Alibaba reportedly mulls selling Freshippo and RT-Mart

Alibaba is reportedly seeking to sell multiple consumer industry assets, including its grocery business Freshippo (盒馬鮮生) and retail chain RT-Mart (大潤發).

According to Reuters, three people with knowledge of the situation said that Alibaba has been focusing on its core eCommerce business for profitability while spinning off non-core loss-making divisions.

Alibaba has been in talks with both strategic and financial investors regarding these assets, according to the report. The assets include Alibaba's department store subsidiary, Intime Retail (銀泰百貨). While discussions regarding these sales are still in the early stages, Alibaba may decide not to proceed. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Alibaba, Freshippo, RT-Mart and Intime Retail respectively for a statement.

According to a report by Bloomberg last Thursday (1 February), Alibaba is reportedly considering the sale of Intime Retail and has reached out to potential buyers to gauge their interest. This move is part of Alibaba's ongoing restructuring efforts and a reevaluation of its objectives in the online and offline retail sectors.

Discussions regarding the potential sale have taken place since Daniel Zhang succeeded Jack Ma as Alibaba's CEO, according to the report. A potential buyer reportedly engaged in discussions with Alibaba on this matter in January.

Don't miss: New Alibaba CEO redefines strategic focus on customers and AI

Back in September last year, Alibaba Group’s new CEO Eddie Wu redefined the company’s strategic focus on two main themes, which included “User First” and “AI-driven”.

According to an internal letter to staff viewed by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously, Wu said one of the reasons behind the move was because of traditional internet models becoming increasingly homogeneous and facing the competitive pressures of saturation, while new technologies such as AI were emerging as the new engine of global business growth.

“Alibaba must transform itself to find the key to the future, fulfill our mission of solving societal problems, serve small and medium-sized businesses, and contribute to our society as a positive force for good,” Wu said

Related articles:

Alibaba Health acquires some of Alibaba's marketing services for HK$13.51bn
Alibaba refutes claims regarding layoffs of 25,000 staff
New Alibaba CEO redefines strategic focus on customers and AI
Former Alibaba chief Daniel Zhang quits cloud division in surprise move