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Alibaba reorganises back-end operations of core Chinese online retail platforms Taobao, Tmall amid increased competition
- Three new operation centres have been set up for both Taobao and Tmall, focused on platform strategies, user expansion and industrial development for merchants
- This marks the first major initiative by Trudy Dai Shan, head of Alibaba’s new China digital commerce unit
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Alibaba Group Holding has restructured the back-end operations of its core Chinese online retail platforms Taobao Marketplace and Tmall, as the e-commerce giant moves to bolster its lead in the world’s second-largest economy amid increased competition and tightened regulation.
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The reorganisation involves the establishment of three new operation centres for both Taobao and Tmall that are focused on platform strategies, user expansion and industrial development for merchants, according to a report on Thursday by state-run newspaper People’s Daily, citing an internal Alibaba letter. Hangzhou-based Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, confirmed the report on Friday, but declined to comment further.
That new set-up, which took effect immediately, is expected to sharpen the two platforms’ attention on user experience and encourage so-called mechanism innovation, according to the report. It said the designated leaders of those three centres will report directly to Trudy Dai Shan, head of Alibaba’s new China digital commerce unit, which combines the company’s consumer-facing and wholesale marketplaces.
It marks the first major initiative by Dai, a member of Alibaba’s co-founding team, in her new role, a month after the biggest management reshuffle at the company in recent times. Dai, who has worked across multiple business segments in Alibaba, is known inside the company as Su Quan, one of the most powerful female martial artists in novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung’s kung fu masterpiece The Deer and the Cauldron.
The stakes have been raised for Alibaba, as it eyes China consumption, globalisation and advances in technology to drive future growth after a challenging 2021, which saw the company weather increased regulatory scrutiny and stronger competition.
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