Published November 10, 2014
By Tompkins International Staff
Alibaba made a big splash with its recent IPO and subsequent publicity. But that’s not the only reason this company is such a big deal. The more you learn about Alibaba and its leader Jack Ma, the more fascinating the story really is.
We’ve outlined nine of the most interesting facts about Alibaba, with more happening on a regular basis. Let’s check them out:
- Alibaba boasts 81% of online business in China, also known as the world’s largest e-commerce market.
- In 2014, Jim Tompkins estimates that U.S. e-commerce with reach $475B, China will be at $540B, and Alibaba will be at $450B. Alibaba alone will nearly equal all e-commerce in the U.S. in 2014.
- By 2020, we believe China’s e-commerce will be larger than that in the U.S., UK, Japan, Germany, and France combined. That is the power of China’s super consumer. Order your copy of Michael Zakkour’s new book, China’s Super Consumers, to find out why we think this will be true.
- We predict that Alibaba will be the world’s largest retail platform next year. Yes, bigger than Walmart.
- Alibaba is the fastest growing e-commerce company in the world in the fastest growing market. The company’s growth rate since 2003 has approached 120%/year and has grown at a rate of 70% between 2009 and 2013.
- In the 24 hours of “Singles Day” (11/11/2013), Alibaba handled $5.75B in sales. This was 80% more than 2012 and 3 times what U.S. retailers sold on Cyber Monday. Tompkins’ prediction for 2015 “Singles Day” is $8B in sales.
- Last year UPS and FedEx handled 5 billion packages. In China, Alibaba spurred the delivery of 5 billion packages.
- Alibaba is profitable with 2013 revenue of $8B–a profit of $3.6B for a profit margin of nearly 45%.
- Alibaba’s September 2014 IPO was the largest IPO in history.
Is Alibaba more than you thought it was before reading this blog? Keep the bigger picture in mind of how significant this company is to retail and e-commerce. To learn more, watch The Alibaba Effect video.
More Resources
- Blog Post: Why Have 80,000 People Watched The Alibaba Effect?
- Article: Alibaba and Chinese Consumers Are Both Going Public
- White Paper: The Alibaba Effect – What Today’s 3PLs Need to Know
Photo Credit: Andrew Burton Getty Images