• Reuters reports that Chinas e-commerce giant Alibaba "is trumpeting a push into bricks-and-mortar shopping. It’s not alone but the stakes are particularly high for the $392 billion giant led by Jack Ma as it marks a reversal of the asset-light model which fueled its extraordinary profitability."
According to the story, "Ma's so-called 'New Retail' strategy envisions marrying two worlds. The basic idea is that Alibaba will now build some of its own test stores from scratch and upgrade existing brick-and-mortar shops in partnership with established retailers to make them more efficient in both online and offline sales."
There is a sense, the story says, that Alibaba's online revenue model may be "reaching its limits," and the shift suggests that "Alibaba is asset agnostic rather than asset light."
According to the story, "Ma's so-called 'New Retail' strategy envisions marrying two worlds. The basic idea is that Alibaba will now build some of its own test stores from scratch and upgrade existing brick-and-mortar shops in partnership with established retailers to make them more efficient in both online and offline sales."
There is a sense, the story says, that Alibaba's online revenue model may be "reaching its limits," and the shift suggests that "Alibaba is asset agnostic rather than asset light."
- KC's View:
