Alibaba Opens the Door to American Small Businesses
*By Carlo Versano*
Alibaba Group ($BABA) is making its biggest foray into the huge U.S. business to business (B2B) market, announcing Tuesday that it will allow American small businesses to sell their wares to other businesses around the world on the flagship Alibaba platform for the first time.
"Our mission is to make it easy for all businesses everywhere to do business anywhere," said John Caplan, head of Alibaba's North American B2B unit in an interview on Cheddar announcing the expansion.
Alibaba, which started as a "yellow pages of the best factories in China" and has since grown into a business to consumer (B2C) and B2B e-commerce behemoth, enters the U.S. B2B market at a time of cutthroat competition for small business dollars from the likes of Amazon ($AMZN) and others. Previously, U.S. businesses were only able to purchase goods and services via Alibaba.com.
The Alibaba platform gives small businesses "everything \[they\] need to operate or source goods globally," Caplan said. Selling on Alibaba gives businesses a storefront with CRM capability and demand, "all in one place."
Alibaba monetizes the platform through a roughly $2,000 membership fee, plus extra for advertising opportunities, Caplan said, rather than taking a cut of each sale. That model could be beneficial to small businesses worried about B2B costs cutting into their margins. (By contrast, Amazon takes a cut of each item a third-party merchant sells).
"We are not a retailer," he said. "The value chain in B2B is more complex, but it's also a far bigger business."
Bigger by an order of magnitude, in fact. The B2B industry is worth nearly $24 trillion, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, compared to just under $4 billion for the B2C industry.
Though Alibaba dominates e-commerce in China, it is still relatively unknown to many American consumers and small businesses. Caplan acknowledged that there is "marketplace confusion" here with regard to Alibaba's businesses, but noted that the U.S. still makes up a full third of the company's global market of buyers. And with more than 70 percent of American small businesses still without a digital presence, the opportunity for Alibaba to become the one-stop shop for manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers is massive, Caplan said, opening them up to a global marketplace of buyers who were previously unattainable.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
