Alibaba struggles with its US branding ahead of IPO

Alibaba missed a perfect opportunity last week to dramatically define its brand and be part of US culture. While many consumers in Chinese and Asian e-commerce have heard about Alibaba and Jack Ma Yun's global ambitions, few average Americans know or care about it.

Few technologists respect it as anything more than a big logistics company with a website. Most US consumers find it is inaccessible and intimidating due to a high level of counterfeit goods, substandard products and poor service. A gigantic Chinese e-commerce company actually means little to Americans.

Two surprising and separate deals occurred recently in the intersection of the internet and sporting worlds. They showed how out of touch Alibaba is with its place in the internet world outside China. Ma announced on June 4 that Alibaba had acquired a 50 per cent stake in Guangzhou Evergrande FC, one of China's most prominent soccer teams. The deal's value was not disclosed but it is reportedly worth 1.2 billion yuan (HK$1.49 billion).

In the same week, Steve Ballmer, the former chief executive of Microsoft Corp, made a bold US$2 billion bid for the NBA franchise of the Los Angeles Clippers, which is being sold by Donald Sterling.

Buying Guangzhou Evergrande makes Alibaba look parochial and thoroughly provincial. The news was barely noticed outside China. That its founder cannot envision or elaborate his company's place in America gives Americans the impression that Ma is just another mainland Chinese businessman who knows little about America.