SUMMARY

In one day, Alibaba announced two investments, totaling at least US$300 million, that enable the company to accomplish two separate but significant goals: to move up the value chain to integrate luxury products and flash sales into its Tmall.com site and to continue its geographic expansion by increasing its investment in SingPost, the leading mail-delivery company in Singapore. Alibaba’s investment in China-based Mei.com will enable Tmall to increase its offering of luxury brands and enable Mei.com to accelerate its growth through access to Tmall’s infrastructure.

MEI.COM INVESTMENT DETAILS

On July 7, Alibaba announced an investment in Mei.com, which it describes as China’s leading flash-sales platform for luxury and fashion products. While the terms of the investment were not officially disclosed, Chinese media reported that Alibaba is making an investment of more than US$100 million for a majority stake in the company. Alibaba expects the combination to improve the function of Mei.com’s supply chain for sales of limited-time, discounted products from well-known international and fashion brands to Chinese consumers. Alibaba plans to contribute resources from its business-to-consumer platform, Tmall, to help Mei.com grow its user base and portfolio of brands, as well as its logistics and IT infrastructure. At the same time, Tmall will be able to expand its portfolio of affordable luxury goods through the addition of Mei.com’s luxury brands. Mei.com runs a flash-sales business model in which luxury goods are offered at a discount for a limited time. Sales begin every day at 9:00 a.m., and feature genuine products at discounted prices. Mei.com has offered goods from more than 2,400 global brands, and has partnered exclusively with 280 well-known international brands, including Armani, Guerlain, Longchamp, Michael Kors, Roger Vivier, Trussardi, Tumi, Versace and Zegna. Mei.com’s home page features hot deals, new arrivals that are discounted up to 90%, and special sales events offering discounts on men’s, women’s, kids’ and household products. In addition, the home page highlights hot sellers and provides information on future sales.

SELECTED RECENT ALIBABA INVESTMENTS

Alibaba has publicly announced five recent investments in several areas of retailing, media and technology:

Source: Company reports

Alibaba’s major businesses include:

Source: Company reports