This week, Alibaba unveiled its ambitious vision of growing its e-commerce business in Southeast Asia to $100 billion (approximately 7,60,140 crore) in sales, as well as its commitment to achieving this. carbon neutral in its operations by 2030.
China’s largest e-commerce company revealed a vision on Friday for its Southeast Asian e-commerce arm Lazada in presentation slides uploaded to its website for its annual Investor Day, where it typically shares revenue figures and the future strategy of its business units with investors. Alibaba’s top CEO, Daniel Zhang, also outlined his carbon emissions targets in a presentation Friday.
Lazada’s plan to increase the total volume of goods by fivefold – defined as the total amount of sales transacted on its platform – comes as the Chinese company looks to sources of growth abroad amid the Competition is increasing and the economy is slowing down in the Chinese market.
Alibaba Finally, Lazada aims to serve 300 million consumers, according to the slides.
The Hangzhou-based company took a controlling stake in Lazada in 2016, before investing an additional $2 billion (about Rs 15,200) to expand its business in 2018.
Alibaba’s incoming CFO Toby Xu said in a presentation Friday that its China commerce segment has faced “short-term challenges in terms of the slowing macro environment.” and the level of competition is increasing”.
This has resulted in slower GMV and revenue growth in the most recent quarter, he said. “But we also see an opportunity to enter new addressable markets to grow new users that will position us well over the long term.”
Currently, Lazada’s total merchandise inventory for the past 12 months from September 2021 reaches $21 billion (approximately Rs 1,59,630), with 159 million monthly active users.
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a separate presentation Friday that the company sees “huge potential in the international market” going forward.
“In Southeast Asia, the e-commerce penetration rate is only 11 percent, and Lazada’s annual consumers only reach 34 percent of internet users in the region,” said Zhang. “There’s huge potential in terms of both our overall market size and our ability to penetrate.”
Alibaba’s push to expand its business in Southeast Asia comes as it faces stiffer competition in the domestic market, from short-video e-commerce players such as Kuaishou, As well as the group purchasing platform Pinduoduo, the company has invested heavily in sales and marketing expenses to expand its user base.
The company has also faced tighter regulatory scrutiny over the past year, as Chinese authorities stepped up regulatory scrutiny in the tech industry following concerns that some Big Tech firms are getting involved. into anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. Earlier this year, Alibaba was fined a record $2.8 billion (approximately Rs 21,300) after authorities concluded that it had violated antitrust rules.
Separately on Friday, Zhang also announced that the company is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030, while halving its emissions in the supply chain and ecosystem. its business.
Zhang said the company also plans to reduce emissions by using more renewable energy as well as “energy-saving and efficiency-enhancing technologies” to reduce emissions.
Alibaba will also mobilize consumers, merchants, business partners and service providers to participate in their carbon reduction efforts. Zhang names examples such as promoting the consumption of green products, green transportation options, and encouraging reuse and resale of pre-owned goods.
Alibaba’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint also coincides with China’s major push to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The country is currently the world’s largest carbon emitter, bearing the responsible for almost a third of global emissions.
Chinese authorities have since set energy targets for many of the country’s state-owned companies, though most have struggled to cut coal consumption – one of the biggest contributors to the decline. China’s huge carbon footprint.
