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Clash of the titans? Chinese e-commerce rivals Richard Liu Qiangdong (left), founder of JD.com, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma (right) have often had spats on social media over their businesses. Photos: Reuters, Sam Tsang

Alibaba’s top rival flaunts authentic-products campaign just after Jack Ma’s ‘fake goods’ crisis

It’s no secret in China’s e-commerce industry that its two leading tycoons are not friends and frequently get into a war of words.

Alibaba

It’s no secret in China’s e-commerce industry that its two leading tycoons are not friends and frequently get into a war of words.

Just a week after Alibaba’s Jack Ma Yun ran into trouble with Chinese regulators over fake products sold in Alibaba online stores, Richard Liu Qiangdong, founder and chief of JD.com, launched a new initiative that touts its products’ merits – and authenticity.

On Wednesday, JD.com, a long-time competitor of Alibaba’s online shops including Tmall.com and Taobao.com, announced a new initiative called “French Mall” through which JD.com will exclusively “sell authentic imported French products”, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

It was announced at exactly the same time when JD.com, which claims to be China’s largest online direct-sales company, also made a joint statement with the French government on “product authenticity”. The company said the two statements just “coincided” with each other.

JD.com’s statement did not mention any competitor by name, but it comes hot on the heels of Alibaba coming under fire in the past week from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) over alleged fake goods.

The row sent Alibaba shares to a record low before the two parties made peace, as top leaders in Beijing did not want either side to lose face.

“Governments, companies and consumers recognise that our zero-tolerance policy regarding fakes is backed up by our consistent actions and our track record – and is a major reason why more and more of China’s online shoppers are choosing JD.com,” said Liu.

His company, formerly known as Jingdong, is backed by a group of leading venture capital (VC) funds including Sequoia Capital, the world’s largest VC firm, and Russian investment firm DST, which is also a key investor of Facebook.

On Monday, Jack Ma said during an event in Hong Kong that he had already made peace with the regulator in Beijing and both sides would work more closely to monitor and fight sellers of fake goods on all Alibaba platforms.

But Ma also tried to defend some so-called “fake products” sold via Alibaba online stores, noting there were many products sold on Taobao that should not be considered “fake products” but more like online-sales-only innovative goods.

Without naming Ma or Alibaba, JD.com’s Liu said on Wednesday in a company statement that he wanted his firm to “set the benchmark in the Chinese e-commerce space for guaranteeing product authenticity”.

However, the firm did not specify what authentic French products it plans to export and sell exclusively online. Many French luxury brands and products – such as Louis Vuitton handbags and Cartier watches – are no stranger to Chinese consumers.

Ma and Liu have often been in the media spotlight for their strong personalities and sometimes verbal one-upmanship on social media.

Stoking the fires, Chinese media recently revealed that Ma said JD.com would be a “tragedy” and urged investors not to “touch it” as Ma said he believed JD.com had major problem with its business direction.

Ma later apologised online, saying his comments were intended for just a small group of people rather than for public knowledge.

 

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