Company case 3 Alibaba
Questions for Discussion
17-18 As a digital retailer, how does Alibaba provide value to Chinese consumers? What sets
of values are unique to the Chinese market?
17-19 Given that Alibaba does not own or distribute any of the merchandise exchanged on
its sites, describe what fac- tors had to develop for the company to succeed.
17–20 Analyze Alibaba’s business model relative to all the different forms of digital and
online marketing covered in this chapter.
17-21 Can Alibaba succeed in countries outside of China? Why or why not?
Company Case Alibaba: The World’s Largest E-tailer Is Not Amazon
– New king of e-commerce → Not Amazon → Alibaba
– China-based → sold more than $485 billion worth of goods and services last year
– Rapidly building an online empire → Business range
o Traditional online marketplace
o Online investment services
– As successful as Amazon has been, its annual sales of $107 billion are but a fraction
of what Alibaba pulled in.
– Alibaba surpassed Walmart to become the largest company on the planet.
Unlikely Beginnings
– Jack Ma is an unlikely figure to be atop of one of the world’s most powerful
companies.
– U.S. tech start-up
o California garages
o College dropout, have a knowledge base
– Ma → Growing up in Shanghai, Ma did poorly in school.
o He failed the college entrance exam twice but completed a teaching degree.
o Learned English by tourists and listening to radio broadcasts.
o Ma was rejected for a number of jobs
o Animated and energetic, big goals and ambitions → “Crazy Jack.”
o China’s export boom 1990s → Ma started a translation company.
