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Tag: Alibaba

  • Jack Ma enters Korean market to expand Alibaba empire

    Jack Ma enters Korean market to expand Alibaba empire

    Jack Ma, the chairman and founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. who holds assets worth $36.4 billion, visited South Korea for the third time on May 17 to announce the launch of the Korea Pavilion on T-Mall, a business-to-consumer online retail channel.

    T-Mall is a profitable business for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., with gross merchandise volume of 763 billion yuan (about $123 billion) last year.

    The Korea Pavilion, which opened May 18, deals with Korean retail items. The decision stems from the popularity of Korean products in China ― an employee at Alibaba Group Holding’s overseas business team stated that a Korean herbal cosmetics brand was their best-selling item during China’s Singles’ Day on Nov. 11 last year.

    But profit appears to be just one reason behind Ma’s decision to enter the Korean market. It appears that Ma has decided to use the Korean market as a testing ground to realize his vision of fostering Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as a giant cultural empire beyond online retail.The T-Mall Korea Pavilion plans to attract Chinese customers by offering popular Korean products on their online retail website.

    At the Korea Pavilion opening ceremony held at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. on May 18, Ma expressed delight in opening an online mall where Chinese customers can shop for authentic Korean products in one place.

    His use of the word “authentic” is noteworthy, showing his determination to use the Korea Pavilion to steer away from controversy over counterfeit products being sold through Alibaba channels.

    Alibaba has faced allegations that nearly half of the goods exchanged through several of their e-commerce sites are counterfeit.

    The Chinese government has also accused Alibaba Group’s e-commerce site Taobao of selling counterfeit products and failing to track them down effectively.

    Ma addressed the issue at the opening ceremony, stating that counterfeit products have been one of the biggest problems in the Chinese market, and adding that Alibaba Group has drastically reduced the sale of counterfeit goods through 10 years of effort.

    At the Asian Leadership Conference held last Tuesday at Hotel Shilla, Ma also said that “in order for corporations to survive for over 30 years, they must solve social issues,” and emphasized that Alibaba Group had created 14 million jobs. His statements reflect Ma’s additional plans for the South Korean market in addition to opening the Korea Pavilion.

    Ma appears interested in luring Korean youths as core followers of Alibaba, and announced that the group would offer a paid internship program in China specifically for Korean graduates, starting in July.

    Ma said Alibaba valued the potential growth of those in the younger generation who are setting out to create their own jobs, and that the program would target young Koreans in order to invest in their talent.

    Students who have gone through internships with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and start their own business are likely to sell their products through the T-Mall Korea Pavillion, as they would have learned how to best navigate the company’s online platform.

    Ma has also shown an interest in supporting tech start-ups run by young Korean entrepreneurs, signaling a possible cultural shift where Alibaba Group financially supports Korean start-up companies, while securing them as loyal customers.

    In addition to reinventing its image and finding new target audiences, Ma’s other business decisions seem to suggest that he views Korea as an eventual partner for his emerging cultural content business.

    Ma has been investing heavily in the sports and entertainment industry in China. Since March 2014, Ma has reportedly invested about $3.3 billion in cultural and entertainment-related businesses.

    Recently, Ma’s private equity firm Yunfeng Capital and Dalian Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin invested 800 million yuan ($129 million) on Chinese online entertainment company LeTV, specifically on LeTV Sports.

    LeTV Sports is one of the largest sports channels in China, with broadcasting rights for 121 international sports competitions.

    With the investment, Yunfeng Capital holds 7.8 percent of LeTV Sports’ shares, while Wang has 11.4 percent of the shares.

    Chinese investment experts speculate that Ma’s investments were a necessary component in building his “cultural empire,” and stated that Ma may likely be looking for an innovative business model in the sports and entertainment sectors.

    Jack Ma’s Korean entrance may simply appear to be an expansion into another major Asian market, but behind his decision is an elaborate plan to reinvent his company’s tarnished brand image, reaching out to potential customers through job creation and financial support, and branching out its business into new areas that include culture and entertainment.

    Ma’s plan has likely been in the works for a significant amount of time, evidenced by the wall-sized Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. advertisement at an exit of Myeongdong Station.

    The ad, which had been on display for several months, featured both Korean and Chinese slogans, signaling its intent to appeal to Koreans and Chinese.

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  • DHL providing E2E logistics for FC Bayern Munich’s online store

    DHL providing E2E logistics for FC Bayern Munich’s online store

    FC Bayern Munich is working with Alibaba’s Tmall Global and DHL eCommerce to launch an official FC Bayern Munich online flagship store for consumers in China.

    Through the new online store (https://fcb.tmall.hk), fans in China can now order a FC Bayern Munich jersey with their favourite player’s name and also purchase a variety of fan merchandise as well as “traditional German and Bavarian products”.

    Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Executive Board Chairman of FC Bayern Munich, said: “Making our fan merchandise accessible is crucial to connect with our fans in China.”

    Jörg Wacker, Executive Board Member Internationalization and Strategy of FC Bayern Munich, added: “China continues to be our key focus market and plays an important role in our internationalization strategy. For our market entry in China, Tmall Global is the best platform since many of our fans already use the platform today. Together with our strategic partner DHL, we will ensure a fast delivery. This store is a big first step in expanding our touch points with our Chinese fan base and we will interact with our fans even more during our Audi Summer Tour China in July this year.“

    Jeff Zhang, President of China Retail Marketplaces of Alibaba Group, commented: “FC Bayern Munich, as one of the first football clubs launching their exclusive online flagship store on Tmall Global, will greatly reflect the diversity of brands and goods on the platform.”

    The six-year partnership between DHL and FC Bayern Munich will see DHL acting as the club’s exclusive logistics partner and full service provider for international e-commerce starting in China in 2015 with a planned roll-out across the Asia-Pacific region. DHL eCommerce will manage many aspects of FC Bayern Munich’s merchandising in China – working with Tmall Global on product listing, order management, fulfillment of orders, local distribution and returns, local customer service and market entry support.

    Thomas Kipp, CEO of DHL eCommerce, said: “There couldn’t be a better opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in e-commerce such as fulfillment and end-to-end delivery than launching the online flagship store of the world’s biggest football club, FC Bayern Munich, on the world’s biggest marketplace in China. We also have the added bonus to work even more closely with Tmall Global, China’s leading online retail platform.”

    FC Bayern Munich are one of the world’s biggest football clubs with over 255,000 members. They are also one of the most successful, having won five Champions League Titles, three Club World Cup trophies as well as 25 national championships. FC Bayern Munich are planning to return to China for a summer tour in July, when they will play three games: in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

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  • Alibaba signs Equinix deal to take on Amazon’s cloud

    Alibaba signs Equinix deal to take on Amazon’s cloud

    Equinix deal gives Alibaba a better cloud story for multi-nationals wanting to do business in the U.S. and China. It might also be worrisome to U.S. cloud powers who want that business.

    Chinese retail giant Alibaba is going bigger in cloud thanks to a new partnership with Equinix, which operates more than 105 data centers around the world.

    The stated goal is to make it easier for multi-national corporations in the U.S. to conduct business in China and vice versa. Aliyun, is Alibaba’s cloud computing arm, just as Amazon Web Services is Amazon’s the cloud computing arm. Initially, Alibaba’s cloud services will be offered via Equinix Cloud Exchange facilities in Hong Kong and Silicon Valley, with additional rollouts planned for other Equinix sites worldwide, said Chris Sharp, vice president of innovation for Equinix, Redwood Shores, Calif.

    There is plenty of headroom for expansion in this deal. Equinix has data centers in 33 countries and many other interconnection points where different providers can hook into each others’ services. Even cloud providers that run their own data centers plug into Equinix interconnection facilities so they can offer fast links to outside services. Equinix will also gain 40 more data centers across Europe via its recently announced plan to acquire Telecity for $3.6 billion.

    U.S.-based cloud giants, especially Amazon, will doubtless watch the Alibaba-Equinix news carefully. Alibaba dominates the market in China, much as Amazon does in the U.S. In March, Aliyun opened its first stateside data center stateside at an undisclosed Silicon Valley site while Amazon opened up its first data center in China in late 2013.

    Alibaba and Alyun could be viewed as mirror images of Amazon and AWS so it’ s not hard to predict growing contention between the two camps as AWS pushes more into China via its new Beijing region and Aliyun does likewise in the U.S.

    Per its IPO filing last year, Alibaba claimed more than 980,000 “direct and indirect” cloud computing customers at the end of 2013. Last November, Amazon said AWS has more than a million “active” users.

    For its fourth quarter ending March 31, 2015, Alibaba’s cloud revenue came in at $63 million, up 82% from the year-ago quarter. For the full fiscal year, cloud revenue was $205 million, up 64% from last year.

    Amazon, which has been in the cloud business for nine years, broke out cloud results for the first time in its first quarter, also ending March 31. It logged $1.57 billion in cloud revenue, up 49% from the previous year. Operating income was $265 million for the quarter, up from $245 million a year ago. Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos claimed the cloud represented a fast-growing $5 billion-a-year annual business.

    As for whether Amazon should be worried about Alibaba/Alyun’s incursion on its home turf, Ariel Tseitlin, a former Netflix executive who worked a lot with AWS, doesn’t think so. “AWS just has so many feature and services. Right now, the biggest threats to AWS are number one Microsoft and number two Google” he noted.

    More generally, the entrance of another viable contender in cloud is a good thing for customers, said Tseitlin, who is now a partner with Scale Venture Partners, a Foster City, Calif. based VC firm.

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  • Yahoo Japan ties up with Tmall

    Yahoo Japan ties up with Tmall

    Japan’s third largest on-line retailer Yahoo Japan Co jumped probably the most in two months in Tokyo buying and selling after the corporate stated it is going to group up with Chinese language e-commerce big Alibaba Group Holding to increase footprint into the world’s second largest financial system.

    Yahoo Japan’s share surged 11.7 % to 556 yen (US$four.5) on Friday, the very best closing worth since March 31, lifting its market worth to three.2 trillion yen.

    Daniel Zhang, Alibaba’s chief government officer, stated they may launch “Japanese Pavilion” on the Tmall websiten with 100 manufacturers and plans to extend the quantity to 600 in three years.

    “The rising reputation of Japanese items in China is creating an enlargement alternative for home retailers. We see the cross-boarder e-commerce as an explosively rising market,” Yahoo Japan stated in its assertion, noting to faucet Alibaba’s large buyer base, logistics community and settlement system.

    The tie-up is predicted to start out as early as this summer time.

    These Japanese corporations can pay solely one-fifth the often preliminary prices for promoting merchandise on Tmall to benefit from the preferential coverage of the cooperation, Japan’s Nikkei Newspaper reported.

    The Chinese language e-commerce market is estimated at 50 trillion yen, or 2.5 trillion yuan (US$403 billion), 5 occasions the dimensions of the Japanese market, based on iResearch. Alibaba controls greater than 60 % of the market, boasting 350 million customers on the Tmall web site, stated iResearch, a number one market analysis agency specializing in Web business.

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  • German soccer big opens on Tmall

    German soccer big opens on Tmall

    European soccer powerhouse FC Bayern Munich has opened a flagship retailer on Tmall.com, China’s largest B2C purchasing web site.

    The membership, Germany’s newly topped champion, is promoting jerseys and different fan merchandise on to Chinese language shoppers via a collaboration with Tmall International, Tmall’s cross-border options supplier, and DHL eCommerce, in line with a press launch from the businesses.

    DHL eCommerce, a part of DHL, the world’s main logistics firm, will present worldwide supply providers and handle a part of FC Bayern Munich’s merchandising in China, working with Tmall International on product itemizing, order administration, achievement of orders, native distribution and returns, native customer support and market entry help.

    By opening a Tmall flagship retailer, FC Bayern Munich joins British membership Liverpool, in addition to America’s NBA basketball and NFL soccer leagues, as sports activities organisations that use the location to faucet China’s giant and rising base of followers. The German membership has an estimated 90 million followers on the mainland.

    “Making our fan merchandise accessible is essential to attach with our followers in China,” stated Bayern Munich Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a press release.

    Jörg Wacker, FC Bayern Munich’s government board member, internationalisation and technique, added that the nation is vital to the membership’s efforts to succeed in followers worldwide and “for our market entry in China, Tmall International is the perfect platform since lots of our followers already use the platform at present. Along with our strategic companion DHL, we’ll guarantee a quick supply.”

    Tmall.com is a part of e-commerce big Alibaba Group, which operates China’s largest online-shopping marketplaces with some 350 million Chinese language customers.

    Jeff Zhang, president of China Retail Marketplaces for Alibaba, referred to as the addition of FC Bayern Munich’s unique flagship retailer to the Tmall platform “an important step in our European technique”.

    FC Bayern Munich is likely one of the world’s largest soccer golf equipment with over 255,000 members and in addition one of the crucial profitable having gained 5 Champions League titles, three Membership World Cup trophies in addition to 25 nationwide championships.

  • Inditex’s Oysho China debuts on-line

    Inditex’s Oysho China debuts on-line

    Oysho China, Inditex’s lingerie model, has launched a web-based retailer on Alibaba’s Tmall.

    The web entry was executed in close to silence, with media protection primarily in Spanish.

    A number of of Spain-based Inditex’s different manufacturers have already entered China on-line by way of Tmall partnerships, most lately Stradivarius in April.

    Oysho, created in 2001, gives the newest trend developments within the lingerie phase. At Oysho, clients can discover “enjoyable but refined and female” underwear, and “trendy but informal outerwear”, snug loungewear and unique equipment.

    Oysho has 575 shops throughout 40 worldwide markets.

    The Tmall retailer quietly opened on Might 19 and its launch “represents Oysho’s main dedication to the Asian market and strengthens its presence and enterprise improvement,” in accordance with Evigo.com.

    On the Oysho.tmall.com storefront, consumers can select from lingerie, sportswear, sleepwear, beachwear, equipment and footwear.

  • Alibaba companions with Korean authorities to launch Korea Pavilion on Tmall

    Alibaba companions with Korean authorities to launch Korea Pavilion on Tmall

    Chinese language e-commerce big Alibaba Group on Monday launched the Korea Pavilion on Tmall.com, China’s largest third-party B2C platform. The Korea Pavilion is the primary official on-line nation pavilion devoted to offering shoppers in China with one-stop store for real Korean merchandise and journey and cultural info.

    In partnership with Korea Argo-Fisheries & Meals Commerce Company and Korea Worldwide Commerce Affiliation (KITA), the Korea Pavilion provides Korean retailers a devoted on-line platform to faucet the Chinese language market. It is the results of fruitful discussions between Alibaba Group and the Korean authorities over the previous yr. These discussions have yielded different constructive initiatives akin to collaboration in logistics and the creation of internship packages aimed toward growing the cooperation between Chinese language and Korean enterprises.

    “The Korea Pavilion is Alibaba Group’s first official nation pavilion and we’ll proceed to work with governments of different nations to launch comparable pavilions sooner or later with a view to fulfill the wants of our Chinese language shoppers,” stated Jack Ma on the opening ceremony of the Korea Pavilion on Monday in Seoul. “Korean made merchandise have all the time been well-liked in China and we’re excited to convey these merchandise onto Tmall.com.”

    To additional strengthen the collaboration between Chinese language and Korean corporations, Alibaba Group is working with KITA to provoke a youth internship program that may let 100 Korean school graduates intern at Alibaba Group’s headquarters in Hangzhou. The primary session of the three-month lengthy internship program will begin in early July. The chosen interns will study concerning the Chinese language shopper market, its traits, and the operations and enterprise of Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platforms. Via this internship, Korean school graduates can study concerning the quickly rising Chinese language market and convey that have and information again to South Korea.

    With the rising demand of Korean merchandise amongst Chinese language shoppers, Cainiao, the logistics affiliate of Alibaba Group, is trying to broaden its partnerships with Korean corporations to deliver the perfect cross-border logistics options potential to the Chinese language shoppers.

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  • Alibaba Taiwan sent home

    Alibaba Taiwan sent home

    Alibaba Taiwan has been told by government officials to pack up and head home.

    The Taiwanese government’s Investment Commission has formally instructed the Chinese Mainland-based eCommerce giant to withdraw from the country within six months ruling the company had violated investment rules required for a Chinese company.

    The banishment was reported by Reuters and other major news services, based on information provided by an official from the economics ministry.

    Alibaba has been fined T$120,000 (a meagre US$3,824) and must “withdraw or transfer its holdings from its operation in Taiwan”, Emile M.P. Chang, acting executive secretary for the Investment Commission, was quoted by Reuters.

    That Alibaba will ultimately be forced to discontinue its business in Taiwan is unlikely.

    It is common for Mainland Chinese companies to fall foul of investment laws with Taiwan and the Mainland still technically political enemies despite fast-growing economic and trade ties which have been building steadily over the last five years. Mainland China does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.

    The commission’s ruling follows an investigation launched last September. The commission says it requested documentation from Alibaba to prove it complied with local business regulations. When those documents were not forthcoming, the cessation order was made.

    Alibaba considers the move a misunderstanding.

    “We will actively communicate with the authority and provide the required supporting materials to comply with the latest requirements,” the company said in a statement.

    “Since Alibaba Group, the parent company of Alibaba.com, went public in the United States last September, the authority took a different view about the internal structure of Alibaba Group and deemed it as a mainland Chinese company.”

    Alibaba Taiwan was founded in 2008 through a Singapore-registered subsidiary. Alibaba says that business was founded in compliance with Taiwanese regulations applicable at the time.

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  • Online China luxury goods mall expands

    Online China luxury goods mall expands

    Xiu.com, an online China luxury goods mall, has raised another US$30 million in funding, according to 36kr.

    The investment was led by Jardine’s, followed by KPCB China and others.

    Founded in 2008, Xiu specialises in high-end clothing, footwear, bags, accessories, and cosmetics from international brands. Headquartered in Shenzhen, it also has offices in fashion capitals like New York, San Francisco, London, Milan, and Hong Kong. The store has over 600 brands, and at least 200 of them are exclusive to Xiu in China.

    Xiu’s investment comes just days after French luxury goods retailer Kering, parent of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, amongst others, filed a lawsuit against China’s biggest eCmmerce company, Alibaba, alleging it is profiting from the sales of counterfeit goods in wholesale quantities on its Taobao site.

    Xiu.com says it will use the new funds to create a better shopping experience, improve its supply chain, and strengthen international ties.

    Founder Jiwen Hong says Xiu’s strength lies in the relationships it has with brands. By going directly to the brands and cutting out middlemen, it can offer better prices than competitors. 36kr says most items on Xiu sell for less than the retail cost in Hong Kong and the US.

    The startup has 10 million registered users with a repeat purchase rate of 85 per cent. The average customer spends about RMB 1,500 (US$242) per purchase.

    In 2012, US auction site Ebay launched a joint venture with Xiu to list products on a subdomain of Xiu’s site. That collaboration has since closed shop.

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  • Nuance India unveils new duty-free idea

    Nuance India unveils new duty-free idea

    Travellers flying out of Kempegowda Worldwide Airport in Bengaluru, India might be handled to a stroll of nostalgia and wealthy South Indian custom in Nuance’s new Obligation Free Retailer on the departure lounge.

    Nuance India has opened a 900 sqm purchasing expertise which it says – aside from providing the perfect worldwide merchandise and the perfect costs – will showcase Bengaluru’s opulent heritage and tradition.

    “We consider journey is all about new experiences and airports are a touch-point for the travellers to work together with the area,” stated G V Sanjay Reddy, MD of Bengaluru Worldwide Airport.

    “Our try is to make it possible for each business area on the airport supplies a way of place and embodies the native tradition, heritage and aesthetics. The Nuance group has carried out justice to our imaginative and prescient and developed the brand new Obligation Free expertise to fulfil a memorable buying expertise to our passengers.”

    Anirban Dutta Chowdhury, nation head of Nuance India, stated the brand new purchasing expertise “represents the town and showcases an eclectic mix of conventional values coupled with world class design.”

    That design consists of unique Chettinnad pillars from Kalaikudi, kolam-inspired patterns and jhumka-influenced lighting.

    “Our purpose was to make a retailer based mostly on our international Obligation Free Retailer idea, that might be anyplace on the planet, however is proud to be at KIAB and we really feel we now have been capable of ship that to the discerning Bengaluru traveller.

    “The brand new retailer will supply a world boutique-style atmosphere, with a mix of know-how together with an intimate and welcoming environment, which can elevate the buying expertise of the travellers to the subsequent degree.”

    The shop shares perfumes, cosmetics, liquors, confectionaries, electronics and extra and can later introduce trend and equipment.

    “The target is just not solely to offer a singular and unique buying expertise but in addition to supply unmatched offers. Bengaluru Obligation Free has launched a Merely Cheaper Pricing Technique, with assured financial savings in comparison with different regional worldwide airports,” Chowdhury stated.

    Your complete product vary can also be obtainable on-line. Passengers can merely e-book on the firm’swebsite and gather their purchases from the airport retailer.

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  • Alibaba aims to slash wine prices

    Alibaba aims to slash wine prices

    Online retailer Alibaba believes it has found a way to cut the retail prices of wine in China.

    Using its business to business website 1688.com Alibaba has commenced selling wine direct to retailers, short-circuiting a raft of middlemen currently adding margins yet no value to the supply chain.

    Buyers from 1688.com are negotiating to buy wine in bulk direct from Spanish exporters which it then sells online to retailers.

    According to China news service Xinhua, in an article published on Alibaba’s own news website, a bottle of wine sold for 10 euros (68.54 yuan) in Spain can cost more than 240 yuan in China. That’s because the wine is often sold and on sold exporters to general agents, regional agencies and wholesalers before it finally reaches the retail shelf for consumers to buy. Each time the wine changes hands some 15 per cent margin is added to the price, along with additional freight charges and duties.

    Alibaba estimates that using 1688.com to link exporter and retailer, the same 10 euro bottle of wine in Spain could be retailed in China at just 116 yuan – that’s less than a half of the price traded through traditional channels, according to Liu Fei, a department manager at 1688.com.

  • Kingold Jewelry opens on Tmall

    Kingold Jewelry opens on Tmall

    Kingold Jewelry, one of China’s leading manufacturers and designers of gold jewellery, ornaments and investment-oriented products, has launched an online retail flagship store on Tmall.com.

    Nasdaq-listed Kingold expects to leverage the Chinese eCommerce platform to sell the Company’s 24-karat gold jewelry and products, including rings, necklaces, bracelets and pendants.

    Additional categories may be added in the future.

    Zhihong Jia, chairman and CEO of the company, said having a presence on Tmall allows Kingold to interact directly with consumers and builds brand awareness in China.

    “We will continue to introduce new products and designs in our online flagship store on a regular basis.”

    Tmall.com provides an online shopping experience for increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers in search of quality branded merchandise. It was launched in April 2008 as part of Taobao Marketplace and became an independent platform in June 2011.

    Thousands of international and Chinese brands and retail merchants have established storefronts on Tmall.com, part of the Alibaba Group. According to iResearch, Tmall.com was the largest B2C online retail platform in China based on the value of goods transacted as of September 2013.

    Kingold Jewelry, located in Wuhan City, was founded in 2002 and is now one of China’s leading designers and manufacturers of 24-karat gold jewelry, ornaments, and investment-oriented products. The Company sells both directly to retailers as well as through major distributors across China.

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  • China’s Alibaba names Daniel Zhang new CEO

    China’s Alibaba names Daniel Zhang new CEO

    China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on Thursday named Daniel Zhang, currently Chief Operating Officer, CEO of the group, effective on 10 May 2015.

    Current CEO Jonathan Lu will remain on the board of directors of Alibaba Group as Vice Chairman. He will work with Daniel to ensure a successful transition in the coming months.

    “In this capacity Jonathan will play an important role in developing future leaders of Alibaba Group. This role is especially important as Alibaba Group continues to build the necessary talent to enable the company to grow and thrive in a rapidly changing environment,” the Chinese largest e-commerce company said in a statement.

    Daniel Zhang has been with the company for eight years and has held top management positions across the organization. He is also one of the founding members of the Alibaba Partnership. Zhang has been Alibaba’s chief operating officer since September 2013. In his role as COO, he oversaw the operations of all Alibaba Group businesses in China and internationally.

    Zhang first joined the company as Chief Financial Officer of Taobao Marketplace in August 2007. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Taobao Marketplace and general manager of Taobao Mall.

    Under his leadership, Taobao Mall rapidly became one of Alibaba’s most important businesses and was highly recognized by consumers and brands in China and around the world. In 2011, he was named president when it first became an independent business unit, Tmall.com, which has become one of world’s largest online B2C platforms. Zhang was also a key architect of the 11 November Shopping Festival, and led it to become the world’s largest online shopping event.

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  • Open Sesame? Jack Ma’s Alibaba loses $US70b in market worth as progress disappoints

    Open Sesame? Jack Ma’s Alibaba loses $US70b in market worth as progress disappoints

    After Alibaba Group raised a document $US25 billion ($31 billion) final yr, founder Jack Ma stated the Chinese language e-commerce firm confronted the hazard of excessive expectations. He is perhaps proper.

    About $US70 billion of market worth has evaporated since Ma made that assertion in November as buyers fear about slowing progress. Alibaba’s dominance at residence as a market for consumers and sellers of products is being undermined by a Chinese language financial system projected to develop on the slowest tempo since 1990 and a shopper shift to cellular buying that crimps promoting income.

    Ma’s push outdoors China additionally has but to realize traction — its presence within the US and far of Europe stays negligible. Outcomes due Thursday are anticipated to point out that the tempo of Alibaba’s income enlargement fell under the typical of the earlier seven quarters. Shares of Alibaba closed Tuesday at $US79.54 in New York, a 3rd under their November peak and the bottom because the Hangzhou-based firm bought inventory at $US68 apiece in its preliminary public providing in September.

    “With the general Chinese language financial system slowing down and the market saturating in giant cities, abroad enlargement appears much more essential,” stated Cao Lei, director of the China E-Commerce Analysis Middle in Hangzhou

    Alibaba’s success in China made it the nation’s largest e- commerce operator, with every little thing from garments and meals to jets and automobiles being bought throughout its platforms.

    Russia, Brazil

    Ma needs to duplicate that all over the world, setting a objective of producing half of gross sales and servicing greater than 10 million small companies outdoors China. However whereas the corporate has made inroads into Russia and Brazil, Alibaba at present will get lower than 5 per cent of its income from outdoors China, Ma stated in March on an organization Twitter account.

    Alibaba’s gross sales in all probability rose 41 per cent within the fourth quarter to 16.9 billion yuan ($three.four billion), in line with the typical of 23 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with a mean of about 50 per cent in the course of the previous seven quarters.

    The corporate’s technique of increasing in under-served areas of China and abroad is driving up advertising prices as extra shoppers store on cellular units, the place advertisements sometimes generate much less income than these on desktop computer systems. Working revenue will in all probability shrink 18 per cent to four.5 billion yuan, based on the estimates.

    ‘Credibility disaster’

    “They’ve confronted hurdles and difficulties that they should overcome to succeed in the subsequent degree of progress,” stated Matthew Kwok, chief strategist at China Yinsheng Asset Administration in Hong Kong. “It has reached such success in China, it will make sense for them to duplicate that enterprise mannequin abroad.”

    Alibaba declined to remark in an e-mail, citing quiet interval restrictions forward of the earnings launch.

    Including to considerations round Alibaba’s progress outlook is the resurfacing of allegations that the corporate’s platforms, together with Taobao Market and Tmall.com, are a haven for counterfeiters. The Chinese language authorities this yr stated Alibaba faces a “credibility disaster” for failing to crack down on shady retailers, pretend items and deceptive promotions.

    Whereas buyers have punished Alibaba, an index of US- traded Chinese language corporations has jumped by 17 per cent this yr. Rival e-commerce operators have additionally surged with JD.com rising 46 per cent in New York and Tencent Holdings gaining 40 per cent in Hong Kong by means of Tuesday.

    The 2 corporations have joined forces to compete towards Alibaba. Tencent is making an attempt to drive the 1 billion customers of its WeChat and QQ chat apps to JD.com, which lately began a service to hurry imports to Chinese language consumers.

    As JD.com, China’s second-biggest e-commerce firm, “ups its recreation,” stated Mark Tanner, founding father of China Skinny, a Shanghai-based analysis and advertising company, Alibaba’s earlier progress “appears unsustainable within the medium time period.”

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  • Tmall Global launches duty-free platform

    Tmall Global launches duty-free platform

    Alibaba’s Tmall Global is to launching a prepaid duty-free service for Chinese travellers going abroad in the hopes of boosting international eCommerce opportunities.

    Under the World Duty Free service, Chinese travellers can buy prepaid cards online before they go abroad, then purchase items from duty-free shops in the country they’re visiting. Tmall said the service will eventually allow customers to buy specific duty-free products online and pick them up at the airport.

    The service will launch with Thailand’s King Power duty free monopoly.

    Duty-free companies in South Korea, Japan and Europe are working with Tmall to open storefronts on the platform, Tmall says.

    “Cross-border e-commerce has great potential in China and Tmall Global will continue to help brands and retailers sell into China through innovative solutions, at the same time providing Chinese consumers a wide variety of product choice,” Tmall Global head Maggie Wu said in a release.

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