China's former richest man Wang Jianlin once bet Alibaba founder Jack Ma 100 million yuan (S$20.80 million) that online purchases in the country would not eclipse bricks-and-mortar buys in the next decade.
But while Wang says he laid the wager "for fun" two years ago, the billionaires' business interests are increasingly converging as Chinese consumers' spending habits undergo a seismic shift - and much larger sums are at stake.
China has the world's biggest population of Internet users, with annual online sales jumping 41 per cent in 2013. However, that figure represents a paltry 7.8 per cent of overall retail sales, leaving plenty of room for growth.
Zhuo Saijun, a Beijing-based analyst with Analysys International, told AFP consumers were increasingly going online to purchase "in the easiest and most convenient way".
"If an online platform has more advantages in terms of cost performance and information retrieval, consumers will definitely be more inclined towards online," he said.
The e-commerce explosion contrasts with the slowdown of retail sales as a whole, a palpable trend even before the luxury market was hit by party cadres curbing excessive spending in response to President Xi Xinping's anti-corruption drive.
Property developers, already saddled with excess commercial space, are spooked.
Half the world's shopping mall projects underway are in China. Among them is northeastern Shenyang city, which has 28 megamalls for six million people.
The spread of malls has accelerated under pressure from local governments, with Chinese cities taking nine of the top ten spots in the world last year by amount of newly constructed retail space, US consultancy CBRE says.
Occupancy varies according to location, with some never empty while others in the farther reaches struggle to attract repeat customers.
Typically marrying an array of clothing and cosmetic franchises with fast-food courts and coffee outlets, some become "phantom malls", filled with little more than an incessant soundtrack of syrupy muzak.
- See more at: http://digital.asiaone.com/digital/news/alibaba-and-wanda-face-online-and-offlineşthash.MBzQKjbH.dpufChina's former richest man Wang Jianlin once bet Alibaba founder Jack Ma 100 million yuan (S$20.80 million) that online purchases in the country would not eclipse bricks-and-mortar buys in the next decade.
But while Wang says he laid the wager "for fun" two years ago, the billionaires' business interests are increasingly converging as Chinese consumers' spending habits undergo a seismic shift - and much larger sums are at stake.
China has the world's biggest population of Internet users, with annual online sales jumping 41 per cent in 2013. However, that figure represents a paltry 7.8 per cent of overall retail sales, leaving plenty of room for growth.
Zhuo Saijun, a Beijing-based analyst with Analysys International, told AFP consumers were increasingly going online to purchase "in the easiest and most convenient way".
"If an online platform has more advantages in terms of cost performance and information retrieval, consumers will definitely be more inclined towards online," he said.
The e-commerce explosion contrasts with the slowdown of retail sales as a whole, a palpable trend even before the luxury market was hit by party cadres curbing excessive spending in response to President Xi Xinping's anti-corruption drive. Property developers, already saddled with excess commercial space, are spooked.
Half the world's shopping mall projects underway are in China. Among them is northeastern Shenyang city, which has 28 megamalls for six million people.
The spread of malls has accelerated under pressure from local governments, with Chinese cities taking nine of the top ten spots in the world last year by amount of newly constructed retail space, US consultancy CBRE says.
Occupancy varies according to location, with some never empty while others in the farther reaches struggle to attract repeat customers.
Typically marrying an array of clothing and cosmetic franchises with fast-food courts and coffee outlets, some become "phantom malls", filled with little more than an incessant soundtrack of syrupy muzak.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB