China: Nike gets a boost over Double 11
Despite record-level sales for China’s two largest e-commerce players last year, neither Alibaba nor JD.com have published their final gross merchandise volume (GMV) figures for the recently concluded annual Singles’ Day shopping festival, also known as Double 11 or 11.11.
Though the largest event of its kind in the world, shopping fever during the festival period, for which pre-sales can now begin as early as October, but initially began as a one-day-only affair held on November 11, has shown signs of cooling.
It is widely thought that the government’s “zero-covid” approach to lockdowns, recent regulatory crackdowns in the local tech sector and wider macroeconomic sluggishness have variously contributed to dimming the festival’s previously more carnival-like atmosphere somewhat. Alibaba did say that this year's Singles’ Day sales had resulted in a tally that was “in line with” its 2021 figures, however, while rival JD.com told members of the press that its own GMV achievements were “record-breaking”, despite not disclosing the final total.
Sports brand Nike, whose revenues for the most recent quarter again pointed to a year-on-year decline in its Chinese business, was singled out for its performance on Alibaba’s Tmall platform in the Hangzhou-based company’s post-festival summary. Nike was one of only 82 brands to generate more than ¥100 million (approximately $14.2 million) in GMV from its Tmall-run membership programme alone on November 1.
Image: Nike.
