Hong Kong’s ecommerce market has become too crowded for Alibaba Group Holding, according to analysts, as the Chinese internet retail giant moves to close its local Tmall platform at the end of October.
Tmall Hong Kong, which was set up last year as a dedicated shopping channel for merchants and consumers in the city on Taobao Marketplace, will shut down operations on Oct 31, according to a notice posted on the platform last Friday. It said Aug 21 will serve as the last day for customers to place orders, and that merchants must dispatch all orders before Aug 26.