Alibaba's Taobao (a) Case

Question 1:

Summarized below is different market segments each of the division of Alibaba compete in.

| |Retail Consumer |Business (Small and Large) |Publishers |Ad Agencies |

|Alibaba.com | |X | | |

|Alipay |X |X |X |X |

|Alisoft | |X | | |

|Taobao |X |X | | |

|Alimama | |X |X |X |

|China Yahoo! |X | | | |

Based on this analysis we believe that the current degree of competition among business units is appropriate. From the customer segment landscape perspective, there are likely synergies from a customer value chain point of view. Alibaba can bundle offering from Alibaba.com, Alipay, Alisoft, Taobao and Alimama and market them to small and large businesses. From a future growth and expansion strategy perspective, Alibaba.com has already achieved significant market share in China and has aspirations to compete globally. In contrast, Taobao still has a significant potential to grow within China through internet penetration in China, which currently stands at 28%. Hence Taoboa would need a China focused strategy to retain and grow market share in a highly competitive market contrast that with a global strategy that Alibaba.com would need to pursue.

With the on going growth of e-commerce especially with China centric companies, Alipay has an opportunity to increase their...