Alibaba has logged another record-breaking Singles’ Day, but the year-on-year growth of its sales in gross merchandise volume (GMV) is on the decline. This year’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, spread over 11 days, brought in about €74 billion in GMV, for an increase of 8.5 percent. This is the first time the event has failed to achieve double-digit growth. Still, more brands than ever – 290,000 of them – took part, along with 900 million Chinese customers, 45 percent of whom were Millennials or Gen Z. Some 200 designer brands – among them Yves Saint Laurent, Max Mara, Thom Browne and Van Cleef & Arpels – sold through the Tmall Luxury Pavilion, and some 400 brands – like Apple and L’Oreal – sold more than $15 million each.
This year’s sale was unusually low-key. Alibaba has been under scrutiny from China’s government, which in April levied on the company a record-breaking fine of $2.8 billion for monopolistic behavior. Moreover, its co-founder and former executive chairman, Jack Ma, vanished from public view for months after he criticized China’s regulators.
