Swot - Alibaba.docx

Strength: Offers a wide ecosystem for all participants – customers, merchants, third-party service providers and others. Operates in China, which is the most populated nation and the second largest economy of the world. Qualitative strength - Jack Ma, his strong presence, ideas and vision – adding to Alibaba’s growth trajectory. Strategic partnerships to create value propositions globally, broad product portfolio coupled with growing demand for wholesale and retail business – helped in preserving its market share.

Weakness Too many merchants on board - the consequence of which led to good brands calling off due to high competition, sellers not being able to make good profits and counterfeit products from local sellers flooding the markets. Very high discounts Over dependence on Chinese economy Decreasing EBITDA margins affecting core competency

Opportunities Opportunity to capture greater market share with Lazada and AliExpress Potential of becoming market leader in cloud computing Rising Investments and demand of E-commerce portals Aggregator based model (helps to reduce costs and keep its operations lean – also presents an opportunity to replicate the model in other markets)

Threats Stiff competition in E-commerce AliPay may lose global market share to pre-existing local players Increasing number of fakes may affect core competency Stability of the economy