I am just amazed with the ability that Alibaba has to offer dying old fashion businesses, as companies like Metro AG from Germany are pushing to e-commerce and connecting directly with Chinese consumers, where if Metro had to set a store in China or start a website in Chinese, the costs would have been huge with the risks.
I believe the Gruden Group has potential to expand m-commerce through Asia-Australia. Big Tick.
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Koch, CEO since 2012, is trying to remake the 50-year-old retailer by divesting underperforming assets and pushing into Web forays to expand online sales. Alibaba, a vast network of e-commerce sites in Asia that went public in a blockbuster $25 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange last year, hasstruck deals with other European consumer brands including Inditex SA’s Zara clothing chain. A slowdown in Chinese growth and exports however has battered global markets in recent weeks. With this alliance, Koch is trying to show investors he’s taking action to modernize the sleepy conglomerate, whose stock price has stagnated the past three years. Metro shares traded 3.2 percent higher at 26.20 euros as of 12:40 p.m. in Frankfurt.
In addition to the Alibaba agreement, Koch has bought small e-commerce companies in Europe and is working with U.S.technology incubator Techstars to back promising entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry.
