Alibaba’s chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang outlined the company’s latest internal reorganization in a letter sent to his staff on July 2, resulting in the formation of a new business group focused on local lifestyle services.
In the new unit, Yu Yongfu will lead a newly consolidated on-demand lifestyle services department consisting of mapping service AutoNavi (also known as Gaode), food delivery platform Ele.me, and travel booking app Fliggy. Since Alibaba acquired mapping service AutoNavi in 2015, it has considered integrating more of Alibaba’s business units with the navigation app.
Alibaba’s emphasis on local consumer services has increased after Ant Group’s Alipay was instructed by regulators to “return to its roots in payments.” Alipay’s previous growth strategy involved integrating new merchants and services into its leading e-wallet with over 900 million users worldwide.
Zhang also said that Tmall’s supermarket and import-export business will be combined to utilize the strength of Alibaba’s supply chains in new retail scenarios. “In the face of an uncertain future, we must proceed confidently, and design our plan step by step to make the organization more agile and the culture simpler. To all Alibaba people, let’s do this together!” He penned in the conclusion of his internal announcement.
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KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content published by 36Kr. This article was originally written by Peng Qian for 36Kr.