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From a startup to a global business empire, Alibaba Group has revolutionized the retail and payment ecosystem, becoming a key driver of the global digital economy. Today, we delve into Alibaba Group.
Founded by Jack Ma in Hangzhou, Alibaba Group initially began as a B2B e-commerce platform, gradually expanding into diverse e-commerce sectors such as C2C and B2C. It also innovatively introduced fintech services like Alipay. In 2014, Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the world's most valuable internet companies, marking its significant position on the global business map. With the mission of “making it easy to do business anywhere,” Alibaba has grown into the largest e-commerce company in China and globally since its establishment in 1999. The group operates a range of industry-leading online and mobile platforms, with businesses spanning retail, wholesale trade, and cloud computing services.
Alibaba Group owns a vast array of subsidiaries and affiliates, including Alibaba B2B, Taobao, Tmall, eTao, Alibaba Cloud, and Alipay, creating a massive digital economy ecosystem. Notably, Taobao and Tmall achieved a combined sales figure of 1.1 trillion RMB in 2012, surpassing Amazon and eBay’s total, earning them the title of “the greatest marketplace in the world” by The Economist.
Many of our international friends may have heard of Jack Ma and know Alibaba primarily for Alipay and Taobao. Today, we will take a deeper dive into Alibaba Group.
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Alibaba’s business is divided into seven major categories: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Services, Cainiao, Cloud Computing, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives. First, let’s focus on China Commerce, which includes well-known platforms such as Taobao and Tmall. Alibaba Group’s China Commerce division covers both retail and wholesale sectors, represented by flagship platforms like Taobao, Tmall, and 1688. In the first three quarters of the 2023 fiscal year, this segment achieved a revenue of 446.66 billion RMB, accounting for 69% of the group’s total revenue, highlighting its crucial role as the company’s primary revenue driver.
Cloud computing is the core technology of Alibaba, driving business growth. In 2020, Alibaba integrated DingTalk into Aliyun, enhancing the synergy of cloud services. By the end of 2022, Aliyun's strategic position was elevated, with Zhang Yong personally leading the initiative.
Aliyun’s revenue grew from 1.271 billion yuan in 2015 to 74.568 billion yuan in 2022, an increase of over 58 times. Since 2021, the growth rate has slowed down, with revenue reaching 58.621 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2023, a year-on-year growth rate of 5.4%. In Q4 of 2022, Aliyun’s revenue was 20.179 billion yuan, accounting for 8.1% of total revenue. The internet sector saw a 9% growth, accounting for 53%, but revenue from internet clients declined by 4%. Aliyun’s overseas business has grown rapidly, with a tenfold increase in the past three years.
Part 3 :1688 Global Wholesale Network 1688.com
1688 is Alibaba's e-commerce platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), launched in June 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. As China's leading integrated domestic wholesale trading platform, 1688 primarily targets online transactions between small businesses. It serves global markets and covers 16 major industries including raw materials, industrial products, clothing, home goods, and small commodities, offering a range of supply services from raw material procurement, production, and wholesale to spot goods. The platform has gone through the following milestones:
1688 focuses on wholesale and procurement, serving 16 major industries. The platform connects manufacturers with consumers, allowing for direct factory price purchases and saving costs by eliminating middlemen, meeting the sourcing needs of global customers. 1688 brings together upstream and downstream industries including manufacturing equipment, raw materials, design, and logistics, helping buyers access high-quality products directly from their origin while offering sellers opportunities to improve competitiveness and reduce costs. The platform mainly serves small businesses, private enterprises, and individual entrepreneurs, making it ideal for individual entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large retailers to replenish their stocks.
As an important platform in global cross-border e-commerce, 1688 offers significant price advantages, especially for bulk purchasing. Due to its wholesale nature, prices on 1688 are usually more competitive than retail markets. Additionally, Alibaba's real-name authentication and strict merchant review mechanisms ensure the security and reliability of transactions.
Taobao is one of the largest online shopping platforms in China and is owned by Alibaba Group. Established in May 2003 by Alibaba, Taobao is the largest online retail and business circle in the Asia-Pacific region. It is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in China, with nearly 600 million registered users, more than 80 million daily visitors, and over 900 million online products. On average, 54,000 items are sold per minute.
Originally a C2C (Consumer to Consumer) platform, Taobao later expanded to include B2C (Business to Consumer) and other e-commerce services. The platform offers a wide variety of products to meet diverse consumer needs and has fostered the growth of small businesses and individual sellers.
As Taobao’s scale and user base grew, it evolved from a simple C2C marketplace to a comprehensive retail circle that now includes C2C, group buying, distribution, auctions, and other e-commerce models. It has become one of the largest e-commerce transaction platforms globally.
In recent years, Taobao’s performance in international markets has improved significantly, especially after the introduction of strategic upgrades and service optimizations targeting overseas markets. Since launching the "Global Free Shipping Plan" for clothing in July, the overseas sales of participating merchants have increased nearly 500 times. In August, the overseas transaction volume in the Taobao fashion category grew by nearly 40%, and merchants involved in the global shipping program saw their overseas sales grow by nearly 90% year-on-year. These results highlight the effectiveness of Taobao's global expansion strategy and its role in boosting the international influence of Chinese brands and designs.
In the 2024 fiscal year, Alibaba Group's international digital business unit achieved a 46% revenue growth, making it the fastest-growing segment of the group. This indicates that Taobao and its sister platforms are increasingly competitive in the global e-commerce market. Through strategic upgrades and a lightweight overseas model, Taobao has simplified the process for merchants expanding internationally, reduced operating costs, and provided localized services, further driving its growth in the international market.
Future Trends of Taobao: In the future, Taobao will integrate online and offline shopping, creating a new retail model that offers the convenience of online ordering combined with offline experiences to meet personalized consumer needs. Meanwhile, Taobao will expand its overseas market, offering more international products and services to domestic users while providing cross-border logistics and after-sales support to enhance the cross-border shopping experience. In the area of social e-commerce, Taobao will increase user interaction and recommendations to improve platform stickiness and stimulate market demand growth. These three areas will drive Taobao’s continuous efforts to meet the diverse needs of consumers and maintain its competitive edge.
Linkallbuy: Your Partner for Global Sourcing and E-Commerce Expansion
Leveraging the powerful Alibaba Group platform, whether through 1688 or Taobao, finding reliable, efficient, and cost-effective sourcing channels has become a core challenge for every seller. Linkallbuy helps sellers source products directly from the source by connecting the two key Chinese e-commerce platforms, 1688 and Taobao. The platform offers wholesale prices, eliminating middlemen and supporting services like Amazon PBA and warehouse-to-warehouse logistics to ensure sellers can obtain quality products at the most competitive prices. The platform covers a wide range of product categories, from daily necessities to electronics, home goods, and more, catering to the needs of cross-border e-commerce sellers across 16 industries.
As the best platform for sourcing, Linkallbuy not only helps sellers find high-quality products quickly but also offers dropshipping services with global logistics support. Sellers do not need to hold inventory, and can ship products directly to customers, enabling zero-inventory operations and reducing business risks.
Linkallbuy is the preferred platform for global sellers to source products, find reliable suppliers, and set up stores on platforms like Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Ozon, and more. Whether you are starting your own small business or expanding on a global scale, Linkallbuy provides a one-stop solution to help you easily get started or quickly scale your international market.
We offer full support, including wholesale prices, customized packaging, global logistics, and dropshipping services, to help your cross-border e-commerce business expand globally with low costs and high efficiency. With Linkallbuy, you can directly source products from China, eliminating middleman markups, and easily launch your cross-border e-commerce business.
Linkallbuy supports multiple languages, so you don’t need to worry about language barriers and can easily sell globally. Whether you need to find suppliers, shoot product videos, customize packaging, or require dropshipping services, we provide professional solutions that allow you to focus on brand promotion and market expansion.
Register as a Linkallbuy member now, get exclusive discount coupons, and start your own cross-border e-commerce business! Visit our website at www.linkallbuy.com and let us help you realize your global sales dream.
As B2B and cross-border e-commerce platforms, Alibaba.com and AliExpress mainly cater to global wholesalers and overseas customers. However, in recent years, their growth has stabilized, with a slowing growth rate. Part of this trend is due to changes in global market demand and the rise of emerging platforms, making businesses' choices of cross-border e-commerce platforms more diverse.
In particular, AliExpress faces fierce competition from domestic Chinese e-commerce platforms (such as TikTok, Kwai, Shein, etc.). These platforms have quickly attracted a large number of consumers with the advantages of short videos and social e-commerce, impacting AliExpress's market share. At the same time, the strong user base and localized services of domestic platforms have made it challenging for AliExpress to break through its bottleneck, with slower progress in its development.
Compared to AliExpress, Linkallbuy's core advantage lies in offering source-based procurement, directly connecting with manufacturers to help sellers purchase goods at lower factory prices, avoiding intermediate links. Linkallbuy also provides one-stop services, including global logistics, customized packaging, and dropshipping, offering more flexibility. In addition, Linkallbuy focuses on supporting sellers to enter multiple e-commerce platforms (such as OZON, Amazon, etc.), providing comprehensive support like product photography and quality inspections, helping sellers reduce costs and increase competitiveness.
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