Alibaba Tries to Bring Hong Kong And China Youth Closer

Alibaba founder Jack Ma expressed his views while addressing  a seminar in Macau.

Executive chairman and founder of Alibaba Group Holding Limited Jack Ma has urged youngsters in Hong Kong who are interested in ending up their relations with China to clearly think about the consequences of their demands. Mr. Ma, who is also owner of the South China Morning Post, discussed the rise of local sentiment in HK while addressing university students in the city of Macau on 6^th June 2016.

Youngsters must also “think of their roots”, he added. On an exclusive note, Ma voiced his hope to register Alibaba partner Ant Financial Services, in the Chinese special administrative region. Established 2 years ago, the organization, which runs Alipay, presently offers an online payment, wealth management and insurance services platform that supports the Alibaba empire.

Jack, who is also General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs’ Chairman, was in Macau to inaugurate the association’s chapter in the casino city. Speaking at a seminar attended by many University of Macau’s students, Jack stated some youngsters in HK and Ex Portuguese colony were hesitant to tour the region due to preconceived stereotypical concepts.

“You should really pay a visit to the mainland when there is chance … It would be so meaningful to understand the real situation [of China],” Jack stated. He added that it was also equally important for them to discover the globe. Jack highlighted the benefits which the special administrative regions of Macau as well as Hong Kong enjoyed- mainly the principle of “one country, two systems”- which he stated was internationally unique and provided great chances for business.

He advised Macau and HK to preserve their characteristics, which he stated included the 2 region’s lengthy history of openness to various ideas and people. He also voiced confidence in Macau’s financial market, service sector and the establishment of medium-sized and small enterprises. Exclusively, Jack stated he had never considered delisting his company from the US after it appeared in May that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was probing the online retailer’s accounting methods to decide whether federal regulations had been violated.

Such a probe was a usual practice, he stated suggesting that it would prove to be a nice opportunity to permit those who have any misconception regarding the web retailer as well as other China based internet companies learn more regarding China and its organizations.

When questioned that would he consider listing Alibaba Group in Hong Kong, he stated it would be “troublesome” anywhere. As far as the Japanese telecom SoftBank’s latest decision to spin off more of its stock in the Hangzhou based organization, Jack stated their relations continued to be unchanged.  He stated the Japanese internet and telecom organization was just making efforts to resolve its financial issues.

Amazon Likely To Dominate Clothing Industry

Amazon has finally entered the clothing line through its own private labels launching its brands.

Amazon Inc. is looking to enter the clothing line domain in the coming times. The firm already dominates the e-commerce sector and is the biggest online retailer of the world. Now it wants to make an impact in the clothing industry as well which will not only create a new revenue stream but will also contribute in improving its clothing category on its online marketplace. Amazon has launched its own clothing brands; this way, customers get more options and the company generates more profits.

Ever since its inception, Amazon is competing with the conventional brick and mortar model. It also has completely changed the books landscape and contemporary programming. The paradigm is expected to change now since the e-commerce giant has finally paved its way to fashion. The online retailer is geared up to explore new horizons in the fashion fraternity.

According to sources, the company has launched nearly 1,800 products, ranging from children’s clothing to women’s clothing, and men’s bags and clothing. The products belong to seven private labels that are working under the watch of Amazon. It owns and runs seven labels.

Amazon officials claim that they will be filling in the ‘gaps’ which are currently left by other fashion brands in the industry. So far, the online retail company has not confirmed the launch of its own clothing brands but Amazon Fashion’s Vice President of clothing, Jeff Yurcisin, suggested this move at the WWD CEO summit last year. He stated, “When we see gaps — when certain brands have actually decided for their own reasons not to sell with us — our customer still wants a product like that.”

The firm believes that it has what it gets to become the top clothing seller in the United States. Amazon would be working with its fashion arm in the similar way it is running Amazon Basics – a program where company sells home brand electronics to consumers through privately owned labels.

At this moment, the US’s accessories and clothing industry is a $250 billion industry, which surely is one of the places where the company wants to do business. Experts expect that the online retailer will overtake Macy’s to become the top clothing seller in the domestic market. Cowen & Company also agreed with this expectation. As it will be working through seven privately owned labels, it will enjoy higher profits and higher margins. The big name brands in the sector such as Calvin Klein and Levi’s also enjoy such success with similar private labels.

Amazon’s focus is to ramp up the hiring process of its private label team in the coming weeks. 

Alibaba Tackles Counterfeit Goods Problem With Former Apple Employee

Alibaba hired a former Apple executive to investigate and combat against counterfeited goods on its platforms.

Alibaba Group Holding has been issued several warning from the US Trade Group to look into its counterfeit goods issue. It is believed that the online retailer is accused of fakes on its multiple online marketplaces and has been instructed to eliminate them at its earliest. The last warning was issued a couple of months ago where luxury brand owners raised concerns regarding the sales of fake goods of the same products at lower rates on the platform. The luxury brands asked the trade group officials to inspect and take further action to eliminate fake goods.

Since the last warning, Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma assured that they would be changing strategies and checking methods in order to remove counterfeited goods from its online retail platforms, including Alibaba.com and Taobao Marketplace. Despite of that, the luxury brand owners complained and got another warning issued to the Chinese tech giant over fake goods.

The US Trade Representatives previously urged the US government to add Alibaba in the notorious list of fakes but it refused this time to add itself. The Group believes that the company must get another chance to try removing counterfeits from its marketplaces.

Alibaba.com and Taobao Marketplace were previously banned in the region but they were recently removed in 2009 and 2012 respectively. The company realizes how significant the US market is and due to little or no presence in the region, it does not want to be completely banned again in the United States. Therefore, for that matter, the online retailer has hired a former Apple investigator who would help the company to battle counterfeit goods.

According to Tech Crunch, Matthew Bassiur will be saying goodbye to his current job at Pfizer as Vice President of Deputy Chief Security Officer. He is now set to become the Vice President of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement at Alibaba. The recruitment will be effective from January 1.

The firm avoided a place in the US government’s notorious list for counterfeited goods. Regardless of taking high security measures previously, it is still one of the major problems for the business. Forbes reported, “Alibaba has sophisticated software and a 2,000-strong team focused on shutting down shop owners peddling fraudulent goods, but Alibaba does also allow many Chinese sellers to continue to make money from selling fake items, so there’s a compromise.”

All eyes are on the new recruitment now to see how he takes this new challenge in his career.

Alibaba And Tencent Rivalry Takes A Twist

Meituan joins forces with Tencent resulting in Alibaba agony.

Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. is said to be the biggest stakeholder in Meituan but is not content with the online platform’s recent move. The company decided to opt for a merger in October with Dianping which is backed by Tencent. So after this move, Dianping invested another $1 billion in the merged commodity.

So now Alibaba Group is deciding regarding the streamlining of the proceeds they have observed from the sales of its stakes to Ele.me – an app that delivers food being a direct competitor to Meituan-Dianping.

The reason why BABA wishes to invest in Ele.me is simple since it wishes to take Tefncent along with other growing Interhnet based companies like Baidu down.

If the company is successful in rapidly proliferating the mobile Ecommerce service, the company has now decided to offer consolidation since by devising strategy that revolves around big discounts has actually failed to bolster businesses. Consumers are not loyal to the brand since they start to withdraw once the offering ends.

This has actually given birth to the turf battle that is gradually making its way tyo similar industries.  Certain vendors in an informal manner have been approached by the sales team of Meituan-Dianpingso that they ditch Alipay the payment system, by Alibaba.  They are now encouraging the consumers to opt for the alternative platform designed by Tencent.

Meituan-Dianping on its own has also asked vendors to sign an exclusive pact with Alipay instead of the recent Koubei venture that the company had launched a few months back.

According to the Financial Times, “Further clashes are being set up by changes to the companies’ business models. For example, Meituan, which accounts for four out of every 10 movie tickets sold in China, is now considering a move into film distribution, where it would compete with Alibaba’s Ali Pictures.” This has actually resulted in the executives at Alibaba to approach the investors and acknowledge them that consider Mr.Wang Xing, the founder of Meituan as “ungrateful”.

On the other hand, the local battles might just result in yielding the bargains for the upcoming investors considering the competition in this business. This actually encompasses Digital Sky Technologies. Tiger Global, andthe US investment fund. This is a great time for them to secure better terms with the Internet giants in China

However all those investors that have already invested in Meituan- Danping need to be worried now since a lot is at stake considering the present rivalry.

Alibaba Plans To Buy The South China Morning Post

Alibaba and Jack Ma are under now advance negotiation phase to purchase Hong Kong based newspaper in the coming times.

Alibaba is looking to reinvest its interest in buying The South China Morning Post, an influential English newspaper based in Hong Kong. Alibaba Group Holding, reportedly, is under negotiations to purchase a major newspaper company in the near future. The news came out from a person who has direct knowledge of the discussion between both parties.

In 2013, Amazon purchased The Washington Post. This deal would be quite similar to the Amazon one, as Jeff Bezos wanted to buy the newspaper company in order to support it at a turbulent time of its business. It is obvious that The Washington Post and The South China Morning Post are facing difficulties to keep their business going and adapt to the major changes within the media space.

In both situations, the buyout does not result in a clear business benefit for the buyer. The source familiar with the matter stated that it is still unclear whether Alibaba or Jack Ma, himself, would buy the Hong Kong based newspaper.

Any agreement regarding the newspaper will result in a lot of political interference. New York Times reported, “The prospective takeover is raising concerns that the newspaper’s editorial independence could be compromised by a corporate owner whose market position depends in large part on the good will of the Chinese government.”

Jack Ma is currently dominating the tech industry and the internet world of China. Andrew Collier, a former reporter for the newspaper, suggested that the founder of Alibaba Group wants Beijing to support him in this decision as it might help him in continuing the dominance in the sector. Mr. Andrew Collier is currently in a financial research firm.

It is still not confirmed whether the deal would be agreed within the next few weeks or in the coming months. According to the person familiar with the matter, he also stated that there is a slight chance that the deal would not go through at all.

So far, both companies have declined to comment on these rumors and speculations. The South China Morning Post stated that the company does not comment on the market rumors.

The Chinese tech giant has once again made the headlines in the sector with another big acquisition if the deal is successful. Alibaba is determined to continue its dominance in the internet space and stay ahead in the competitive market among its rivals. Experts also view this decision in favor of the organization.

Alibaba Decides To Pause International Expansions

Alibaba has decided to temporarily stop international expansions for other issues.

Alibaba just achieved huge success on its most awaited Singles Day, but oddly, its shares were still reported to decline. This leads to the decision it just announced that it is putting a pause to its expansions in India for the time being. India is the world second most populated country, and would have given the company huge business.

The future would be very good for the company if and whenever it expands to India in future, due to the high population of the country, around 1.2 billion and is growing every year by 1.24%. Alibaba Group stopped the deal it was supposed to sign with a smartphone group in India, MicroMax. A delay has been reported by business finance news on other investments in China’s demising economy. It has plans to expand to India but not now.

The chairman of the retail giant values the plans of growth in India, and made it the main feature of growth strategy in 2014, but its hometown’s slow economy has made it suffer and delays its plans. It has been making headlines over controversies of fake product on its platform, which has also played a part in the company’s decline in share.

It does not want to ruin its name and image in the market, but the ongoing lawsuit regarding this accusation have done the damage already. Alibaba Company deal with MicroMax was getting it 20% shares in the group, worth $3 billion. Other companies in the market are also interested in this attractive deal, and now that Alibaba has put a pause on everything, they will try getting their hands on the India’s major phone manufacturer’s deal.

The retail company has made a smart decision, and has a close eye on the currrent happenings in the market. It takes decision accordingly so that it faces as less damage as possible. It should give importance towards keeping a strong and dominant image in the market so that it can face the obstacles that will come in the future due to the declining economy of China.

Pause on the expansion is good decision even though it would have been very profitable for the retail giant. Patience is what will get the company through now but once the expansion takes place in such a populated country, it has to keep in mind to maintain its standard and take actions of the accusation of fake products on its online shopping platform.

Alibaba stock closed at $75.77 on November 13.