21st Century Business Herald reporter Zhu Yiyi, Tao Liyi, Jia Ying reported from Hangzhou and Shanghai
The sale of equity in Intime by Alibaba has finally settled.
On the afternoon of December 17th, Alibaba (09988. HK) announced that the company and another minority shareholder have agreed to sell 100% equity of Intime to a consortium of buyers consisting of members of the Yagor Group and Intime management team.
The announcement mentioned that Alibaba currently holds approximately 99% of the equity of Intime, and the total proceeds from the sale of Intime by the company are approximately RMB 7.4 billion (USD 1 billion).
Meanwhile, Alibaba expects to record a loss of approximately RMB 9.3 billion (USD 1.3 billion) due to the sale of Intime.
Alibaba also expressed its expectation for Intime to continue its entrepreneurship and open up greater development space with the support of Yagor Group.
On December 17th, a spokesperson from Yagor responded to 21st Century Business Herald reporters that "Yagor Group and Intime management jointly invested in Intime with the aim of 'strengthening and supplementing the chain' and improving the fashion ecosystem. After the investment is completed, Yagor Group will provide Intime management with sufficient operational space to support further high-quality development of Intime
The person also emphasized that Yagor Group (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. has always focused on investment and development in the fashion industry, and its listed company "Yagor Fashion Co., Ltd." is committed to the operation of the fashion industry.
On the same day, a spokesperson from Intime Business also responded, "Intime Department Store adheres to the business philosophy of 'good things are not expensive', and in the future, with the support of Yagor Group, we will jointly inject resources to continue providing high-quality retail shopping experiences for consumers
According to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, as the operator of department stores and shopping centers, Yintai Commerce currently has more than 60 department stores and a number of projects to be opened. It has achieved full channel sales online, including Meow Street APP, "Yintai Department Store" WeChat applet, "Yintai Department Store" Alipay applet, and digital members have exceeded 40 million.
Looking back at the 10-year alliance between Alibaba and Intime Commercial and the exploration of new retail.
In 2014, Alibaba invested HKD 5.37 billion for the first time in Yintai Commercial.
In 2015-2016, Alibaba rose to become the sole largest shareholder of Intime Commercial through increased holdings and stock swaps.
In 2017, Intime Commercial launched its privatization process, with Alibaba partnering with Intime International Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intime Commercial founder Shen Guojun, to launch the privatization of Intime Commercial for a total price of HKD 19.8 billion. At this point, Alibaba has further acquired Yintai Commercial.
With Alibaba now focusing on its core business and orderly withdrawing from non core assets, for Intime, how to utilize the platform and resources of Yagor Group to continue exploring and transforming new retail has also been put back on the agenda.
With the changing consumer trends and the increasing segmentation and diversification of consumer demands, new requirements have been put forward for both online and offline retail.
Recently, Bain&Company teamed up with Kantar Consumer Index to release the "2024 China Shopper Report", discussing the overall performance of China's fast-moving consumer goods market industry.
Li Rong, General Manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, mentioned in an interview with 21st Century Business Herald that "from the perspective of domestic channel trends, offline channels have shown negative growth in the past few years due to the pressure of online channels, but this year they have returned to a very strong positive growth of 1.8%. Offline growth mainly comes from new models such as small formats and discount stores, as well as regional retailers
Li Rong further pointed out that "the Chinese consumer market has a large space, and new retail formats will continue to emerge. Regional retailers focus on the local market, allowing consumers to recognize products, prices, and services. This is also why regional retailers can win consumers in such a fierce competitive landscape