Alibaba hits record sales on Singles' Day in China
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced on Friday a new record in sales for the annual "Single's Day", during which consumers spent 74 billion euros.
On "Single's Day" every year in China, consumers rush to order millions of products, including clothes, foodstuffs, computers, and others, at discounted prices on their smartphones.
But the Alibaba Group, which has been closely monitored by the market regulator for months because it is accused of unfair trade practices and encouraging unhealthy consumerism, has, unusually, downplayed the importance of the new figure.
"The sales value is no longer the only indicator of success," the group said in a statement.
Singles' Day is considered the largest sales campaign in the world, ahead of the American Black Friday.
Alibaba Group's sales amounted to 540.3 billion yuan (74 billion euros) in the 2021 season, up 8.5 percent from last year.
The group, which is based in the city of Hangzhou (eastern China), is organizing a large media campaign during which it will display on a giant screen in real time the volume of deals that take place on its platforms.
But Alibaba has been conservative since last year, when its founder Jack Ma criticized its market control authority, which he accused of hindering his company's development.
The authorities had imposed the suspension of the huge public offering (34 billion euros) of the company "Antgroup", the financial arm of the group, because of its concern about the possible impact of this process on the financial system.
The group was then fined 2.3 billion euros for exploiting its dominant position.
The platform is accused of preventing merchants from selling their products on competing platforms or of using algorithms to provide buying advice to consumers.
"In the beginnings (Single Day) we were focused on growing in the same way that parents focus on the size and strength of their child," said Chris Tong, group marketing director.
"But when their child becomes a teenager, parents focus on developing their sense of responsibility, and the role they play in society, and that's what we're doing now," he added, in what appeared to be a repeat of the government's message.
Alibaba's biggest competitor, JD.com, reported sales of 271 billion yuan (37 billion euros) - a sharp increase of nearly 28 percent year on year.
The two rival platforms say they have posted big sales in some goods, especially home appliances, electronics, pet products and even cosmetics.
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