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Alibaba repositions into platform to support brands from all over the world

Although much of the conversation of the Alibaba 11.11 Global Shopping Festival has been about the numbers – if you’re counting, it’s RMB268.4 billion (RM 158.9 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) from 1.292 billion orders – Chris Tung (pic, below), Alibaba chief marketing officer, is just as keen to showcase his company’s ability to attract customers and retailers alike to their marketplace.

“This is a platform to support brands from all over the world, including small and medium enterprises,” he said during a press conference. “As it gets bigger and bigger, it becomes more effective for brands.”

Making sure several times to emphasise the word “global”, he proposed that Alibaba has, for practical purposes, solved the problem of how to sell stuff to the world, now it’s up to companies to make people want them. To him, the 11.11 Festival isn’t just about sales, it’s about building your brand.

“Even if during the 24 hours they don’t buy your product, they have participated from the livestreaming, they have browsed through your flagship store,” he said. “So this is one step or three steps closer,” he said for brands to expose themselves to a new audience.

Southeast Asian companies “not very familiar with the Chinese market”

“We want to import more than US$2,000 billion worth of international products to China in the next five years,” he proclaimed, preferring to use billions rather than trillion which is what it translates to.

This is the bold ambition laid out by Chris Wang, Tmall Global, head of business development, SEA, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. (Tmall Global is the dedicated channel for cross-border e-commerce for Tmall, which in turn is a spinoff of Taobao Mall, the B2C online retail operated by Alibaba.)

Tmall Global helps link retailers and brands outside China to customers in China, either by listing products on the Alibaba storefront, or by setting up “flagship stores” on the Tmall Global website. They have so far been successful in garnering 22,000 brands from 78 countries, and this year generated a 300% year-over-year growth in the number of new brands joining the platform. No data was shared on the revenue generated by those brands.

Wang notes that although trade is now globalised, most companies in Southeast Asia (SEA) lack information and understanding of how to reach customers in China. “Many brand owners and founders are not very familiar with the Chinese market, with Chinese consumer preferences, and just how to do business in China,” he said.

But SEA is a market whose retailers still need to be brought on board. The top 10 countries that sold products to China during the 11.11 Festival were led by Japan, the United States and South Korea, and including New Zealand and Italy. In contrast, SEA countries are nowhere to be seen as sellers, even though the final top 10 list of countries buying from China included Malaysia (6th) and Singapore (8th).

To improve this, Tmall Global has started working in partnership with Lazada (in whom they own a majority stake) on a program called “Lazada to China”, bringing on board brands such as hair product manufacturer Ellips from Indonesia, and cosmetics brand Sunnies Face from the Philippines.

Step with the right partner and digital content

According to Wang, Ellips has managed to make a good start since its launch two months ago. Another example of a brand in the region that is doing well, is Old Town White Coffee from Malaysia.

Across the board, the industries that are doing well are cosmetics, personal care, health supplements, and baby care, as well as subsections of the home, food and fashion categories.

Wang suggests there are three reasons why he has seen some companies succeed while other struggle. “The first one is make sure that you choose the right partner to work with,” in particular to help manage logistics and customer care, but also to help market the brand. “Your local partner must be someone who understands you as the brand. What’s your brand story? What’s your brand origin?”

Secondly, is to pay enough attention to digital content, said Wang, referring to the current popularity of livestreaming, which generated 16% of all purchases during the 11.11 sales. “If you want to succeed in China, you have to spend enough effort to build content and awareness online, especially through social media,” he stresses.

“The third one is, make sure you yourself are ready,” stressed Wang. In particular, companies that primarily want to trade should probably stick to B2B2C channels. “But if you want to go and build a brand, Tmall Global is definitely one of your best partners to work with.”

If, by this point, anybody is still wondering why they should get into China, Wang has a simple answer. “As a matter of fact, I think in the next few months, maybe a year, China will be the largest consumer market in the world.”

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gfjdgnfjgk this punk ass bitch really tried it and she fucking obliterated him Im screaming 

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[EXTR4T3RR35TR14L W4LLP4P3R].

Mathematics is beautiful. <3

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Gigi Hadid

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Phi is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.6180339887, also known as the Golden Ratio.

It’s highly prevalent in nature, from the proportions of the human body (as shown by Da Vinci), to the formation of Nautilus shells. And in Saturn it seems.

The diameter of Saturn has a phi relationship with the diameter of its rings, which are defined by the Roche Sphere - the point where Saturn’s gravitational influence prevents bodies like moons forming and tear matter into orbit around it. The distance of the inner ring division is in a phi relationship with the diameter of the rings outside the sphere of the planet as defined by the Roche limit - the area of tidal force excerted by Saturn. And, the Cassini division (a marked gap within the rings of Saturn) falls directly at the Golden Section of the width of the lighter outside ring section.

Finally, the orbital period of Saturn around the sun also exhibits a relationship to phi, when taking Earth’s orbit as 0 (7*phi = 29).

Some believe that Phi is the natural result of the most efficient outcome. Some believe it is a universal constant of design.

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The Battle of Mirbat

Unsurprisingly given their pedigree, the history of the SAS is littered with stories of unlikely triumphs against the odds. Even so, the battle of Mirbat, fought against communist guerillas in Oman on July 19, 1972, still ranks highly among the regiment’s honours.

At 6 am communists of the PFLOAG attacked the British Army Training Team (BATT) house at Mirbat, which housed the nine SAS soldiers, based just outside the Port of Mirbat. The PFLOAG (locally known as the Adoo) attacked the SAS BATT house knowing that to be able to reach the Port of Mirbat they would first have to defeat the SAS guarding the approach to the town in Jebel Ali, a series of small desert slopes leading to the Port.

The Officer in Command, Captain Mike Kealy observed the waves advancing on the fort, but at first did not order his men to open fire because he thought it was the “Night Picket” coming back from night shift. The Night Picket were a loyal group of the Omani Army positioned on the slopes to warn the BATT house of Adoo troop movements. Realising that the Night Picket must have been killed, Kealy ordered his men to open fire. Kealy and other members of the team took up positions behind the sand-bag parapet on the roof of the BATT house, firing at the Adoo with L1A1 SLR battle rifles, with one man firing the Browning M2HB heavy machine gun, with a further two men on ground level operating and firing an infantry mortar surrounded by sand-bags. The Adoo were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, and were mortar bombing the area around the BATT house. Kealy ordered the signaller to establish communications with SAS Headquarters at Um al Quarif, to request reinforcements.

There were also a small number of Omani Intelligence Service personnel in the BATT House, a small contingent of Pakistani soldiers and a member of British Military Intelligence seconded to the OIS. They joined the team on the roof and fired on the Adoo with SLRs and other small arms.[citation needed] Initially some of the Pakistani soldiers were reluctant to join the defence of the fort because their roles with the BATT were largely administrative, but they obeyed orders from Mike Kealy and the British Military Intelligence Corporal.[citation needed]

Knowing that the SLRs would not be of full use until the Adoo were closer than the weapon’s range of 800 metres, and lacking heavier firepower, the SAS Fijian Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba made a run for the 25 Pounder Artillery Piece, which was positioned next to a smaller fort manned by nine Omani Army Special Forces soldiers, who had not played a part in the battle. The Omani policeman who was guarding the weapon had been seriously wounded. Talaiasi Labalaba managed to operate the weapon, which is a six-man job, by himself and fire a round a minute at the approaching Adoo, directing their attention away from the BATT house. Kealy received a radio message from Talaiasi reporting that a bullet had skimmed his face, he was badly injured, and was struggling to operate the gun on his own. At the BATT house Kealy asked for a volunteer to run to Talaiasi’s aid. Trooper Sekonaia Takavesi volunteered to go.

Sekonaia Takavesi ran from the BATT house, with the remaining men providing covering fire, in an attempt to distract the Adoo. Sekonaia ran the 800 metres through heavy gunfire, and reached the gun emplacement. Sekonaia tried to give aid to his injured friend, while firing at the approaching Adoo with his personal weapon. Realising that they needed help, Sekonaia tried to raise the small number of Omani soldiers inside the smaller fort and Walid Khamis emerged. The remaining Omani soldiers in the fort engaged the enemy with small arms fire from firing positions on the roof and through the windows of the fort. As the two men made it back to the emplacement, the Omani soldier fell wounded after being shot in the stomach with a 7.62 mm bullet. Adoo continued to advance upon both the BATT house and the artillery emplacement. At one point, the Adoo were so close that Sekonaia and Talaiasi fired the weapon at point blank range, aiming down the barrel. Talaiasi crawled across a small space to reach a 60 mm Infantry Mortar, but fell dead after being shot in the neck. Sekonaia, also shot through the shoulder and grazed by a bullet to the back of his head, continued to fire at the approaching Adoo with his personal weapon. The squad signaller sent messages through to the main Forward Operating Base, to request air support and medical evacuation for the men in the gun emplacement.

Captain Kealy and Trooper Tobin made a run to the artillery piece. Upon reaching it, they dived in to avoid increasingly intense gunfire from the Adoo. Sekonaia continued to fire on the attackers, propped up against sand bags after being shot through the stomach (the bullet narrowly missing his spine). The Adoo threw several hand grenades, but only one detonated, exploding behind the emplacement with no one injured. During the battle, Trooper Tobin attempted to reach over the body of Talaiasi. In so doing, Tobin was mortally wounded when a bullet struck his face. By this time, BAC Strikemaster light-attack jets of the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force had arrived and began strafing the Adoo in the Jebel Ali. With a low cloud base making for low-altitude attack runs, only machine-guns and light rockets were used. Reinforcements arrived from G Squadron and, defeated, the PFLOAG withdrew at about 12:30. All wounded SAS soldiers were evacuated, and given medical treatment. Trooper Tobin eventually died in hospital, due not directly to the multiple gunshot wounds but to an infection in his lung caused by a splintered tooth, which he had inhaled when his bottom jaw was blown off by an AK-47 round.

The 25-pounder gun (now known as the “Mirbat gun”) used by Fijian Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba during the siege is now housed in the Firepower museum of the Royal Artillery at the former Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Though killed in action, Sgt Labalaba displayed remarkable bravery by singlehandedly operating the 25-pounder gun, a weapon normally requiring four to six soldiers to operate. Labalaba’s heroism was a key factor in halting the Adoo’s assault on the emplacement, allowing time for reinforcements to arrive. Labalaba was awarded a posthumous Mention in Dispatches for his actions in the Battle of Mirbat, though some of his comrades have since campaigned for him to be awarded the more prestigious Victoria Cross.

The following SAS soldiers were present at Mirbat on 19 July 1972.

Captain Mike Kealy

Staff Sergeant Talaiasi “Laba” Labalaba (Killed in action)

Sergeant Bob Bennett

Corporal Roger Cole

Corporal Jeff Taylor

Lance Corporal P. Warne (Also known as Pete Wignall, Pete Winner & Soldier I, nickname Snapper)

Trooper Sekonaia “Tak” Takavesi

Trooper Thomas Tobin (Died of wounds)

Austin “Fuzz” Hussey

Kealy received the Distinguished Service Order, Takavesi the Distinguished Conduct Medal, Bennett and McNeice the Military Medal. These were announced three years after the event. An Omani from the fort, Walid Khamis, was injured during the battle and received the Sultan’s Gallantry Medal - Oman’s highest award.

The battle was underreported, and many considered the SAS team deserving of further individual awards for gallantry. However, many in Oman at that time perceived a desire by HM Government and the MoD to downplay incidents of direct involvement of British service personnel in military action. The British Military Intelligence Corporal received a medal for gallantry from the Sultan (for this action and others), but was threatened with disciplinary action by the British Army for being directly involved in the action at Mirbat.

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July 20, 1969: People around the world tune their radios and television sets to watch humans step foot on the Moon for the first time.

Gather ‘round with us today and experience history as it unfolded 50 years ago.

Watch NASA TV at 4:02 p.m. EDT as we replay the original live broadcast of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. 

Then, at 10:38 p.m. EDT, watch the replay of the original live broadcast of the first steps on the Moon, as the world watched it in 1969: