This case is about the Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s (Alibaba) ‘New Retail’ which aimed to integrate online, offline, logistics, and data across a single value chain to create up-sale opportunities. Since the introduction of the New Retail strategy in 2016, the company had been pouring billions into implementing this strategy as it believed that the future of retail would not be a question of just online vs. offline. Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, explained how the company had adopted its New Retail strategy to integrate online and offline retail, expand into digital content, and support its globalization push, as it sought to expand its retail empire both within and outside China. Through this strategy, Alibaba was also hoping to help bricks-and-mortar shops digitize their operations to offer online services, and to use the data thus generated from such businesses to further improve and tailor its operations. The case details the key pillars of Alibaba’s New Retail and also describes how the company and its rivals are trying to tap into the New Retail ecosystem in China. The company feared that the exorbitant cost of expansion, primarily in the form of HeMa’s expansions in prime locations, might discourage its growth in the future. Can Alibaba spearhead the transformation of end-to-end retail experience, not just in China but across the globe?

Marketing Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations, Strategies, Business Environment, Case Studies

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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

	Understand the concept of New Retail, its place in Alibaba’s strategy, and its pillars and key components
	Evaluate the scope of New Retail in changing the retail environment in China and the world
	Understand the importance of creating a seamless shopping experience for customers by blending online, offline, logistics, and data across a single value chain
	Understand the key role played by data and technology in transforming the retail industry
	Explore how Alibaba can succeed with its New Retail strategy in China and beyond

Contents

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT ALIBABA

NEW RETAIL STRATEGY – ITS KEY PILLARS

LEADING CHANGE IN CHINA’S RETAIL SECTOR

LOOKING AHEAD

EXHIBITS

Keywords

New retail, Digital retail, Omni-channel, Artificial Intelligence, Data, e-commerce, Logistics, Value Chain, Channel strategy, RetailTech, Retail management, Services marketing, Sales and Distribution Management, Operations management

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