Alibaba Group Holding is sparing no effort to turn its annual Singles' Day shopping festival into a universal celebration. The challenge for billionaire Jack Ma's(Ma Yun)online kingdom is to break another sales record after a decade of rapid developments. With rising strong competition from smaller platforms such as JD.com Inc. and Pinduoduo Inc., Allibaba is seeking to add new growth engines.
Now the retail(零售)celebration on Nov.1 has become an important signal not just for the company, but also the world's second largest economy, China. This year, shoppers in China have broken last year's record by making the sum of $30.8 billion in sales, as the tradition marked its 10th year. "Singles' Day has now become a stage for Alibaba to present its power across all its platforms." Daniel Zhang (Zhang Yong), chief executive officer(CEO), said at an October news conference in Beijing. He's taking over after Ma steps down as executive chairman next year.
It was Zhang who came up with the idea of turning Singles' Day into a shopping festival a decade ago. Now that this year's one-day fair will be Ma's last as chairman, Zhang will need to prove he can carry on the wonder. "We think I billion packs will become a daily event in the future." he said.
To fuel growth, Alibaba is speeding up its global exploration. Eleme, the company it took control of this year, will provide services for selected Starbucks stores across 11 cities in China. Rural Taobao, aiming at the customers in the countryside will offer special discount(折扣)for goods across 800 counties.
Although it's been three years since Ma said he wants to make Singles' Day a global shopping event, that hasn't happened yet. International expansion will be a key part of Zhang's plan to keep breaking sales records.
【小题1】According to paragraph 1, Alibaba is exploring more growth engines because .| A．other companies are competing for the market |
| B．it has broken a new sales record |
| C．Jack Ma's dream has come true |
| D．it has developed swiftly in the last ten years |
| A．shoppers in China doubted whether Zhang will be a successful CEO |
| B．the Singles' Day shopping festival started over ten years ago |
| C．the idea of the-retail celebration on Nov l I was put forward by Jack Ma |
| D．Zhang has a long way to go before he sets another sales record |
| A．giving an explanation | B．making a comparison |
| C．listing examples | D．offering data |
| A．challenging and hopeless | B．challenging but hopeful |
| C．worrying and doubtful | D．worrying but promising |
