The 10th annual Singles’ Day sales frenzy on November 11 resulted in a new record at China’s Alibaba (BABA) for one-day sales of $213.5 billion yuan ($30.7 billion.) This year merchandise sales for the world’s largest off-line and on-line shopping day climbed 27%. (Single’s Day, literally “Single Sticks’ Holiday” is a holiday that began (maybe at Nanjing University in 1993) to celebrate pride in being single. The date November 11 or 11/11, was picked because the number “1” stands for an individual who is alone. Whatever its exactly origins, the holiday has also become a popular date to celebrate relationships with the number of marriages soaring on that day. (How big is Singles’ Day? In 2017 Alibaba shoppers spent $25.3 billion, almost three times the 2017 sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.)
The news for Alibaba isn’t quite as positive as that new record makes it sound–and it’s even more mixed for the Chinese economy.
This year’s record amounts to just 27% year over year growth. That’s a significant drop from Alibaba’s Single’s Day growth of the 39% last year.
While I’m pretty sure the there aren’t many companies that would sneer at 27% growth, the drop in growth from last year to this confirms recent figures showing a drop in growth in online shopping revenue in China overall. Growth in online retail sales in China slowed to 24% in the third quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That’s 12 percentage points lower than in the previous three month period.
And the slower growth in sales on Singles’ Day for Alibaba also fits with the relative disappointment in Alibaba’s September quarter results. The company reported revenue of $85.1 billion, short of the $86.5 billion projected by Wall Street.
Today, Alibaba shares were off 1.4% at the close in New York. The shares are down 17.2% year to date.
Alibaba is a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio and my 12-18 month Jubak Picks Portfolio.
