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.
China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Thursday missed market expectations for second quarter revenue, as consumption in the country slowed and its e-commerce business took a hit from supply chain constraints.
China’s big tech companies have also been under pressure as the country’s regulators clamped down on powerful players from Alibaba to ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc, citing antimonopoly and security reasons.
Last week, Alibaba recorded its slowest sales growth during its annual Singles’ Day shopping frenzy.
Revenue rose 29 percent to 200.69 billion yuan ($31.44 billion) in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts on an average had expected revenue of 204.93 billion yuan ($32 billion), according to Refinitiv data.
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US-listed shares of Alibaba, which have lost 30 percent so far this year, were down 2.4 percent before the opening bell.
By Subrat Patnaik and Josh Horwitz; Editor: Arun Koyyur
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Alibaba Singles’ Day Posts Record Sales
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Singles’ Day shopping festival posted record sales of 540.3 billion yuan ($84.5 billion), offering China’s largest e-commerce firm a much-needed boost following a year of heightened regulatory scrutiny.
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.