Boasts Jack Ma has fulfilled
- By Chen Boyuan
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 19, 2014
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Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba Group. [File photo] |
5. "Taobao won't seek profit within the next three years."
Alibaba created Taobao in 2003, a time when Eachnet, then a branch of eBay, was enjoying its heyday. Eachnet threatened ”to put Taobao out of business within 18 months”, bringing a response from Jack Ma, who ordered that Taobao not seek profit within the following three years, wishing to win over online vendors by offering free listings.
Naturally, established vendors could not resist the temptation and turned to Taobao. Taobao's market share of C2C business in China in 2004 rode to 41 percent from a figure of nine percent at the start of the year, while eBay dropped from a dominant 90 percent to 53 percent. In 2005, Taobao's overhauled eBay with a market share of 58.6 percent compared to 36.4 percent. eBay turned to the free listing mode in 2008, but it was too late to stop its decline.
eBay and Eachnet are already separate entities. eBay has quit China while Eachnet only retains a nominal existence. By contrast, Taobao is becoming the predominant C2C platform, a status no one seems able to challenge.
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