Advertisement
Alibaba
TechBig Tech

Alibaba shows strong momentum during 618 shopping festival, as chairman Joe Tsai eyes return to double-digit revenue growth

  • About 185 brands – including Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei – have each achieved more than US$13.8 million in gross merchandise value on Taobao and Tmall
  • Some 37,000 other brands have doubled sales year on year on those platforms during the initial period of promotions, preliminary sales data show

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce apps Taobao and Tmall are at the forefront of the company’s 618 shopping festival promotions. Photo: Reuters
Ann Caoin Shanghai
Alibaba Group Holding’s sales campaign for this year’s 618 shopping festival is seeing strong momentum, according to preliminary data from the firm’s Taobao and Tmall platforms, helping boost the Chinese e-commerce giant’s prospects of returning to double-digit revenue growth by 2027.
Advertisement
About 185 brands – including major smartphone vendors Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies – have each achieved more than 100 million yuan (US$13.8 million) in gross merchandise value, while 37,000 other brands doubled sales year on year as of 9pm on May 31, the latest data released by Alibaba e-commerce unit Taobao and Tmall Group showed. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

In the highly competitive cosmetics sector, brands on Tmall have so far stood out during the 618 shopping festival. Local brand Shanghai Hanshu Cosmetics, for example, reported a 126 per cent year-on-year increase in sales from May 20 to 28, part of the initial period of promotions for the midyear shopping festival. Alibaba’s 618 campaign will conclude on June 20.

The preliminary data augurs well for Alibaba, whose co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai recently said the Hangzhou-based company will see double-digit revenue growth during its financial year ending March 2027.
The midyear 618 shopping festival, which was initiated by JD.com in 2010, has become mainland China’s second-biggest retail extravaganza behind Singles’ Day in the fourth quarter. Illustration: Shutterstock
The midyear 618 shopping festival, which was initiated by JD.com in 2010, has become mainland China’s second-biggest retail extravaganza behind Singles’ Day in the fourth quarter. Illustration: Shutterstock
“From a planning standpoint, on a three-year time horizon, we’d like to be growing double digits by our fiscal year 2027,” Tsai said on May 23 during a fireside chat with Kam Shing Kwang, JPMorgan’s chairwoman for North Asia and vice-chair of investment banking in Greater China.
Advertisement

Tsai indicated that Alibaba does not see either geopolitical or regulatory factors as potential stumbling blocks. “We’re in a stable regulatory environment [where] regulation is quite predictable,” he said.

Advertisement