The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Beijing’s antitrust regulators are considering levying a record fine against Alibaba, people with knowledge of the matter have told The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper reported it would likely exceed the $975 million paid by Qualcomm in 2015 over anticompetitive practices, so far the largest in China’s corporate history.
Alibaba will also be required to end its alleged long-running practice of coercing merchants to list products exclusively on its platforms, by punishing those that sold goods on other platforms, such as rival JD.com, the report said.
Once final, Alibaba’s penalties would need to be approved by China’s top leadership.
Representatives for Alibaba declined to comment on The Wall Street Journal report and China’s top market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.