Jack Ma calls on Alibaba employees to embrace change in rare memo, as the e-commerce giant loses momentum to rival PDD
- The founder and retired chairman of Alibaba congratulates rival PDD for its decisions, execution and efforts in the past few years
- The memo comes as the market value of PDD has surged to US$185 billion, just slightly below Alibaba’s US$195 billion
Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba Group Holding who remains the spiritual leader of the tech giant despite keeping a distance from day-to-day business, has written a rare internal memo, encouraging staff to embrace change and stick to the company’s original vision.
“I believe that everyone at Alibaba today is watching and listening,” Ma wrote. “I firmly believe that Alibaba will change and adapt. All great companies are born in winter.”
“I have to congratulate PDD for their decisions, execution and efforts in the past few years,” he continued. “Everyone can be successful at some point, but only those who can change for the future and are willing to pay any price [to reach that goal] can be respected. Let’s go back to our mission and vision. Keep it up, Alibaba people!”
The memo comes as the market value of PDD has surged to US$185 billion, just slightly below Alibaba’s US$195 billion, after its US-listed American depositary shares gained 18 per cent at market close on Tuesday.
