Alibaba is reportedly considering the sale of Intime Department, a bricks-and-mortar retailer that the e-commerce giant privatized in 2017 for HK$19.8 billion, and which once formed a key part of its bid to modernize offline retail. The Taobao owner has engaged in talks with several potential buyers to assess their interest in acquiring Intime, which operates more than 100 department stores and shopping centers across China, according to local media outlets. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Rumors that Alibaba intends to sell its non-core businesses, including food delivery service Ele.me and entertainment-related ventures, have garnered market attention in the last two months amid the firm’s efforts to revamp its most profitable platforms Taobao and Tmall, but Alibaba has claimed that such speculations is “untrue.” [Jiemian, in Chinese]
Related
