字节跳动2019年收入目标至少1000亿 – Jiemian
What happened: Bytedance, the parent company of content aggregator Jinri Toutiao and short video app Douyin is looking to increase its revenue in 2019 to RMB 100 billion (about $15 billion), media outlet Jiemian reports, quoting several Bytedance employees with knowledge of the matter. The target is a big jump from the RMB 50 billion the company aimed for last year. Also increased are the targets of some employees in the sales department, which doubled near the end of 2018, a Bytedance employee told Jiemian. When reached by TechNode, Bytedance declined to comment.
Why it’s important: Bytedance has been making considerable efforts to extend its reach in overseas markets with the international version of Douyin, TikTok. The company has increased its channel sales team from four to 10 in the second half of last year, focusing mainly on markets in Asia, Europe, and the US. With TikTok going neck and neck with rivals like Instagram in some Asian markets and showing signs of overtaking them, it is not impossible for the company to reach its revenue goal this year.