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.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has been told to dispose of its media assets, which include stakes in South China Morning Post and Chinese social media platform Weibo, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In recent months, Alibaba affiliate Ant Group has come under regulatory pressure after its blockbuster $37 billion IPO was halted and the firm was forced to restructure. The Wall Street Journal’s sources said that Beijing sees Alibaba’s dominance and widespread influence as a challenge to the government’s control over the media. In addition to its businesses spanning health, logistics, fintech and more, Alibaba owns tech and retail platforms Tmall, Taobao and Lazada.
Despite the emergence of younger digital platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Weibo remains a vital channel for fashion and beauty brands to engage with — and sell to — Chinese netizens. Like many of its rivals, the platform has introduced e-commerce capabilities and plays a role in driving traffic and sales to Alibaba marketplaces like Taobao.
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.