eChineseentitylistedintheUS.

Movinginoppositedirections

It’saremarkablefeatforacompanyfoundedonlyeightyearsagowhenAlibabawasalreadyadominantforceinglobale-commerce.

Justthreeyearsago,ervor.

AndtherewasnoTemu,thegoldenchildofChina’sassaultone-commerceeverywhere.

It’,$5billion(35.76billionyuan)inQ3andiswellontracktoexceedUS$15billionthisyear.

Temu,indeed,’smarketcaphasmorethandoubledtoUS$192billioninthepastyear,whileAlibaba,slidingfromUS$248billiontoUS$191billion,metitcomingtheotherway.

Longhotsummerofmobileinternet

Soshockedbytheturnabout,Alibaba’sfounderJackMaemergedfromtheshadowstourgehisemployeesforwardinthequesttoreclaimthetopspot,withoutactuallymentioningit.

“TheageofAIhasjustbegun,”proclaimedMa.“It’sachallengeandopportunityforeveryone.”

“Alibabawillbereborn.”hecontinued,beforeaddingcryptically,“Allgreatcompaniesarebornindeepwinter.”

PDD,forcomparison,wasborninthegoldensunlightofChina’,Alibabawasexpandingitsempireintologistics,groceries,entertainment,fooddeliveriesandeverythingelseunderthesky.

Tencent,,andMeituanwerediligentlyfollowinginAlibaba’swake,convincedthattoconquertheinternet,,aquiteuninspiringdomesticshoppingsite,,itpursuedonethingandonethingonly–lowprices.

Theartofthesteal

ThecharmofPinduoduo,accordingtofounderHUANGZheng,wasnotaboutbeingcheap,but“thesensationofhavingfoundastealofadeal.”

EarlycustomersrememberPinduoduoforitsinescapableads,flashyandgamifiedfrontpages,anabundanceofunbrandedproducts,,-commercesitesandconnectedthemwithprice-consciouscustomers.

“Taobaosaidmyvolumewasnotworththeireffort,”,

Sitbackandwatch

Thebusinessm,’sreputationsinpricewars,sslightly.

Beforesteppingdowntofocusonpersonalprojects,HuanghadwantedtotakePinduoduoglobalbutshelvedtheprojectuntil2022,whenChina’–apricioussupplychain.

Fromthemomentaproductislisted,,itcanalmoststipulateitsowncostofwarehousing,shippingandcustomerservice.

,’salgorithmoftenlowerspriceswithoutsellers’consent-butfewcomplainaboutthebottomline.

Amazoninperil

TemuoncesaiditbenchmarkeditselfagainstShein,butithasn’

Thatmeansreducings,warehousesmostly.

OutsidetheUS,however,,,followingtheairingofaUS$14-million"shoppinglikeabillionaire"SuperBowlad,ordersskyrocketed,rsuntilthebacklogwascleared.

Hardtaskmaster

Forayoungcompany,PDD’sworkcultureisnotoriouslyaggressive,esssecrets.

Employeesareofferedstockoptionstoundertakedifficultandhigh-riskprojects,suchasexpandingtheonlinegrocerybusinesstoanewcity.

nfourtimesAlibaba’’,000,nowherenearAlibaba's225,000.

Everyonelovesawinner?

Thereare,unsurprisingly,quitealotofpeoplewhofeelstronglyandquitenegatively,'saprevailingsentimentthatthemeteoricexpansionwon'tlast,buthowcouldit?

Oncethe300-percentgrowthfadesaway,PDDwilljustbeabargainbasementwithsubparservicesandahomogenousbusinessmodel.

Alibaba,ontheotherhand,hasmobilepayment,cloudcomputing,,bettingoncheap,genericproductsoverbrandnamesandsuperiorqualitygoesagainstretailtrs.

Looselipssinkships

Trs,however,suchasCoscointheUS,andaffordablequalitybrandslikeMujiandUniqloinJapan.

TenyearsofmobileinternetinChinahasledtoasingle-mindedfocusonwebtrafficmanipulation,which,afterthreeyearsofpandemic,isswiftlyreplacedbyarelianceonlowprices.

ForJackMa,it’“onlyacompanywillingtochangeatanycostisarespectablecompany.”HealsotalkedaboutAI-drivene-commerce,likeeveryonedoes,butnooneknowswhereAIwilllead.

PDD,asusual,