Worldview: Alibaba Group’s Latest Executive Shuffle

🇨🇳 Alibaba Group appoints James Dong as acting CEO of South Asian e-tailer Daraz. The Chinese language group has changed Bjarke Mikkelsen, founding father of the struggling clothing-to-electronics e-commerce platform Daraz, which operates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar. Dong, at present CEO of the group’s Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce enterprise Lazada, will proceed to run that multi-category platform throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines, deepening integration and increasing efficiencies between the 2 subsidiaries. The appointment follows final yr’s reshuffle of prime executives on the group’s China headquarters which noticed the promotion of youthful leaders in key positions and group CEO Eddie Wu take over the Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG) unit from Trudy Dai amid stiff competitors from Alibaba’s rivals. [South China Morning Post]

🇷🇼 $1 billion Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Fund to finance start-ups. The UN Growth Programme has launched the funding platform, which will probably be based mostly in Kigali, Rwanda however domiciled in eight cities throughout the continent. It seems that Cairo, Egypt and Cape City, South Africa are the place financiers for fashion-adjacent startups will probably be based mostly because the cities have been designated as hubs of the e-commerce and artistic financial system sectors, respectively. Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s digital minister, mentioned that taking part international locations would every ultimately contribute round $10 million and that institutional backers just like the World Financial institution would assist elevate the remaining capital. Hubs in Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, Dakar, Senegal, Casablanca, Morocco and Nairobi, Kenya will concentrate on startups from different sectors. [Semafor]

🇨🇱 Chile’s retail giant Cencosud appoints Rodrigo Larrain Kaplan as CEO. The Cencosud veteran will change interim chief government Renato Gutierrez Gonzalez on Mar. 1 on the group, considered one of South America’s largest retailers, working 48 shops together with the Paris chain and 33 procuring centres in Chile. The appointment follows months of uncertainty that noticed former chairwoman Heike Paulmann Koepfer, daughter of founder Horst Paulmann, resign final month and get replaced by Julio Moura after the native regulator forbade her from concurrently holding that function and interim CEO. [Bloomberg]

🇪🇬 Alshaya Group is closing 60 global brand stores across Egypt. Citing the nation’s ongoing financial stoop brought on by forex devaluations and report inflation, a spokesperson for the Kuwait-based franchise and joint-venture retailer working throughout the Center East mentioned: “We will probably be closing all our bodily shops and [e-commerce] operations of Claires, Debenhams, Mothercare, The Physique Store and Pinkberry in Egypt… [and] decreasing the variety of shops… for American Eagle, Bathtub & Physique Works, H&M, and Victoria’s Secret.” [Zawya]

🇷🇺 Russian luxury fashion resale platform Oskelly to invest in Middle East markets. The corporate mentioned it’s “reinvesting over $1 million” to broaden to the United Arab Emirates, with new digital and AI options deliberate for native customers. Based in 2017 by siblings Albert Oskanov and Zaira Keligova, Oskelly reviews an current consumer base in Jap Europe of 500,000 and a portfolio of three,000 luxurious manufacturers. Many Russians have relocated to Dubai for the reason that introduction of western sanctions on Russia over its battle in Ukraine. [Zawya]

🇹🇳 Tunisian textile worker wages to increase 20% over the next three years. An settlement reached between the nation’s Fédération Générale du Textile, de l’Habillement, Chaussure et Cuir (FGTHCC-UGTT) union and the employers’ organisation Fédération Nationale du Textile will see pay rise 6.5 p.c each this yr and subsequent yr after which 7 p.c in 2026. “The rise is necessary to revive the buying energy of staff within the sector,” mentioned FGTHCC-UGTT basic secretary Habib Al-Hazami. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi fashion factory shipments disrupted by Red Sea attacks. At the least two producers on the earth’s second-largest attire exporting nation have reportedly skilled transport delays, slower lead-times and misplaced enterprise alternatives because of ongoing disruptions brought on by Yemen-based Houthi assaults on vessels in Suez Canal-bound freight routes within the Crimson Sea and Gulf of Aden. [Sourcing Journal]

🇮🇳 Manyavar’s Indian parent Vedant Fashions’ net profit rises 4.8% in Q3. The producer and retailer of Indian conventional, marriage ceremony and celebration put on underneath the model names Manyavar, Mohey, Mebaz, Twamev and Manthan has reported consolidated internet revenue of 157.71 crore rupees ($18.9 million) within the third quarter of FY24. The Kolkata-based agency based by Ravi Modi counts 657 mono-brand shops in India and 16 abroad shops in international locations together with the US, UK, UAE and Canada. [Economic Times]

🇿🇦 South African fashion retail group TFG reports slower sales growth in Q3. The corporate cited a softer Black Friday, energy cuts and delays at ports, negatively impacting the highest line on the Cape City-based firm which has a portfolio of 34 retail manufacturers, together with Foschini, Markham, Connor and Britain’s Whistles and Hobbs, working throughout greater than 4600 shops in 26 international locations. [Reuters]

🇨🇳 Chinese beauty brands Aupres, Proya and Florasis top earned media ranking. In keeping with influencer advertising agency WeArisma’s Magnificence Leaderboards tracker from January 1 to 22, the three C-beauty manufacturers reached the highest spot on Chinese language social media platforms together with Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Amongst worldwide manufacturers Guerlain, Dior Magnificence and Hourglass ranked highest. [Jing Daily]

🌏 Political risks in 27 countries could undermine friendshoring strategies. The Sourcing Journal has cited Verisk Maplecroft’s newest Political Danger Dataset itemizing of the international locations, a few of them key trend manufacturing markets like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Thailand and Turkey, the place political dangers or different challenges like civil unrest, authorities instability, battle and terrorism might pose challenges to manufacturers making an attempt to scale back provide chain publicity in China. [Sourcing Journal]

🇨🇳 Galeries Lafayette opens department store in Macau. The French luxurious retail group, which has a footprint in mainland China throughout Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Chongqing, opened on Jan. 26 within the lately accomplished Treasure Island World Purchasing Centre within the playing hub and particular administrative area. The group is seeking to launch eight extra places in China by 2025 with its joint-venture companion China’s Hopson Business Group. [Prestige]

🇮🇳 Indian court rejects Lotus Herbals’ claim against Deepika Padukone’s brand. The Delhi Excessive Court docket has rejected the Indian magnificence group’s short-term injunction towards the movie star’s magnificence model, ruling that the defendant’s ‘Lotus Splash’ facewash doesn’t represent an infringement of a registered trademark held by the plaintiff in relation to its long-running vary of Lotus branded merchandise. [Economic Times]

🇨🇳 Estée Lauder casts Chinese actress Xin Zhilei as cosmetics line ambassador. The American magnificence main has launched an advert marketing campaign that includes the actress recognized for her roles in Wong Kar-wai’s common TV sequence Blossoms Shanghai. [Jing Daily]

🇷🇺 Pandora signs as presenting partner of Australian Fashion Week. The Danish jewelry model has partnered with organiser IMG for the resort 2025 collections in Sydney from Might 13 to 17. It’s unclear whether or not the deal, which follows a naming rights partnership with Afterpay, will proceed past the upcoming season. [Rag Trader]