Alibaba

[weijian]

In Western capitalism, you get big (and stay there) for some time, and get better/stronger over time. But in capitalism with Chinese characteristics, it seems like you get big but don't stay there for long. In short time, your competitor/s copy you and then overtake you.

Is this a Chinese thing? Or is it just vaguely proving that e-commerce has no moat in this part of the world?

Alibaba, navigating sea change, reorients business towards bread-and-butter e-commerce and AI, pares down overhaul

Alibaba has made dramatic changes to its corporate restructuring plan as founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai return to the driver’s seat

“We have fallen behind because we forgot who our real customers are,” Tsai said. “Our customers are the users who use our apps [for] shopping, and we did not give them the best experience. In a way, we stepped on our own foot and did not focus on where we can add value.”

In addition to impressing investors, PDD has also proved popular among consumers for the attractive pricing of its products. “Alibaba realised that its bread-and-butter business was under serious threat,” according to a source who was briefed on internal discussions.

“Alibaba didn’t have a solid track record under the previous leadership of Daniel Zhang,” said Chelsey Tam, a senior analyst at Morningstar. “For example, the firm wasn’t able to prevent PDD Holdings from overtaking Taobao and Tmall Group as the largest Chinese e-commerce platform by annual customers transacting on a platform.”

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/artic...d-ai-pares