Alibaba to sell department store unit for $1.3b loss

The sale will result in a $1.3b loss as Alibaba shifts focus back to its core e-commerce business.

Alibaba Group has announced it will sell its Chinese department store chain, Intime, in a deal worth $1.02b (7.4b yuan), Reuters reported.

The sale will result in a $1.3b loss as Alibaba shifts focus back to its core e-commerce business, it added.

The move is part of Alibaba’s broader restructuring after splitting into six business units last year and consolidating its domestic and international e-commerce platforms in November to face growing competition from rivals like Pinduoduo, Temu, and ByteDance’s TikTok.

Alibaba acquired Intime in 2017 for $2.6b, seeking to expand into offline retail, but will now sell the unit to a consortium of Youngor Fashion and Intime management, pending regulatory approval.