If being big was enough, Alibaba would already have it nailed. In its December quarter, reported yesterday, the value of goods transacted on its platform rose by one half from a year ago, to an incomprehensible $126bn. Revenues, alas, rose only 40 per cent. More sales are closing on mobile devices, and Alibaba’s profitability on these deals is below that of desktops. What’s more investment in “user experience” (oh, that) crimped the company’s margins. The shares fell 10 per cent.
Margins are not the biggest Alibaba story this week. On Tuesday, China’s State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) released findings of an investigation into ecommerce sites, performed last autumn. SAIC says less than two-fifths of the products it bought on Alibaba’s Taobao site arrived as advertised. Alibaba filed a complaint against the head of the SAIC’s online commerce department, saying he lacks objectivity. The SAIC then revealed that it had been investigating Alibaba during its listing process, but had not released the report at the time.
Alibaba controls an estimated 80 per cent of the Chinese eretail market. It cannot avoid dodgy goods altogether. It has taken high-profile steps to combat counterfeits, spending $160m since the beginning of 2013 and employing a team of 2,000 people to police its sites. The issue could be political — with the authorities sending a gentle reminder about who is boss.
Alibaba employs over 34,000 people directly. It has 70,000 “Taobao Village” merchants, which bring ecommerce and jobs to the countryside. Last year, the company announced it would invest $1.6bn over the next three to five years to boost online shopping in rural areas. The potentially damaging investigation indicates that the company’s size, success and central position in the consumer economy — which China is trying to promote — do not give immunity from regulatory oversight. Alibaba is big and important but it is not inviolable. Investors should keep this firmly in mind.