Alibaba combines e-commerce arms to tackle growing competition
China’s challenging consumer environment putting pressure on all retailers and e-commerce platforms
21 November 2024 - 16:01
byCasey Hall
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A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing on August 9 2021. File Picture: REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Shanghai — Alibaba Group will integrate its domestic Chinese and international e-commerce platforms into a single business unit run by one leader for the first time, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
The Alibaba E-commerce Business Group, as the unit will be called, brings together the Taobao and Tmall Group and the Alibaba International Digital Commerce (AIDC) Group.
AIDC groups cross-border player AliExpress, wholesale B2B site Alibaba.com, sourcing platform 1688 and second-hand goods platform Xianyu.
Its chief, Jiang Fan, a former head of Tmall demoted in 2020 after an online scandal, has been tapped to lead the new unit, reporting to Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu.
Alibaba split into six business units in 2023, in the biggest revamp of its 24-year history. Before this latest amalgamation of two of those groups, group CEO Wu had also been CEO of the Taobao and Tmall Group and Alibaba’s cloud division.
Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms have been under pressure both at home and abroad as aggressive new players such as PDD Holdings’ Chinese platform Pinduoduo and international site Temu, along with ByteDance’s domestic Chinese Douyin and international TikTok, gain market share selling low-cost goods.
In April, co-founder Jack Ma expressed support for the internet giant’s restructuring efforts, and acknowledged past mistakes in a lengthy memo to employees.
The turnaround efforts have seen some success, with the international division growing rapidly under Fan’s leadership. In September quarter earnings last week, AIDC reported standout growth of 29%.
China’s challenging consumer environment has put pressure on all retailers and e-commerce platforms, though Alibaba appears to have halted some erosion of its lead in market share in recent quarters.
After the government unveiled economic stimulus measures in September, this year’s Singles Day sales festival, China’s biggest shopping event, outperformed muted analyst expectations.
Alibaba did not disclose sales figures for the almost month-long event, but said there was “robust growth” in sales and a record number of shoppers.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Alibaba combines e-commerce arms to tackle growing competition
China’s challenging consumer environment putting pressure on all retailers and e-commerce platforms
Shanghai — Alibaba Group will integrate its domestic Chinese and international e-commerce platforms into a single business unit run by one leader for the first time, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
The Alibaba E-commerce Business Group, as the unit will be called, brings together the Taobao and Tmall Group and the Alibaba International Digital Commerce (AIDC) Group.
AIDC groups cross-border player AliExpress, wholesale B2B site Alibaba.com, sourcing platform 1688 and second-hand goods platform Xianyu.
Its chief, Jiang Fan, a former head of Tmall demoted in 2020 after an online scandal, has been tapped to lead the new unit, reporting to Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu.
Alibaba split into six business units in 2023, in the biggest revamp of its 24-year history. Before this latest amalgamation of two of those groups, group CEO Wu had also been CEO of the Taobao and Tmall Group and Alibaba’s cloud division.
Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms have been under pressure both at home and abroad as aggressive new players such as PDD Holdings’ Chinese platform Pinduoduo and international site Temu, along with ByteDance’s domestic Chinese Douyin and international TikTok, gain market share selling low-cost goods.
In April, co-founder Jack Ma expressed support for the internet giant’s restructuring efforts, and acknowledged past mistakes in a lengthy memo to employees.
The turnaround efforts have seen some success, with the international division growing rapidly under Fan’s leadership. In September quarter earnings last week, AIDC reported standout growth of 29%.
China’s challenging consumer environment has put pressure on all retailers and e-commerce platforms, though Alibaba appears to have halted some erosion of its lead in market share in recent quarters.
After the government unveiled economic stimulus measures in September, this year’s Singles Day sales festival, China’s biggest shopping event, outperformed muted analyst expectations.
Alibaba did not disclose sales figures for the almost month-long event, but said there was “robust growth” in sales and a record number of shoppers.
Reuters
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