What is the Latest Alibaba Group’s News – How to be a Part of it
I believe no one will deny that Alibaba Group provides the greatest E-commerce platform, Taobao, in China. However, the name of Alibaba definitely means way more than that. It is a giant in the industry, playing a significant role in the country’s business development.
When your company decides to enter this enormous and attractive market, you can never miss any trends of Alibaba and its relevant rules.
Get Started with Some Basic Facts
Alibaba Group started in 1999. After years of expansion, the business scope of the multinational company covers retail, Internet, AI, and technology. Taobao and Tmall are responsible for C2C and B2C respectively. Alibaba also provides B2B sales services via web portals. Electronic payment tool, Alipay, is another powerful product of the company as well. To add, shopping search engine and cloud computing services are currently Alibaba’s business too.
A brief introduction of the businesses in Alibaba Group.
In Feb 2018, the net profit of Alibaba Group reached RMB 83 billion. The growth of the company still remains strong and steady. Since 2012, Alibaba has boldly invested in multiple industries leaders. The long list includes Weibo, Sesame Credit, Momo, and South China Morning Post. These affiliates work closely together to form the Alibaba ecosystem.
Related Article:
10 Most Popular Social Media Sites in China (2018 Updated)
5 Big Mistakes Foreigners Make When Marketing to Chinese Consumers
So, what are the recent moves of Alibaba? This article will introduce you the two recent actions made by the firm with details.
1. Acquisition of Ele.me (2nd April 2018)
You might not be familiar with Ele.me. Nevertheless, it is one of the most influential food-delivery online platforms in China. The enterprise value of Ele.me is at around US$9.5 billion. Currently, Alibaba Group, together with its affiliated companies own 43% of the outstanding voting shares of Ele.me.
Ele.me is a well-known and popular food-delivery online platform in China.
Alibaba is extremely ambitious. The industry giant hopes to collaborate with multiple associated firms and provide a seamless online and offline consuming experience for Chinese customers. After the acquisition, Ele.me is integrated into the Alibaba’s ecosystem and advance the Alibaba’s New Retail strategy in the local services sector.
The summary of Alibaba’s businesses and its affiliated companies.
The Alibaba Ecosystem
From the above chart, we can see how Alibaba build its own ecosystem. In previous years, Alibaba has been reaching out to connect with powerful companies. Building up a substantial network covering various business aspects has always been one of its ultimate goals. Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group expressed, “We are excited for Ele.me to become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem. The company leads the online food delivery market in China with excellent leadership of its founder and management team. We both share the same belief: New Retail will create more value for customers and merchants, which has brought us together. Looking forward, Ele.me can leverage Alibaba’s support in commerce and find new synergies with our diverse businesses to add further momentum to the New Retail initiative.”
It is expected that with Ele.me joining, Alibaba will be more comprehensive. Ele.me originally complements Koubei, which is one of Alibaba’s affiliate platform that has successfully attracted consumers and is capable of engaging restaurants. Therefore, Alibaba can now offer a more integrated experience to customers both online and offline after the acquisition.
2. Invests US$2 Billion in Lazada (19th March 2018)
As we traced back earlier, Alibaba also made a big move last month. The company will further invest US$2 billion in Lazada Group. It is to stimulate the growth plans, and once again, deepen its integration into Alibaba’s ecosystem in 2018.
Lazada is a regional top e-commerce platform operating in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In 2015, Alibaba acquired control of Lazada with an investment of US$1 billion. The stake increased to 83% with another US$1 billion investment in 2017. It is obvious how Alibaba plans to establish a stronger presence in Southeast Asia.
The investment in Lazada Group reflects the global growth strategy of Alibaba.
The investment clearly reflected Alibaba’s confidence in the future success of Lazada’s business. The company forecasts the bright future of the regional market. Undoubtedly, the Southeast Asian market that plays the key role in Alibaba’s global growth strategy.
From the Southeast Asian Market to the Globe
Ms. Lucy Peng, who is one of Alibaba’s 18 founders and currently the Lazada’s Chairman, expressed high hopes for Alibaba winning over in the Southeast Asian market. “With a young population, high mobile penetration and merely 3% online retail sales in the region, we feel very confident to double down on Southeast Asia.” said Ms. Peng, “Lazada has a genuine position to stand strong in the next phase of development of Internet-enabled commerce in this region. We are excited about the incredible opportunities in this super-charged growth.”
The potential of the Southeast Asian market is huge and Alibaba is aiming to increase its influence in the region.
Alibaba is not satisfied to stay within China. The multinational titan continues in perfecting the Alibaba ecosystem while carefully planning each step to gain influence in potential regional markets. The willingness of investment can bring huge impacts to Alibaba, and the businesses under the company will sure enjoy the benefits followed by.
How to Be a Part of This?
Both small and large foreign companies should be aware that, it is always important to stay up-to-date with trends in Alibaba. You cannot miss the channels provided by Alibaba when entering the China market. As one of the largest integrated firms in the country, Alibaba is the decision maker behind many valuable companies in multiple industries. Let alone how significant its position is in the e-commerce field.
(Read more about China marketing)
If you want to be a part of it, you can first join and open your own Tmall Store. It is the most influential B2C platform in China and enjoys the advantages of the power of cross-border e-commerce. Your brands can gain a presence in the market as a starting point. There are a lot of opportunities for you to sell your products in Tmall, such as the National Single Day (Double 11). Utilizing the platform provided by the industry leader, Alibaba, it is much easier to expand your business in China.
There are many business opportunities for your products in Tmall.com.
On the other hand, Alibaba.com, the primary company of Alibaba Group, is the largest online B2B trading platform for small businesses. It handles sales between importers and exporters from more than 240 countries and regions through the English language portal of the website. In addition, The Chinese portal 1688.com was developed for domestic B2B trade in China. You may make use of these platforms when doing business in the market.
Conclusion on Alibaba Group
Alibaba continues to impress the world with bold investment actions. They are planning to improve the massive ecosystem, which both local and foreign companies enjoy benefits in the connection.
It is crucial to know how to utilize the available platforms when doing business in China. Our Dragon Social team always stays tuned to the top marketing trends in the country. Want to know more about the rules of China marketing? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
