China’s leading e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will focus on expanding its presence in the international arena this year as it prioritizes cross-border sales and hiring, the new chief executive told its employees.
During a strategy meeting at the firm's Hangzhou headquarters on Wednesday, CEO Daniel Zhang emphasized that the company "must absolutely globalize and it must be a successful effort."
According to an official company website, Daniel, who was named the new CEO last week, said that one of his plans is to "organize a global team and adopt a global thinking to manage the business, and achieve the goal of 'global buy and sell.'"
Alibaba's effort to expand overseas include AliExpress, a sales platform where Chinese products can be sold to consumers abroad, and Tmall Global, a Web-based avenue that will cater to foreign brands' goal of reaching more Chinese customers.
Daniel also noted the importance of acquiring more international talent, stating the possibility of "having employees from all over the world that look different from each other."
"We have to take the time to understand them to understand their habits, cultural differences and way of thinking. This is how we become truly an international company," he further remarked according to the company website.
Although Alibaba is acknowledged as the world's largest e-commerce firm, its operations are mainly focused on China. Its recent expansion to the United States and other countries are only seen as modest efforts, analysts claim.
Last week, Alibaba bought a 9-percent share from U.S. online retailer Zulily, Inc. It also poured in investment in ShopRunner, a business that promises product delivery from retailers in just two days, back in 2013.
Daniel also called for the development in Alibaba's logistics and in its endeavor of getting by the phenomenon of Chinese consumers' shift to mobile devices.
He also pointed out the urgency in improving the other services of the company, such as Alimama, the firm's electronic-marketing technology arm.