CHINA. Online retail giant Alibaba Group Holdings yesterday posted a +59% increase in revenues for the quarter ended 30 June to RMB32.15 billion (US$4.8 billion) as the Chinese passion for online shopping gathered dramatic momentum.
Alibaba controls the world’s leading online retail platforms, including Taobao Marketplace and T-Mall.co. It is widely recognised as the single greatest competitive threat to Chinese spending in travel retail worldwide as it develops an extraordinary following among Mainland Chinese consumers.
China retail marketplaces revenue climbed +49% to RMB23,383 million (US$3,518 million). Mobile revenue of China retail marketplaces surged +119% to RMB17,514 million (US$2,635 million), representing 75% of the e-commerce giant’s China retail marketplaces revenue.
“Alibaba Group had an outstanding quarter,” said Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang. “Our results show the scale and leverage of our ecosystem, as we strengthen our competitive positions in core commerce, cloud computing and digital media and entertainment.
“The acceleration of our revenue growth reflects the deep value propositions that we bring to our customers. We are changing the way our 434 million active buyers engage with our platform, as we introduce social, community and personalization driven by smart data into our e-commerce marketplaces, realizing our vision of ‘Live@Alibaba’. We are poised for strong profitable growth into the future.”
“We delivered excellent results this quarter. The 59% revenue growth for the company overall and the 49% revenue growth of our China retail marketplaces represent the highest growth rates we’ve achieved since our IPO [in 2013 -Ed],” said Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu. “We passed an important milestone this quarter in achieving higher monetization of mobile users than non-mobile users for the first time, reflecting the success of our strategy to stay ahead of the curve by embracing mobile.
“As we demonstrate from our segmental disclosure, our results reflect the unrivalled strength of our core commerce business, as well as the accelerating traction we are seeing from our cloud computing and digital media and entertainment businesses.”
During June, daily active users launched the Taobao App an average of seven times a day and users posted more than 20 million reviews and comments a day. In July, Taobao hosted its inaugural Taobao Maker Festival, which focuses on TAO (Technology, Art and Originality) and highlights young entrepreneurs who develop products for a new generation of young consumers who want to shop for things that are innovative, artistic and original.
More than 8,700 new branded stores opened on Tmall in the June quarter, including Sunglass Hut, Clé de Peau and Hasbro.
Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com is the leading platform for global wholesale trade. It serves millions of buyers and suppliers around the world across more than 40 major categories, including consumer electronics, machinery and apparel.
