International brands are turning to the upcoming Chinese online shopping festival on Wednesday as the COVID-19 pandemic has largely affected their offline sales around the world.

According to the e-commerce giant Alibaba, more than 2,600 new international brands, including luxury brands Cartier and Balenciaga, have been attracted to its online shopping platform for "Singles' Day," which is similar to "Black Friday" in Western countries.

Some 1.2 million new collections of overseas brands will hit the Chinese market on Alibaba's platform of Tmall International during the festival this year, the company said.

Japanese kitchenware and beauty-care tool firm KAI Group saw more than 48,000 clients pay online for their star product -- an eyebrow razor -- via their online outlet in China so far this month.

The Chinese online market has greatly boosted the development of the company, with its sales revenue surging by three times year on year during the "Singles' Day" in 2019, according to Hiroaki Watanabe, general manager of Shanghai KAI Trade Co, Ltd.

Alibaba turned Nov. 11 into a shopping bonanza in 2009. The day is celebrated by many young Chinese people as Singles' Day. The date was chosen because 11-11 resembles four "bare sticks," a Chinese term for the bachelors.

The sales revenue of online platforms of Alibaba totaled 268.4 billion yuan (about 38 billion U.S. dollars) during the festival last year.

JD.com, another major company engaged in e-commerce in China, reported cumulative sales of 204.4 billion yuan between Nov. 1 and 11, 2019.

Liu Peng, a manager in charge of the import and export business from Alibaba, said the "Singles' Day" online shopping festival, together with the China International Import Expo, will further unleash the domestic demand for imported goods and help promote the development of the import sector in China.

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