Alibaba, once a beacon of Chinese e-commerce success, now faces challenges that have damaged its reputation. In 2021, the company was fined $2.8bn by the government for monopolistic practices. Co-founder Jack Ma stepped back from the spotlight, adding to concerns.
Competitors like PDD and ByteDance have thrived by catering to budget-conscious consumers and adapting to new trends like “social commerce.” As a result, Alibaba’s market value dropped below $170bn in late 2022. To combat this decline, Alibaba made a strategic decision to split into six separate entities in March of the following year. These included a logistics business (Cainiao), a cloud computing division (Aliyun), an international e-commerce arm (including platforms like AliExpress), a digital services company (including food delivery app Ele.me), and a small media group. Alibaba proper retained its domestic retail operations, focused on Taobao and Tmall, which generate the majority of the company’s revenue.