|
Since Alibaba turned "Singles' Day", a November
11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping
festival in 2009, the event has grown to similar proportions as
Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States.
Sales of more than $9 billion were achieved at last year's
event, and the company has copyrighted the phrase "Double 11", a
reference to the date (11/11), which in turn, refers to the
status of single people.
"The company has been fined 500,000 yuan ($81,000) for matters
related to Singles' Day pricing by third-party sellers on our
Tmall marketplace in 2013 and 2014 and 300,000 yuan($48,000) for
pricing in other promotions in 2013 and 2015," Alibaba Group
said in a statement on Friday.
While pricing is handled by third parties, not directly by
Alibaba, the group said, it would nevertheless reinforce pricing
rules and regulations with sellers to protect consumers.
The 27,000 vendors featured on Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping
sites hope to boost sales and gain customers, but some have
complained that discounts and cut-throat corporate rivalry
undercut the benefits.
Alibaba has had occasional difficulties regulating its sprawling
e-commerce empire, which now includes online markets such as
Taobao; Tmall, a platform for larger retailers linked to Taobao;
group-buying site Juhuasuan and the original flagship platform
Alibaba.com, which links exporters with foreign buyers.
In 2011, Alibaba.com was hit by a scandal when sales staff
colluded with professional criminals to defraud foreign
customers, leading to multiple arrests and the resignation of
then Chief Executive David Wei.
Alibaba was also publicly chastised by regulators for failing to
control the sale of counterfeit products on its platforms, an
accusation echoed by trade groups and regulators in the U.S.,
where the company is listed.
In February Alibaba said the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission had sought more information about a reported talk
between its executives and China's State Administration for
Industry and Commerce regarding sales of counterfeit goods,
which the company did not mention in its IPO prospectus prior to
listing.
Alibaba shares have lost more than a fifth this year, with
analysts citing concern about counterfeits along with lackluster
third-quarter earnings and waning investor excitement after last
September's record-setting $25-billion IPO.
(Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
