In Alibaba‘s third quarter of its fiscal year, the Chinese online giant managed to post better results than anticipated – despite the slower Chinese economic growth.
Rural growth
Alibaba’s turnover grew 32 % to 34.5 billion yuan (4.8 billion euro) in the third quarter, which means it did better than what analysts had expected (at 33.2 billion yuan).
Profit grew even more and doubled to 12.5 billion yuan (1.7 billion euro). An excellent Singles Day (in November) and the fact it now managed to reach rural consumers were major contributors for the growth in profit and turnover. It has placed computer posts in 12,000 Chinese villages, allowing potential clients (both buyers and sellers), to obtain information about everything Alibaba-related.
“Our strategy is to offer urban products to rural areas and to help farmers sell their items to city dwellers“, Alibaba Group CEO, Daniel Zhang, said.
Despite its good performance, Alibaba will face troubling times as it needs to find a way to further stimulate its online growth in China, which it already controls for 80 %. To consolidate its position, founder Jack Ma is considering offering online video services and cloud solutions.
