Alibaba Group has attracted a lot of media attention since its record-setting $25-billion IPO last year, but visibility does not always lead to clarity. Jack Ma, the Chinese e-commerce giant’s executive chairman, has said that because most of Alibaba’s products and services are not accessible outside China, it’s “difficult for our overseas shareholders and stakeholders to fully understand the company and what it is like to be an Alibaba customer. As a result, many are trying to understand us through the lens of an outsider and may not have a full or accurate understanding of who we are and what we do.”
To help address this, Alibaba has used the occasion of its first annual report to launch an online guide offering international audiences an in-depth look at what the company is all about.
Titled Alibaba Defined, the guide is a dynamic, comprehensive, and visually rich primer on the company’s business model, strategies, products and services. On the site you’ll find illustrated “day-in-the-life “journeys with an Alibaba buyer and seller; videos exploring how Alibaba is ushering China’s rural population into the digital age; animated charts detailing the booming growth of e-commerce in China; succinct summaries of Alibaba’s extensive services; and traditional annual report content, including shareholder letters from Ma and Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang.
Alibaba Defined also offers insights into the company’s efforts to foster business opportunities for entrepreneurs around the world. “We believe the experience of Alibaba Group in China can be applied globally, giving all SMEs the opportunity to participate and compete in a transparent and fair marketplace,” writes Ma in his letter to shareholders. “We further believe that future economic globalization will allow consumers everywhere to access a truly global purchasing experience. We have been preparing for a considerable amount of time to make this vision a reality.”
Seethe results of Alibaba’s evolution over the past 16 years and get a preview of the opportunity that lies ahead by visiting Alibaba Defined.
