Tag Archives: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group announces proposal to offer U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes

Hangzhou, China, 2017-Nov-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today (November 27, 2017) announced that it proposes to offer U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes (the “notes”), subject to market and other conditions, in an underwritten registered public offering. The principal amount, interest rates, maturity dates and other terms of the notes have not been finalized and will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering.

Alibaba plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. An automatic shelf registration statement (including a prospectus) relating to the offering of debt securities was filed with the SEC on November 24, 2017 and became effective upon filing. The offering of the notes will be made only by means of a prospectus included in that registration statement, the preliminary prospectus supplement and the final prospectus supplement, when available. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the prospectus, the preliminary prospectus supplement and the final prospectus supplement, when available, relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting Morgan Stanley at 180 Varick Street, New York, New York 10014, Attn: Prospectus Department, by calling 1-866-718-1649 or by emailing prospectus@morganstanley.com; Citigroup at c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by calling 1-800-831-9146 or by emailing prospectus@citi.com; Credit Suisse at One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, Attn: Prospectus Department, by calling 1-800-221-1037 or by emailing newyork.prospectus@credit-suisse.com; Goldman Sachs at 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, USA, Attn: Prospectus Department, by calling 1-866-471-2526 or by emailing prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; or J.P. Morgan by calling 1-212-834-4533.

This press release contains information about the pending offering of the notes, and there can be no assurance that the offering will be completed.

This press release may contain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “propose,” “plan” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expectations regarding the size, tranching, timing and completion of the Company’s proposed offering, are not guarantees of future performance, results or the completion of any offering on any announced terms, or at all, and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results, developments or timing of events may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including financial community and rating agency perceptions of the company and its business, operations, financial condition and the industries in which it operates, market conditions, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed offering and the factors described in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained therein. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as required under applicable law.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

Media Contacts:
APAC:
Cathy Yan
Alibaba Group
+852 9012 5806
cathy.yan@alibaba-inc.com

Americas:
Brion Tingler
Alibaba Group
+1 917 528 1992
brion.tingler@alibaba-inc.com

EMEA:
Maja Hauke
Alibaba Group
+44 (0) 20 7 3958330
maja.hauke@alibaba-inc.com

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group to host Investor Day on June 8-9, 2017

Hangzhou, China, 2017-Jun-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today (May 31, 2017) announced that it will host an Investor Day on June 8-9, 2017 China Time at Alibaba Xixi Headquarters, Hangzhou, China. Speakers will include Jack Ma (Executive Chairman), Joe Tsai (Executive Vice Chairman), Daniel Zhang (CEO), Maggie Wu (CFO) and other members of our senior management team.

Alibaba will provide a live webcast of key executive sessions at or around the following times:

  • Thursday, June 8: 2:15 PM China Time (2:15 AM U.S. Eastern Time)
    Presenters: Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer; Maggie Wu, Chief Financial Officer
  • Friday, June 9: 3:45 PM China Time (3:45 AM U.S. Eastern Time)
    Presenters: Jack Ma, Executive Chairman; Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman

The webcast will be available at http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/ir/home. A replay of the webcast and a summary of the day’s presentations will be available through the same links following the event, as well as at http://www.alizila.com.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

Investor Relations Contact:
Rob Lin
investor@alibabagroup.com

Media Contact:
Brion Tingler
brion.tingler@alibaba-inc.com

Source:  Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group and Bailian Group announce partnership to explore retail opportunities across each other’s ecosystems

Jointly explore development opportunities across each other’s ecosystem

Shanghai, 2017-Feb-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) and China’s leading retailer Bailian Group announced today (February 20, 2017) the formation of a strategic partnership to explore new forms of retail opportunities across each other’s ecosystems. The companies will leverage the power of big data to achieve integration between offline stores, merchandise, logistics and payment tools with the ultimate aim of elevating efficiency and overall consumer experience.

The signing of the strategic cooperation agreement between Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang and Bailian Chairman & President Ye Yongming took place in Shanghai. Zhou Bo, Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal Government and Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma witnessed the signing.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Bailian is one of China’s largest and most established retail conglomerates with more than 4,700 outlets across 25 provinces, 200 cities and autonomous regions in China.

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group said, “New retail reimagines the relationship between consumers, merchandise and retail space by leveraging mobile Internet and big data. It will upend the traditional manufacturing and supply chain, the connection between merchant and consumer, as well as the overall consumer experience. Businesses will increasingly embrace big data and new innovations to better identify, reach, analyze and serve their customers, and their digital transformation will be empowered by Alibaba’s ecosystem. Our partnership with Bailian is an important milestone in the evolution of Chinese retail, where the distinction between physical and virtual commerce is becoming obsolete.”

Ye Yongming, Chairman of Bailian Group said, “A new consumer era calls for a new retail approach. Traditional commerce needs to embrace innovation and change to thrive if they are to ride atop this new consumption trend. New retail is not just the convergence of online and offline worlds. It also means we need to be able to leverage technologies such as the Internet of Things, AI and big data to provide consumers with new and immersive shopping experiences across channels and product categories anytime and anywhere. It is with this shared vision that our companies have joined forces in this strategic partnership to redefine commerce and reshape the retail industry.”

Under the agreement, the cooperation will include:

  • New retail outlet design: jointly design cross channel store operation and ordering systems to enable real time service solutions for customers at physical stores;
  • New retail technology R&D: joint R&D in new retail technology in areas such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data;
  • Customer Relationship Management: integrate both companies’ membership base to enhance customer service capability through technologies such as geolocation, facial recognition and big-data driven sales and customer management systems;
  • Supply chain management: the companies will combine resources in customer insight and supplier channels to help improve merchandise selection and reduce cost;
  • Payment: Alipay will be made available at all Bailian stores, while Bailian’s payment tools Safepass and Bailian OK Card will be integrated with Alipay to provide a unified third-party payment solution for consumers;
  • Logistics: Bailian Logistics to work with Alibaba on Cainiao’s logistics platform and co-develop logistics rules to enhance services for both consumers and merchants

The partnership with Bailian is the latest milestone in the development of new retail. Alibaba has coined the term “New Retail” to describe a world where the distinction between online and offline commerce becomes obsolete, as Internet users continue to migrate to mobile devices from desktop computers. Under the new retail model, traditional brick and mortar retailers will be offered the tools to transform their way of connecting with consumers, and improve efficiencies in their inventory and distribution network, as well as payment and logistics systems to provide seamless consumer experience both online and offline consumers.

Consumers in China engage in commerce activities from anywhere at any time with the help of mobile phones. With its big data capability and a mobile monthly active user base of close to 500 million, Alibaba is well placed to enable traditional retailers to upgrade to the new retail model.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

About Bailian Group

Bailian Group is a leading state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, and one of China’s largest retail conglomerates. It has operations in more than 200 Chinese cities with 4,700 outlets and 68,000 employees. Launched in 2016, Bailian’s Omni-Channel Platform “bl.com” & “iBailian App” has grown quickly leveraging Bailian’s membership base of 21 million to provide seamless and round-the-clock service to consumers online and offline.

Media Contacts:
Eric Zhao
Board Secretary
Bailian Group
+86-21-63321200
Eric.zhao@bl.com

Cecilia Kwok
Alibaba Group
+852 9132 7709
ceciliakwok@alibaba-inc.com

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group to report financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 on January 24, 2017

Hangzhou, China, 2017-Jan-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today (January 10, 2017) announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 before the U.S. market opens on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, and will hold a conference call to discuss the financial results at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (8:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) the same day.

Details of the conference call are as follows:
International: +65 6713 5090
U.S.: +1 845 675 0437
U.K.: +44 203 621 4779
Hong Kong: +852 3018 6771
Conference ID: 48066090

A live webcast of the earnings conference call can be accessed at http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/ir/earnings. An archived webcast will be available through the same link following the call. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week (dial-in number: +61 2 8199 0299; conference ID: 48066090).

Please visit Alibaba Group’s Investor Relations website at http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/ir/home on January 24, 2017 to view the earnings release and accompanying slides prior to the conference call.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

Investor Contact:
Rob Lin
Investor Relations
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
investor@alibabagroup.com

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group to report its unaudited financial results for quarter ended September 30, 2016 on November 2, 2016

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Oct-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today (October 19, 2016) announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 before the U.S. market opens on Wednesday, November 2, 2016, and will hold a conference call to discuss the financial results at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (7:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) the same day.

Details of the conference call are as follows:
International: +65 6713 5090
U.S.: +1 845 675 0437
U.K.: +44 203 621 4779
Hong Kong: +852 3018 6771
Conference ID: 2604870

A live webcast of the earnings conference call can be accessed at http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/ir/earnings. An archived webcast will be available through the same link following the call. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week (dial-in number: +61 2 8199 0299; conference ID: 2604870).

Please visit Alibaba Group’s Investor Relations website at http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/ir/home on November 2, 2016 to view the earnings release and accompanying slides prior to the conference call.

Investor Contact:

Rob Lin
Investor Relations
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
investor@alibabagroup.com

Source: Alibaba Group

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Sequential Brands Group and Alibaba Group announce Martha Stewart to headline Alibaba’s inaugural Tmall Super Kitchen event

NEW YORK, 2016-Sep-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Sequential Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SQBG) and Alibaba Group Inc. (NYSE:BABA) announced today  (Sept. 19, 2016) that Martha Stewart will headline Alibaba’s inaugural Tmall Super Kitchen event on September 20, 2016, in Shanghai, China.

Martha Stewart’s keynote address will be broadcast live on Alibaba’s media network which includes Youku Tudou, as well as live streamed on the Tmall and Taobao ecommerce apps. During her presentation, Martha will share her philosophy on how to live a better, fuller and longer life, as well as provide the tools to curate and maintain one’s home.

“There is a tremendous amount of demand for know-how and inspiration in the home and lifestyle space today among the rapidly developing middle class in China and Southeast Asia. I am thrilled to join the brilliant team at Alibaba to help inspire the next generation of Chinese consumers,” said Martha Stewart.

The Tmall Super Kitchen exhibition will bring together approximately 1,200 of Alibaba’s best houseware partners including Fissler, Le Creuset, World Kitchen, De’Longhi, Kenwood, Villeroy & Boch, Lagostina, Duralex, Riedel, Monbento, and WOLL, among many others. This consumer event is part of the two-week nationwide Tmall Global Home Festival in China created and hosted by Alibaba.

“We are honored to have Martha Stewart join us for our inaugural Super Kitchen event. Martha Stewart has forever changed the way Americans think and feel about their homes. As one of the world’s most recognized lifestyle authorities, her namesake brand influences millions of consumers through its trusted content and practical, useful and affordable products.  Her involvement in Alibaba’s Super Kitchen event will help educate and stimulate Chinese consumers, who want high quality home products and healthy lifestyle choices for their families,” said Michael Evans, Alibaba Group President.

Martha Stewart and Alibaba will work together on opportunities for future collaboration. Alibaba operates one of the world’s largest ecommerce businesses, with more than 430 million average annual users. Alibaba’s Mobile Taobao, a business to consumer app, attracts user engagement across e-commerce, digital media, travel, social and local services. Its 150 million daily active users launch the app an average of 7.2 times per day, spending more than 20 minutes each day browsing an average of 19 products.

About Sequential Brands Group, Inc.
Sequential Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SQBG) owns, promotes, markets, and licenses a portfolio of consumer brands in the fashion, active, and home categories, which includes the Martha Stewart media and merchandising properties. Sequential seeks to ensure that its brands continue to thrive and grow by employing strong brand management, design and marketing teams. Sequential has licensed and intends to license its brands in a variety of consumer categories to retailers, wholesalers and distributors in the United States and around the world. For more information, please visit Sequential’s website at: www.sequentialbrandsgroup.com. To inquire about licensing opportunities, please email: newbusiness@sbg-ny.com.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. It is the largest retail commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands and other businesses that provide products, services and digital content to leverage the power of the Internet to engage with their users and customers.

Media Contacts:
Sequential Brands Group, Inc.
Jaime Cassavechia
+1 212 518 4771 x108
jcassavechia@sbg-ny.com

Alibaba Group
Robert H. Christie
+1 917 860 9410
bob.christie@alibaba-inc.com

Source: Sequential Brands Group; Alibaba Group Inc./globenewswire

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Alibaba Group names Gao Xiaosong as Chairman of Alibaba Entertainment Strategic Committee

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Sep-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group today (September 19, 2016) announced that Gao Xiaosong, current Chairman of Alibaba Music, has officially taken up the role of Chairman of Alibaba Entertainment Strategic Committee. Gao will be focusing on the international expansion of the Group’s entertainment sector in his new role. With media and entertainment a strategic growth area for Alibaba, the Committee under Gao is set to drive the Group’s global entertainment development while enhancing the resource coordination between the different businesses in this sector.

As part of the reshuffle, Song Ke, current CEO of Alibaba Music, will replace Gao as Chairman of the unit and lead the division in developing the music and performance business alongside other innovative initiatives. Yang Weidong, President of Youku Tudou Inc. will become acting CEO of Alibaba Music in addition to his current role at Youku. His appointment, with dual responsibility, is expected to bring greater synergies between Alibaba Music and the other entertainment related businesses.

Earlier this year, on June 15, Alibaba Group announced the establishment of the Alibaba entertainment and digital media sector, which consists of Alibaba Picture, Alibaba Music, Alibaba Sports, UC, Youku Tudou, Alibaba Games, Alibaba Literature and digital media. This new sector is significant within the Double H (Health and Happiness) future strategy that the Company has envisioned.

“Mobile media and entertainment business is central to Alibaba Group’s future growth strategy. With music being a crucial pillar of the Group’s digital entertainment strategy, the appointment of Gao Xiaosong will help drive our business development in this sector particularly in exploring international partnerships. This progress will help us towards achieving our vision of becoming central to the everyday lives of our customers,” said Yu Yongfu, head of Alibaba Entertainment and Digital Media business.

Gao Xiaosong has been popular within China’s entertainment sector since 1994. In addition to being a famous songwriter, music producer, film director and talk show host, Gao also previously founded and run several music labels and production houses. He had also held positions with a few major Internet companies before he joined Alibaba Music Group in 2015.

Media Contact:

Haili Cao
Alibaba Group
haili.chl@alibaba-inc.com

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group and Austrade to strengthen trade opportunities by expanding Australian products sold to Chinese consumers

Alibaba Group and Austrade to strengthen trade opportunities by expanding Australian products sold to Chinese consumers
Alibaba Group and Austrade to strengthen trade opportunities by expanding Australian products sold to Chinese consumers

 

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Sep-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba (Australia) Company Pty. Ltd., a member of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA), and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (“Austrade”) signed a strategic collaboration agreement today (6 September, 2016) to strengthen trade opportunities by expanding the variety of Australian products sold to some of Alibaba’s hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers through Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms. The agreement aims to broaden Alibaba’s existing partnership with Austrade by providing dedicated services for Australian products and leveraging digital content to build brand Australia abroad.

The signing of the agreement was witnessed at a ceremony at Alibaba’s corporate headquarters in Hangzhou by Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and Alibaba Group’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Jack Ma.

Prior to the signing of the agreement Jack Ma, Executive Chairman and Founder of Alibaba Group said, “the next chapter of trade between China and Australia will require closer cooperation and this agreement provides a new framework to ensure more businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises, can benefit through the partnership between Austrade and Alibaba. Together we can all work jointly to support Australian jobs and shape a new future for many people and businesses through the cooperation forged today.”

Speaking during his visit, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Alibaba “enables the smallest businesses, the mom-and-dad businesses, in the regional part of Australia to have access to the biggest part of the world, something that hitherto only a very large company with enormous resources, with enormous representation would be able to do. It’s a liberating force for small business. And because so many of the services are available on the cloud, again it reduces the cost of business and levels the playing field between the big company and the small company.”

On signing the agreement with Austrade, Maggie Zhou, Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand for Alibaba, said, “Australia is a key market for Alibaba Group and we are excited to extend our collaboration with Austrade to cultivate successful Australian exporters that are capitalizing on China’s expanding middle class. With Alibaba Group’s new Melbourne office opening later this year, our local team will be dedicated to providing businesses with the information and tools they need to advance their international growth.”

The businesses to be explored by Alibaba and Austrade under the strategic collaboration are wide-ranging but a key highlight is the introduction of an annual “Australian Fresh Food Week” sales promotion and education event on Tmall Fresh, Tmall’s fresh food channel, advancing the interests of Australian companies that exports dairy, meat, seafood, fruit and other fresh produce.

Alibaba Group also plans on establishing a channel on Youku.com, a leading provider of video and streaming services in China with over 500 million monthly active users, to further promote fresh Australian produce and advance the perception of Australian products in the eyes of Chinese consumers.

Michael Clifton, Senior Trade Commissioner of Austrade, said, “Austrade’s collaboration with Alibaba will allow more Chinese consumers to enjoy easy online access to a wider variety of Australia’s premium products and fresh produce. Online delivery of imported fresh food in China is becoming increasingly viable as a result of improvements in last-mile cold chain logistics.”

In addition to supporting Australian companies already succeeding in China, a key focus of the partnership will be targeting first time exporters, particularly SMEs, and facilitating access to Alibaba assistance in commercializing new digital technology and services in China.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. It is the largest retail commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands and other businesses that provide products, services and digital content to leverage the power of the Internet to engage with their users and customers.

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group and Canadian Government to promote trade between Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and Chinese consumers

Alibaba Group and Canadian Government to promote trade between Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and Chinese consumers
Alibaba Group and Canadian Government to promote trade between Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and Chinese consumers

 

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Sep-07 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today ( September 3, 2016) unveiled a declaration of cooperation that will strengthen efforts to promote trade between Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and Chinese consumers.

Both Mr. Ma and Prime Minister Trudeau said at a ceremony at Alibaba Group’s head office that the cooperation agreement empowers the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service and Alibaba to work together to expand the two-way flow of goods, services and people. The two sides will strategize on how to use e-commerce to stimulate trade, with opportunities for Canadian small and medium-sized exporters.

“Today, I am pleased we are formalizing our efforts to have Alibaba serve as the gateway to China for Canadian businesses of all sizes,” Mr. Ma said. “Our agreements today represent a great opportunity for Canada and for China. It is a new chapter in our future together.”

“Today is a very good day for Canadian businesses. They now have a permanent e-home on the world’s biggest online shopping site – Alibaba – and with it, the ability to reach over 400 million Chinese consumers. There is significant potential for further business development with Alibaba, which would encourage Chinese tourism to Canada, create jobs at home and strengthen our middle-class,” said Prime Minister Trudeau.

The ceremony also highlighted two other milestones:

Mr. Ma and Prime Minister Trudeau launched the Canadian Pavilion on Alibaba’s shopping platform, Tmall Global. The Canadian Pavilion makes it possible for Canadian businesses large and small to directly reach Chinese consumers. It was launched with more than 30 businesses participating, selling more than 100 products. It will feature special promotions for unique Canadian products such as apparel, ice wine, maple syrup, seafood and health products.

Mr. Ma and Prime Minister Trudeau also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Air Canada, the country’s largest air carrier, and Alitrip, Alibaba’s online travel booking platform, providing Chinese consumers with a range of travel and vacation packages, as well as visa application services.

The MOU links Air Canada with Alitrip’s customer base and marketing resources to tap China’s burgeoning travel demand for Canada. Air Canada agreed to open a flagship store on the Alitrip platform. Both agreed to work together to develop marketing initiatives and carry out joint marketing promotions.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. It is the largest retail commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands and other businesses that provide products, services and digital content to leverage the power of the Internet to engage with their users and customers.

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group to host 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

Alibaba Group to host 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival
Alibaba Group to host 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

 

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Aug-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) announced today that as a continuation of the success of the Group’s inaugural 11.11 countdown gala last year, it will once again host a similar event this year in the hours leading up to the midnight start of the upcoming 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

“Alibaba Group single-handedly created the iconic 11.11 shopping festival in China seven years ago to unlock the power of the Chinese consumer,” said Chris Tung, Chief Marketing Officer of Alibaba Group. “Today, 11.11 has become not only a day for China to shop for deals, but truly a festival where people all over China and the world gather to celebrate a new and improved lifestyle, as well as a world of fun and opportunities made possible because of technology – namely the Internet, Mobile, and Big Data.”

At a press conference held in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba revealed that the gala will be live broadcasted by its official media partner, Zhejiang Satellite TV. The gala has also garnered a very substantial title sponsorship from Shanghai Jahwa, one of China’s largest manufacturers of daily-used personal chemicals products company.

Apart from Zhejiang Satellite TV, Alibaba’s media assets like Youku Tudou, Tmall TV Box and UC Web etc. will be conducting live broadcast of the gala.

“Last year we held a countdown gala for the first time to experiment with the idea of making 11.11 truly a day of fun and entertainment. People loved it,” said Tung. “As Alibaba continues its globalization journey, we want to make sure that the whole world has an opportunity to witness and experience the festivities of 11.11. This year will be no exception. We look forward to creating another truly global, and fun-filled 11.11.”

Alibaba announced that it will be allocating four one-minute advertising time slots for free to consumers, brands, non-profit organizations and 11.11 participants during prime time live broadcasting of this year’s gala, depending on the level of creativity in their ad submissions. This is just one of the many initiatives by the company to encourage innovation and originality.

During the four-hour countdown gala on the eve of November 11 last year, broadcasted live internationally from the Water Cube National Aquatics Center in Beijing, consumers were able to enjoy an interactive multiscreen experience over mobile, online and through TV allowing them to watch, play and purchase at the same time. Approximately 130 million users visited the Taobao App during the 2015 11.11 gala, while a live audience of nearly 100 million people from within China, and around the world participated in the event. With globalization as a key theme of the 11.11, the star-studded gala included the guest appearances of various international celebrities.

Key highlights from the 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

Alibaba Group’s 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Festival was the biggest global shopping day in history as measured by gross merchandise volume (“GMV”),1 with over US$14.3 billion settled through China’s leading mobile and online payments platform, Alipay. Other highlights included:

  • Total mobile GMV settled through Alipay was approximately US$9.8 billion (RMB62.6 billion), exceeding total GMV in 2014, and accounted for 68.7 percent of total GMV
  • Total mobile GMV increased by 158 percent compared to 2014’s 11.11 festival
  • Alipay processed a total of 710 million payment transactions, and processed 85,900 payment transactions per second at peak
  • Alibaba Cloud processed a total of 140,000 transactions per second at peak
  • More than 40,000 merchants and more than 30,000 brands from 25 countries participated. Top countries selling to China include: United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Australia
  • As part of Alibaba’s omni-channel initiatives, more than 180,000 brick-and-mortar stores in 330 cities across China participated, representing over 1,000 retail brands
  • 232 countries and regions, and more than 16,000 international brands, completed transactions
  • Cainiao Network received 467 million delivery orders during the 24-hour shopping period, representing a 68 percent year-over-year increase

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from just 27 merchants as an event for Tmall.com merchants and consumers to raise awareness of the value in online shopping. Some refer to the event as the Singles Day Sale because it falls on Singles Day, a day for Chinese young single people to celebrate their independence by treating themselves to a special purchase. Seven years later, 11.11 has become a global shopping event with participating merchants in the tens of thousands, buyers in the millions, and total sales in the billions.

For additional history and facts from last year’s festival, as well as the latest news and updates on the 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Celebration, please visit corporate news site Alizila (www.alizila.com) or go to Alibaba Group corporate website (www.AlibabaGroup.com).

1 Gross merchandise volume (“GMV”) is the total amount settled through Alipay on Alibaba’s China and international retail marketplaces

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. It is the largest retail commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce and engage with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group in collaboration with SAIC launches the first YunOS-enabled mass produced internet car OS’Car

Hangzhou, 2016-Jul-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) today announced the launch of OS’Car, the first YunOS-enabled, mass produced internet car, in collaboration with SAIC Motor Corp. Alibaba unveiled “YunOS for cars”, a smart operating system tailored for the automotive industry, which marks a milestone for Alibaba’s Internet of Things (IoT) strategy and underlines the potential of internet-connected lifestyles.

“Humans have made machines more intelligent in the past few decades. What we hope to achieve in the coming decades is to inject machines with human wisdom. Just as software programs have made the phone smarter today, YunOS will make cars an even more indispensable part of human life in the future society. Today marks the dawn of that new era. We feel proud and privileged to be playing a part in driving that change.” said Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group.

“We believe cars will be the next wave of access point to the internet, and the integration of our data-driven intelligent operating system to create a smart car is an important milestone as we enter the era of IoT. Working together with SAIC, Alibaba will transform the car from a mode of transportation into a new platform for smart living through the seamless use of big data, internet and cloud computing. We hope to truly elevate the experience of driving and allow consumers a new lifestyle to be enjoyed via their vehicles,” said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group.

Equipped with YunOS, the OS’Car RX5 is the first “Internet-connected Car” of its kind in mass production, co-developed after two years of intensive study and collaboration between the two pioneers in the e-commerce and the automobile industries. Unlike traditional automobiles, this new car will be supported by a cloud-based platform that enables data streaming, modeling and reporting, providing the ultimate driving experience with innovative features.

“What we are creating is not ‘internet in the car’, but a ‘car on the internet’. This is a significant milestone in the automobile industry. Smart operating systems become the second engine of cars, while data is the new fuel,” said Dr. Wang Jian, Chairman of Technology Steering Committee of Alibaba Group. “Going forward, cars will become an important platform for internet services and smart hardware innovation. We will be embracing a world where everything is closely connected.”

With cloud-based data, YunOS provides OS’Car RX5 drivers with a series of innovative features:

    • An intelligent map which enables instant and precise location by sub-meter, location tracking without WIFI or GPS, automatic change in map zoom size based on the car speed.
    • The car is able to take direct commands through smart voice control, creating a more natural and safer driving environment. Audio is the primary mode for controlling the system.
    • Equipped with up to four detachable action cameras, it enables video recordings of the journey and 360-degree in-car selfies. The selfies can be shared instantly with friends via the connected smart phone.
    • As the first car with an “Internet ID”, OS’Car can recognize the driver through connected smart phones or smart watches. It also enables personalized internet services such as greetings, preferred music and destinations.
    • Three integrated screens- a large touch screen, LED dashboard and an intelligent rear-view mirror – result in safer driving.
    • OS’Car RX5 uses an open platform, for different smart  hardware and services which will enable the introduction of additional premium and creative driving experiences for users.

Furthermore, the OS’Car RX5 adopts a new generation of design language, using advanced fuel technology, more powerful accelerator, lower oil consumption and have a shorter braking distance.

The OS’Car RX5 is currently available for sale from RMB 99,800 to RMB 186,800. The OS’Car RX5 will be simultaneously launched on the SAIC Tmall flagship store today and presented at the Alibaba Automobile Festival from July 20 to 31, 2016.

For more details about “YunOS for car”, please visit www.yunos.com.

About YunOS
YunOS is the smart operating system developed by Alibaba Group. It incorporates Alibaba’s expertise in big data, cloud services and operating systems for smart devices. YunOS is operated on smartphones, set-top boxes, internet TVs, home appliances, automobile devices, and smart wearables.

Contact:

Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd:

969 West Wen Yi Road
Yu Hang District
Hangzhou 311121
China
Tel: (+86) 571-8502-2088
Fax: (+86) 571-8526-9066

###

Alibaba Group in collaboration with SAIC launches the first YunOS-enabled mass produced internet car OS'Car
Alibaba Group in collaboration with SAIC launches the first YunOS-enabled mass produced internet car OS’Car

 

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group held inaugural Rights Holders Collaboration Summit

Launches IP Joint-Force System to facilitate greater partnership and collaboration with global brands

Hangzhou, China, 2016-Jul-06 — /EPR Retail News/ — Today, Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) held an inaugural Rights Holders Collaboration Summit to engage international brands and the intellectual property enforcement community to enhance collaboration in the collective fight against IP infringement. More than 100 domestic Chinese and international brands and trade associations attended the event, including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Apple, Mars, Hewlett Packard, the Chinese British Business Council (CBBC) and the Quality Brand Protection Committee (QBPC), among others.

Alibaba also announced the launch of a new IP Joint-Force System, an online platform designed to streamline IP-related communications between brands and Alibaba. The system aims to build greater and more collaborative working relationships with brands around the world as Alibaba continues its fight against counterfeits and IP infringement.

“E-commerce has become a way of life for consumers both in China and around the world. As the internet sector continues to evolve, brands and online marketplaces alike face new IP enforcement challenges. As the leading online marketplace, we have a responsibility to all of our constituents to govern our platform and find innovative solutions,” said Jessie Zheng, Chief Platform Governance Officer at Alibaba Group. “The Rights Holders Collaboration Summit and new IP Joint-Force System are some of the many ways Alibaba is working closely with rights holders in our efforts to eradicate counterfeits both online and offline.”

IP Joint-Force System

Beginning July 1, 2016, Alibaba will launch a new IP Joint-Force System – an online platform that allows participating brands to streamline communications and collaborative efforts around IP enforcement between Alibaba, brands and other rights holders.

All participating brands in the existing “Good Faith Takedown” program will be eligible for the new IP Joint-Force System. Alibaba previously launched the “Good Faith Takedown” program in 2015 to expedite the notice-takedown process for brands that submit valid counterfeit complaints. Today, over 700 brands participate in the “Good Faith Takedown” program, many of which will participate in the first phase of the IP Joint-Force System, including Adidas, Apple, Procter & Gamble, Mars and Philips, among others. Alibaba expects the system to be available for all existing “Good Faith” brands.

With over a billion products listed across Alibaba Group’s marketplaces at any given time, its sophisticated data analytics and processing technologies enabled the company to proactively remove more than 120 million infringing product listings from its marketplaces in 2015, which is 8x the number of counterfeit products removed based on take down requests from brands.

Under the new IP Joint-Force System, each participating brand will be assigned a dedicated online portal and Alibaba account manager to enhance collaboration, heighten transparency around IP enforcement efforts, and reinforce mutual understanding and trust. The system will enable Alibaba to directly and efficiently seek information from rights holders regarding suspected counterfeit product listings, which Alibaba, as a third-party marketplace, is unable to authenticate on its own with full certainty.

The system allows brands to identify the authenticity of a product and easily notify Alibaba of the infringing listing. Alibaba will then initiate the Good Faith Take down process and immediately remove the listing without required subsequent correspondence with the brand. This two-way communication stream is critical in creating a feedback loop that will continue to improve the speed and accuracy with which Alibaba is able to determine the authenticity of a product.

“The IP Joint-Force System is a revolutionary industry solution that will redefine how IP enforcement is conducted in the digital age – where brands and e-commerce marketplaces must work collectively and strategically to combat counterfeiters,” said Matthew Bassiur, Head of Global IP Enforcement, Alibaba Group. “This is one of several game-changing approaches that Alibaba will be advancing to both simplify and greatly enhance our overall enforcement process.”

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce and engage with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Contact:

Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd:

969 West Wen Yi Road
Yu Hang District
Hangzhou 311121
China
Tel: (+86) 571-8502-2088
Fax: (+86) 571-8526-9066

Source: Alibaba Group

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The securities class action lawsuit against Alibaba Group dismissed by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

San Francisco, 2016-Jun-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed in its entirety a consolidated securities class action lawsuit brought against Alibaba Group and several executives concerning disclosures primarily made in connection with the company’s initial public offering.

The Court dismissed the case based on a finding that Plaintiffs had failed to plead that Alibaba made any actionable misstatements or omissions, and also failed to plead facts sufficient to show that any of the defendants sought to defraud investors. The Court also found Alibaba’s Registration Statement to be “unusually comprehensive” and to “fully disclose[] all substantive investment risks.”

As Alibaba Group disclosed previously, seven shareholder class action lawsuits were filed against the company asserting claims of securities fraud under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act since January 30, 2015, following the release of the so-called “white paper” briefly published on the website of the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”).

The plaintiffs generally alleged that Alibaba’s Registration Statement, IPO prospectus, and various other public statements, were false and misleading because they failed to disclose heightened regulatory scrutiny by the SAIC prior to the company’s IPO.

Contrary to the plaintiff’s complaint, the Court found Alibaba’s disclosures to be “accurate and sufficiently candid” with regard to their description of the SAIC’s crackdown on violations of Chinese laws on e-commerce sites. The Court also held that Alibaba did not downplay the problem of counterfeit sales on its platforms or the likelihood of an administrative action with respect to such issue.

Alibaba is pleased that the judge in the Southern District of New York has dismissed the litigation and concluded that Plaintiffs have failed to state any claim for violation of the U.S. securities laws.

The lawsuits are docketed under the master caption Christine Asia Co., Ltd. et al. v. Alibaba Group Holding Limited et al., No. 1:15-md-02631-CM (S.D.N.Y.) in the Southern District of New York.

Contact:

Alibaba Group Corporate Campus
Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd:

969 West Wen Yi Road
Yu Hang District
Hangzhou 311121
China
Tel: (+86) 571-8502-2088
Fax: (+86) 571-8526-9066

Source: Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group announces appointment of Roland Palmer as managing director of Alibaba Group Netherlands

Roland Palmer to lead Alibaba Group Netherlands office, serving the Benelux region from Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM, 2016-May-13 — /EPR Retail News/ —  Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) today announced the appointment of Roland Palmer as managing director of Alibaba Group Netherlands and member of the Alibaba Group EU leadership team, effective immediately.

This senior management appointment and establishment of an Amsterdam, Netherlands office rounds out Alibaba Group’s expansion in the European market and provides a local contact for customers and partners in the Benelux region. The company’s European presence is a critical part of the company’s globalization strategy to serve as a “gateway to China” for international brands and businesses of all sizes. As a part of this international expansion and in order to better serve existing and future partners in Europe, the company has already opened country offices in Milan, Italy, Munich, Germany and Paris, France as well as expanding its presence in the UK.

“The Netherlands is a nation that has been built on successful international trade and export, both characteristics that fit well with our European business objectives,” said Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group. “In Europe, our top priority is to engage with existing local partners and help European brands, retailers, small businesses and government partners understand the opportunities China offers and how Alibaba can help them access this market. Roland has the experience and in-depth knowledge to successfully build teams and business capabilities for major international companies and we are fortunate to have him as part of our EU leadership team.”

The Netherlands office will assist current partners, local brands, retailers and government partners across Benelux who want to access the large and growing Chinese consumer base looking for high-quality international products and services. A “one-stop shop” for Benelux local business that will encompass the entire scope of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem, Alibaba’s Netherlands country office will help identify the most suitable local products for the Chinese market, help merchants sell on Alibaba’s platforms, assist with outbound and inbound logistics, and facilitate online transactions for Chinese consumers and tourists.

Well known for their excellent food and product safety standards, the Netherlands and Belgium export products which are sought after by Chinese consumers, including all types of high quality food items, especailly in the dairy, chocolate and alcoholic beverage categories, in addition to flowers, consumer electronics, household products, baby products and children’s toys.

Roland Palmer brings a wealth of experience in the global retail and omnichannel sector to this new role. Prior to joining Alibaba, he was CEO of Blokker Holding where he played a pivotal role in renovating store concepts and in transforming a traditional offline retail company into an omnichannel group. He previously worked as a strategy consultant for global managing consulting firm Bain & Company, helping Fortune 500 companies optimise their international operations. Roland has an MBA from IMD in Switzerland as well as a proven track record as a senior manager within top FMCG companies such as Coca Cola Netherlands and Unilever Foods UK.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Media Contacts

Molly Morgan
Alibaba Group
+44 20 7516 0683
mollymorgan@alibaba-inc.com

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Matthew Bassiur appointed VP Head of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement Alibaba Group

Bassiur to lead Alibaba Group’s industry-leading anti-counterfeiting efforts

Hangzhou, China, 2015-12-21 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today announced the appointment of Matthew Bassiur as Vice President, Head of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement, effective January 2016.

In this new role, Mr. Bassiur will lead a team that works with international brands and retail partners, industry associations, government regulators, law enforcement and other organizations to advance Alibaba Group’s anti-counterfeiting and IP rights protection efforts. He will report to Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group.

“Matthew’s appointment is the latest step in Alibaba Group’s comprehensive and industry-leading efforts to fight counterfeits,” said Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group. “Counterfeiting is a problem that challenges all forms of distribution, whether in e-commerce or offline retail. We will continue to be relentless in our long-term commitment to protect both consumers and intellectual property rights owners, and we call on all companies in our industry to join our fight against bad actors.”

Mr. Bassiur joins Alibaba Group from Pfizer Inc., where he served as the Vice President and Deputy Chief Security Officer. He oversaw Pfizer’s anti-counterfeiting operations, large-scale investigations into criminal activity, physical security and crisis management for North, Central and South America. Prior to Pfizer, he was Senior Director, Americas Region, and Counsel for IPR Enforcement at Apple, where his responsibilities included building and overseeing an investigative program into complex thefts, frauds, leaks, threats and cyber-related crimes, as well as developing and implementing Apple’s civil, criminal, and administrative anti-counterfeiting program.

Prior to joining Apple, Mr. Bassiur was a federal prosecutor in the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), where he prosecuted large-scale, multi-jurisdictional IP crimes and coordinated domestic and international IP enforcement training and outreach. During his tenure with the DOJ, Mr. Bassiur also served as the Intellectual Property Liaison to Industry for his section.

From 1998 to 2006, as an assistant district attorney in the Trial Division under Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Mr. Bassiur specialized in investigations and prosecution of New York’s trademark counterfeiting industry and Asian organized crime.

Mr. Bassiur was a United States Fulbright Scholar and, under the Fulbright Specialist Program, taught Intellectual Property law at Renmin University in Beijing, China. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia, School of Law in 1998 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. In 2007, he was the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Award for Distinguished Service as a Federal Government Official for his work in the field of IP investigations, prosecutions, education and outreach.

“Matthew makes a great addition to the Alibaba team,” said Michael Evans. “His expertise in IP rights protection, policy creation and enforcement, as well as his deep familiarity with China, will complement our dedicated IPR enforcement team in China and help us to continue to globalize as a company, working with our brand, industry and government partners worldwide.”

Alibaba Group leads the industry in the fight against counterfeiting and protecting intellectual property rights. Alibaba’s success is dependent on consumers having a positive shopping experience on its platforms. In the latest quarter ended September 30, 2015, Alibaba reported 386 million annual active shoppers on its China retail marketplace platforms, an increase of 19 million from the prior quarter. The company employs a broad range of strong measures to maintain the integrity of its marketplaces, including consumer protection funds and strict policies against illegitimate listings and poor quality merchants, ensuring that consumers continue to have a peace of mind when they shop on Alibaba’s platforms.

In the area of brand protection, Alibaba collaborates with brands and industry associations to streamline and expedite IP complaints and take-down procedures, including its Good-Faith Takedown program with 1,800 IP rights holders that participate with close cooperation from Alibaba.

Taking the fight to the root cause of counterfeits, Alibaba has been at the forefront through innovative and sophisticated programs and assistance of enforcement actions that are first of their kind in the e-commerce industry. These include:

  • Unique Product ID Code: Under a program called Blue Star, Alibaba works with manufacturers to print unique identifiers in the form of QR codes on products in order to enable the authentication and tracking of billions of products from cosmetics to fast-moving consumables to food items sold on Tmall and Taobao Marketplace. Consumers can scan the code using their mobile Taobao or Tmall shopping app to authenticate and verify the source of products and manufacturers. Manufacturers can track products sold through various distribution channels by tapping into product and location data on Alibaba’s cloud-based tracking system. For more information about the Blue Star program, see www2.alizila.com/alibaba-turning-lowly-qr-code-fakes-fighter.
  • Quality Manufacturing Program: Alibaba works with traditional OEM manufacturers in China to transform their operations into higher value-add manufacturing with original designs and brand building. The vision of the program is to transform “made-in-China” into “created-in-China.” These high-quality products, such as apparel, shoes, bags, baby products, household furniture and furnishings, are sold in a special channel,q.taobao.com, on Taobao Marketplace.
  • Assisting Law Enforcement: During 2015, Alibaba Group assisted law enforcement in counterfeit crack-down efforts that resulted in the arrest of over 200 criminal groups and seizure of over 300 warehouses and factories for counterfeit goods.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:

  • Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
  • Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
  • Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
  • Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel service platform
  • AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
  • Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
  • 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
  • AliCloud (www.alicloud.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs


Media Contacts
Robert H. Christie
Alibaba Group
+1 917 860 9410
bob.christie@alibaba-inc.com

Rachel Chan
Alibaba Group
+852 9400 0979
rachelchan@hk.alibaba-inc.com

SOURCE: Alibaba Group Holding Limited

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Alibaba Group appointments: Terry von Bibra to lead Germany and Sébastien Badault to lead France for Alibaba Group

Terry von Bibra to lead Germany and Sébastien Badault to lead France for Alibaba Group 

Paris and Munich, 2015-12-3 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) today announced the appointment of Terry von Bibra as managing director of Alibaba Group Germany and Sébastien Badault as managing director of Alibaba Group France, effective immediately.

The appointment of these two senior business leaders is another important milestone in Alibaba Group’s expansion in the European markets, a critical part of the company’s globalization strategy to serve as a “gateway to China” for international brands and businesses of all sizes. As a part of this international expansion and in order to better serve existing and future partners in Europe, the company will be opening country offices in Munich, Germany and Paris, France.

The Germany and France offices will assist current partners and local brands, retailers and government partners who want to access the large and growing Chinese consumer class looking for high-quality international products and services. A “one-stop shop” for local business that will encompass the entire scope of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem, Alibaba’s France and Germany country offices will help identify the most suitable local products for the Chinese market, help merchants sell on Alibaba’s platforms, assist with outbound and inbound logistics, and facilitate online payments for Chinese consumers and offline payments for Chinese tourists.

“In Europe, our top priority is to engage with existing local partners and help European brands, retailers, small businesses and government partners understand the opportunities China offers and how Alibaba can help them access this market,” said Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group. “We have hired strong leaders in Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. to connect the needs of local brands and merchants with the capabilities of our ecosystem. Both Terry and Sébastien have proven track records in successfully building teams and business capabilities for major international companies and we are thrilled to have them on board.”

Terry von Bibra brings a wealth of experience in the global omnichannel and e-commerce retail sector to this new role. Prior to joining Alibaba, he was Chief Retail Officer Omnichannel for German department store chain Karstadt. He previously played a pivotal role in establishing Amazon in Europe where he led online marketing and business development. Terry has also held multiple roles within Yahoo!, including Managing Director of Yahoo! Germany, Vice President of Central Europe and Vice President Marketplaces for Yahoo! EMEA.

Sébastien Badault has been running French operations for international online and e-commerce brands for the past 15 years. As one of the first employees for both Amazon France and Google France, Sébastien drove sales and marketing teams to build local market share and enhance the online ecosystems for each organization. Most recently, he was responsible for the development of Google’s strategic customers in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa as Global Account Director. Prior to joining Google, Sébastien held the role of European Business Development Manager for Amazon.

Both Sébastien and Terry report directly to Michael Evans.

For background on Alibaba’s business model, strategy, and products and services, please visit Alibaba Defined.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:

  • Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
  • Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
  • Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
  • Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
  • AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
  • Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
  • 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
  • AliCloud (www.alicloud.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs

Media Contacts

Molly Morgan
Alibaba Group
+44 (0)20 7516 0683
mollymorgan@eu.alibaba-inc.com

Robert H. Christie
Alibaba Group
+1 917 860 9410
bob.christie@alibaba-inc.com

SOURCE: Alibaba Group Holding Limited