Will the UK soon say ‘Open Sesame’ to Alibaba, asks ParcelHero
Could Alibaba's magic work in the UK, questions online international courier
You might not know very much about it yet, but the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba looks set to one day overtake Walmart as the world’s largest retailer. The company, a mixture of Google, Amazon, You Tube, PayPal and e-Bay rolled into one, is valued at $231bn after its flotation on the New York stock market last Friday.
Now UK-based international courier ParcelHero is asking if the internet giant will target the UK, and if Alibaba’s ongoing success might encourage Parcelhero’s own share offer.
Alibaba is already larger than eBay and Amazon combined. Founded by hard-up English teacher Jack Ma in 1998, Alibaba is essentially a B2B site in which companies can source suppliers, while Alibaba’s offshoot, Taobao Marketplace, combines C2C, rather like eBay, and B2C, like Amazon.
Parcelhero’s David Jinks says ‘Have a look online and there’s already an Alibaba.com site and even, yes, an alibaba.co.uk! So far it’s hardly a major presence here; but imagine the impact on the UK internet retail industry if the hugely wealthy company ever really decided to set its sights, or should that be sites, on Europe and the UK?’
David adds: ‘Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, has learned the message of the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Ali Baba discovers the secret words that opens the door to the thieves’ treasure: ‘Open Sesame’. He spends the wealth he discovers widely to benefit all his fellow villagers. Jack Ma believes Alibaba’s ‘Open sesame’ opens the door to potential fortunes for small businesses’
Like Alibaba, ParcelHero has launched its own share offer, not on Wall Street like Alibaba, but through the increasingly popular method of online crowdfunding. Says David: ‘The express and small parcels market grew by 6.8% in 2013 alone, and online sales are expected to grow by 9% until 2017. That certainly opens doors for the online international courier industry, with or without magic. Alibaba shows the remarkable potential for online businesses’ continued growth.’
David explains: ‘ParcelHero may not have shares that closed at $93.89 on their first day of trading, or a value of over $231bn, but we do expect our profits to grow to £3.6m in three years! With 26 days left to raise £300,000 through Crowdcube our own shares adventure story is still going strong!’
You can find out more about ParcelHero’s crowdunding offer at http://www.parcelhero.com/invest-in-parcelhero
Caption: Ali Baba’s magic words ‘Open Sesame’ opened a cave full of treasure. Alibaba’s flotation opens the door to new potential for online businesses, believes ParcelHero.
ENDS
For more information please contact David Jinks, Head of PR, on david@parcelhero.com or by phone on 0208 7584962 (07772 055748 out of office hours)
Leading international online courier ParcelHero strategically partners with the world's leading, logistics companies, including DHL, UPS and DPD to provide a flexible, cost-effective range of parcel delivery services to over 220 countries worldwide. Huge bulk purchasing power allows ParcelHero to offer highly competitive pricing with no compromise in service quality.
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