On 21 November, two stories rocked China’s ecommerce scene, with global implications.

In this episode, we discuss the first story: Alibaba Group’s announcement to merge its domestic Chinese and international ecommerce businesses into the new Alibaba E-Commerce Business Group, led by Jiang Fan.

This move aims to streamline operations, foster synergies, and better position Alibaba against formidable rivals like Pinduoduo.

(The second story—PDD Group’s Q3 earnings miss—is covered in episode 102.)

In this episode, we explore:

Jiang Fan's journey from a mobile advertising entrepreneur to a pivotal leader at Alibaba;
Challenges of navigating leadership amidst corporate restructuring;
The significance of this merger in a rapidly evolving ecommerce landscape;
How this merger mirrors Pinduoduo and Temu’s strategy

The ecommerce competition in China and globally is entering a very interesting and probably even more intensified phase now.

Chapters:

00:00:20: Alibaba’s ecommerce merger

00:00:50: Who is Jiang Fan?

00:08:30: Transforming Alibaba, and its reversals

00:11:45: Challenges of leading a big organization

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