On April 10, Ma Yun retired 5 years ago, and this time he published a post entitled "To Reform and Innovation" on the intranet, which set off a hot discussion on the whole network, which was once on the hot search on Weibo.
In the post, Jack Ma highly praised the courage of the new management team composed of Tsai Chongxin and Wu Yongming, saying that Alibaba has returned to a healthy growth track and supports continued reform.
Thinking about last year, it was also at this point in time, Ma Yun appeared in Hangzhou, and the next day Ali immediately released the biggest organizational structure adjustment in 24 years, shaping Ali Group into a new model of "1+6+N".
I have to say that since Jack Ma officially resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Group, Alibaba's stock price has continued to fall for several years, and now it is not a quarter of that year.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
Although Jack Ma's post on the intranet this time is to affirm Alibaba's business changes and policy reforms in the past year, the voice may reflect that Alibaba may face some "dangers".
1+6+N, Ali focuses on its core business
In March last year, Alibaba underwent a major organizational restructuring and adopted a new model of "1+6+N".
"1" stands for Alibaba Group, which is the core platform responsible for strategic planning and management, resource allocation and risk control for the entire group.
"6" represents the core business departments of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Cainiao, Freshippo, Ali International Digital Business, Local Life, and Dawen Entertainment.
It has also made it clear that it will consider promoting the independent listing of these business groups once the conditions are ripe for listing.
The "N" stands for other business companies, which are important strategic investments in Alibaba Group, including Alibaba Health, Sun Art Retail, Yintai Retail, Freshippo, Quark, etc.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
Judging from Alibaba's financial reports in the past few years, to a certain extent, it shows the negative impact of blind expansion on the core business.
The China commercial segment has been the core pillar of Alibaba's revenue, accounting for 69% of the total.
However, in recent years, the revenue of this part of the business has declined. Although the direct business was positive year-on-year, all other items declined, mainly due to the revenue supported by the direct business of Hema and Ali Health.
From the perspective of GMV, the GMV of Taobao and Tmall also declined. Among them, the weak demand for apparel category is the main reason for the decline in GMV.
This shows that Alibaba has neglected the stability and development of its core business to a certain extent when expanding other businesses, resulting in a certain degree of impact on its core business.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
Previously, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Cainiao, and Freshippo, as one of the six major business groups, had planned to completely spin off from Alibaba Group and complete the listing.
However, in view of various uncertainties, Alibaba has suspended the spin-off and listing of these core businesses, and instead shifted to focus on the strategic synergy of several core businesses.
At the same time, Alibaba will resolutely increase its continuous strategic investment in Alibaba Cloud to ensure that Alibaba Cloud focuses on the "AI + Cloud Computing" development strategy and builds leading cloud computing services in the AI era.
Taobao is in an awkward position, compared to Pinduoduo and JD.com
As an e-commerce giant owned by Alibaba, Taobao Tmall Commerce has hundreds of millions of active users in China, providing a full range of shopping experiences such as goods, services, entertainment and social interaction through platforms such as Taobao and Tmall.
Taobao was once the pioneer and leader of the Chinese market in the e-commerce sector, but with the rise of rising stars such as Pinduoduo and JD.com, its competitiveness in different market segments has gradually shown shortcomings.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
In the low-end market, Taobao faces fierce competition from Pinduoduo.
With its unique social e-commerce model, Pinduoduo has attracted a large number of price-sensitive consumers through low prices, group buying, sharing, etc.
Pinduoduo's success lies in its ability to accurately grasp the demand characteristics of the low-end market, that is, consumers' high sensitivity to price and the pursuit of cost performance.
In contrast, Taobao's price advantage in the low-end market is not obvious, and it lacks social interaction elements like Pinduoduo, which is difficult to attract consumers to share and fission.
Even on November 29 last year, Pinduoduo's U.S. stock market capitalization surpassed Alibaba's, with Pinduoduo's market value of $191.9 billion and Alibaba's $191.5 billion on that day.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
In the mid-to-high-end market, Taobao is facing strong competitive pressure from JD.com.
JD.com has won the trust of many consumers who pursue quality and service with its service advantages such as authenticity guarantee, fast logistics, and high-quality after-sales service.
In the mid-to-high-end market, consumers have higher requirements for product quality, after-sales service and shopping experience, and JD.com relies on these advantages to meet these needs.
The quality of Taobao's products in the mid-to-high-end market is uneven, and it is difficult to ensure the quality of after-sales service, which makes consumers may have doubts when shopping, so as to choose the more reliable JD.com.
In general, Taobao is challenged by Pinduoduo in the low-end market, and faces pressure from JD.com in the mid-to-high-end market.
As a giant in the e-commerce industry under Alibaba, which is also the most popular now, the current situation is indeed slightly embarrassing.
Ali's problem, "too much focus on customers"
According to the internal letter released by Ma Yun this time, Ma Yun highly affirmed the courage of the new management composed of Tsai Chongxin and Wu Yongming, saying that the core change of Alibaba is not to catch up with KPIs, but to recognize itself, return to the track of customer value, and support continued reform.
This is also the first time in five years that Jack Ma has shared his thoughts on the company's reform and innovation and future prospects after retirement.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
●Source: Weibo
Liu Run, a well-known business consultant, once said: "Alibaba's problem is not that we forget our customers, but that we pay too much attention to them." ”
"Customers" are the direct objects of consumption, but they are not necessarily the "users" who actually experience them.
Quite simply, the "user" has a good experience, which becomes the reason for the "customer" to spend money.
Alibaba's "customers" are the large and small merchants stationed on Taobao and Tmall.
Alibaba's "users" are the majority of consumers.
The consumer who enters the door is the reason why the seller who enters the door pays. For sellers, there is an endless stream of customers, so it is natural to pay willingly. The presence and number of buyers is a key factor in their decision to continue paying.
As long as there are buyers, the cost of entry is naturally not a problem for sellers.
This picture is from Alibaba's 2023 financial annual report.
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
●Source: Alibaba's 2023 financial report
Alibaba's customer revenue last year, that is, advertising, commissions, and other business services, reached 300 billion!
Just imagine, under the huge benefits, who is not so excited that they want to immediately make a decision of "whoever gives high advertising fees, and where to push consumers".
At this time, who can still take care of the conscientious choice of "which merchant has the most affordable price and reliable products"?
Ma Yun rarely spoke out, Ali is in danger!
● Source: Internet
If customers "cut leeks" with prices, and the platform does not intervene, users will defect to Pinduoduo.
Similarly, if the customer's product quality is not up to par, then "Taotian" may have to prepare for a frontal attack by JD.com!
In the final analysis, the positioning of "Taotian" has gradually been slowly laid down by Pinduoduo and JD.com, which are clearly positioned, and I wonder if this reorganization of the core business can allow Ali to survive this "invisible" crisis?
epilogue
Ma Yun once said: "Today is cruel, tomorrow is even more cruel, and the day after tomorrow is beautiful, but the vast majority of people die tomorrow night and cannot see the sun the day after tomorrow." ”
In these competitive and stressful times, people often feel lost and confused. Faced with life's challenges, sometimes I feel fearful and powerless to cope.
However, it is Jack Ma's extraordinary diligence that has led him to remarkable business achievements by devoting more than ten hours a day to his career, and even at critical moments, he has been able to stay up for months on end.
Jack Ma's long article is not only a recognition of Ali's efforts in the past year, but also a transmission of spirit.
Even in this fast-changing business world, as long as you stay true to your original intention and always put your customers first, you can find your own path to growth and create a steady and sustainable path to success.
