Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has implemented structural changes to its business, according to an internal letter from Tmall and Taobao President Jiang Fan, which will in part strengthen focus on its growing customer-to-manufacturer (C2M) business.
Why it matters: The restructuring highlights the importance of the new C2M business model as the company strives to maintain growth for its core e-commerce business.
- Alibaba rivals like Pinduoduo and JD.com also launched their own C2M product lines.
Details: Taobao and Tmall President Jiang Fan announced the changes effective Dec. 2 in an internal letter, according to a Chinese media report. Alibaba did not respond to a TechNode request for comment on Wednesday.
- Taobao has launched a business division focused on the new C2M model.
- Tmall has set up two new business divisions. One is comprised of the consumer electronics, home furnishings, and auto parts categories to be headed by Yang Guang, former manager of Tmall’s consumer electronics department.
- The second is dedicated to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and apparel, headed by Hu Weixiong, former manager of Tmall’s consumption department.
- The new heads of these two Tmall divisions report directly to Jiang Fan.
- Alibaba called the reshuffle a structural upgrade in a response to Chinese media. “The only constant is change itself,” the firm said.
Context: Alibaba debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange for its long-awaited secondary listing on on Nov. 26, raising $12.9 billion from its offering of 575 million new shares.
- Alibaba reported in early November a better-than-expected 40% annual rise in revenue for the e-commerce giant’s second fiscal quarter ended September 2019, driven by its core e-commerce and cloud businesses.
- Juhuasuan, the company’s group-buying and flash-sale platform, rolled out in October Changxiaotong, a digital solution for manufacturers to better adapt to the C2M model.