vol.124：The Alibaba Siege Network

This text examines the escalating competitive pressure on Alibaba as its traditional e-commerce dominance faces a strategic "encirclement" by rising rivals. While Alibaba historically thrived by matching buyers and sellers without holding inventory, competitors like Pinduoduo have successfully captured the lower-tier "rural" markets through low-cost group buying and stable profitability. Furthermore, social media platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu allow merchants to generate their own traffic, reducing their reliance on Alibaba’s expensive advertising services. To counter this loss of influence, Alibaba is shifting toward an Amazon-style self-operated model and launching imitation apps to retain users and sellers. The author concludes that without significant structural evolution, the tech giant faces a gradual but serious decline in its core profitability and market control.