China’s yearlong crackdown on the tech industry has turned Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s (NYSE: BABA) global shopping extravaganza Singles’ Day into a more low-key affair, Bloomberg reports. Alibaba now seeks to shift focus from increasing sales towards sustainability and philanthropy, the key pillars of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s drive to reshape China’s economy.
What Happened
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma latched on to the idea of centering a shopping promotion around a holiday, drawing inspiration from the tradition of U.S. retailers like Walmart Inc. (WMT) offering mega-discounts on the day after Thanksgiving (which became Black Friday).Ma’s Singles’ Day initially targeted consumers to celebrate singlehood and gradually extended to every demographic. China kicked off a campaign to rein in its tech giants in 2020 with curbs on fintech and an antitrust probe into Alibaba that ended in a $2.8 billion fine.
