Smart Business

INTRODUCTION

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALIBABA

Alibaba stories, facts, and figures (unless otherwise cited) are a product of internal research by my team throughout my decade-plus tenure within the company. Many observations and stories from the growth of our main e-commerce marketplace, Taobao, have never appeared in print in English-language media before the publication of this book.

November 11, an otherwise ordinary day in China. Because of the ones in the date (11/11), young Chinese humorously dubbed the date Singles Day near the turn of the century, and the tongue-in-cheek holiday was celebrated as a time for single people to meet. In 2009, Singles Day was reimagined as an online shopping festival. Today, the holiday is the biggest shopping ...