ALIBABA GOES BEYOND BORDERS
China online giant including sales from Lazada to fuel growth
ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd is looking beyond borders to turn its annual Singles’ Day shopping celebration into a global phenomenon.
Tomorrow, the Chinese internet giant is including sales from Lazada, the online shopping mall it controls. Southeast Asia’ biggest web retailer is becoming a key part of Alibaba’s plan to fuel growth, on top of the company’s efforts to move into shopping malls, convenience stores and food delivery.
The challenge for Jack Ma’s online empire is to break another sales transaction record after a decade of exceeding prior results. With a brewing trade war, a cooling economy and rising competition from smaller platforms such as JD.com Inc. and Pinduoduo Inc, Alibaba is seeking to add new growth engines.
The retail celebration tomorrow dedicated to the nation’s unattached has become an important bellwether not just for the company, but also the world’s No. 2 economy.
“Singles’ Day has now become a stage for Alibaba to showcase its capabilities across all its platforms,” Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer, said at an October news conference in Beijing.
He’s taking over after Ma steps down as executive chairman next year.
It was Zhang who came up with the idea of turning Singles’ Day into a shopfest a decade ago. Now that this year’s one-day bazaar will be Ma’s last as chairman, Zhang will need to prove he can carry on the legacy. “We think 1 billion packages will become a daily event in the future,” he said.
More than half a billion people are projected to visit Alibaba’s websites in search of Dyson hair dyers, infant formula and Gucci bags. Alibaba has been able to post breakneck growth for almost a decade, including a 39 per cent jump in sales last year to 168 billion yuan (RM101 billion).