AliExpress growth slows due to ruble devaluation

Jason DeCrow / AP

AliExpress’s turnover growth rate has almost halved due to economic problems in Russia, Vedomosti reports . One of the main reasons is the devaluation of the Russian ruble. However, the gross turnover of the owner of AliExpress, the Chinese company Alibaba Group, grew by 53% in the fourth quarter. In monetary terms, this is $ 70 million. The main growth was provided by the AliExpress platform - here the main work is carried out on international markets.

Nevertheless, a twofold slowdown in the growth of international sales was recorded, compared to October-December last year. Over the specified time period, Alibaba's gross turnover from foreign sales grew by 110%. According to company experts who published the financial report of the Alibaba Group, such a slowdown was caused not only by the fall of the ruble against the dollar, but also by the depreciation of the national currency of Brazil.

The fact is that the main profit generators on AliExpress are buyers from Russia, Brazil and the United States. It is worth noting that in Russia, the turnover of international e-commerce over the past year amounted to about $ 5 billion. At the same time, about 70% of the turnover came from Chinese stores, of which AliExpress is the most popular. TaoBao and Tmall sites, which are also owned by the Alibaba Group, are in second and third places.

In fiscal 2014-2015, Alibaba's total gross turnover reached a growth rate of 46% ($ 394 billion). The company's revenue for the same period increased by 45%, to $ 12.29 billion. The total profit from all operations amounted to $ 3.732 billion. Profit reduction for the year - 7% due to the so-called one-time operations.