industrial warehouse with nearly 8,000 square meters in the Tultipark III industrial complex in Mexico City's metropolitan area.

Over the past three years, the area occupied by Alibaba Group globally has increased 2.7 times, going from 8.7 to 23.7 million square meters, reflecting the continuous expansion of its business, generating average annual profits of 120 billion dollars.

To put these figures in context, it is important to mention that the occupied surface area of Alibaba Group internationally is 7% larger than the gross leasable area (GLA) of the consumer goods sector in Mexico and Brazil, which includes e-commerce tenants such as AliExpress, Amazon, and Mercado Libre, among others.

Consumer product companies in Latin America play a crucial role in the region's economy. In Mexico, these companies represent nearly 19% of the industrial market, while in Brazil, their share is even more significant, reaching almost 33%.

According to SiiLA, between the third quarter of 2020 and 2023, the GLA occupied by these tenants experienced notable growth, increasing by 38% in Mexico and 84% in Brazil. This increase in the occupied space by consumer goods companies reflects the constant demand for logistics and commercial infrastructure in Latin America, largely driven by the rise of e-commerce and the need for efficient supply chains.

In a context where consumer product companies operating through e-commerce platforms are under government scrutiny due to the proliferation of counterfeit products, cooperation between public and private actors will be decisive for the future of the global commercial real estate market.