From Taobao intern to the father of Pinduoduo

Chapter 59 A Masterpiece

Lin Mu thought to himself, "This is going to be difficult."

The current public opinion is not something that can be easily swayed by him simply stating a few reasons and evidence, and the seller will then buy into it.

This requires substantial profits to support it, and actively attract sellers to Taobao Mall.

Ultimately, it's because Mr. Huang was too incompetent; he failed to successfully operate Taobao Mall.

However, he still had to post the message he had promised.

Firstly, it would be profitable for him.

When Double 11 becomes a success and Tmall takes off, he will be remembered by the industry as the one who launched the first signal flare, which will help him attract investment.

Secondly, this will also benefit his work going forward.

He needs to write a post, carefully arguing that Taobao Mall is necessary, building such a consensus internally, and solidifying that consensus.

This will benefit cross-departmental communication within the Taobao Mall department in the future.

Otherwise, why would colleagues from other departments waste resources on a project that is meaningless and doomed to failure?

After thinking it over, Lin Mu began typing on the keyboard.

He didn't plan to post the original post on the seller forum. If he did, no matter how reasonable and well-founded his argument was, he would be criticized as a lackey of capitalists.

Lin Mu planned to post the first post on the intranet, and then forward the post content and excellent internal comments to the seller forum.

The post first argues why Taobao Mall should exist, then discusses how to do it, and finally concludes with a summary that elevates the theme.

Lin Mu struggled with how to do it when he got to the part.

It's not that he didn't know how to distort the situation of Taobao Mall.

Instead, he tries to apply the answers to the questions, and what he writes is truly appalling.

It gives me the feeling that you might have some kind of precognitive ability.

After thinking for a while, Lin Mu wrote an email to Qiao Feng, asking if he could write down the details of concentrating resources to fight a tough battle.

Before long, he received a reply from Qiao Feng that he could.

So Lin Mu boldly began writing the content, and after a while, the post was completed.

【theme】

[A Reassessment of Taobao Mall's Strategic Position and Proposal for Urgent Action]

[Reported to: Group Board of Directors, Management, and all Alibaba colleagues]

[Initiator: Dayan]

[Date: November 8, 2008]

[Foreword: Recently, there has been much discussion both online and offline about whether Taobao Mall should exist.]

Look, everyone, this is the newspaper I bought casually at a newsstand.

【(picture)】

Look at the title, how shocking!

[Take a look at these posts on the seller forum]

The seller alliance is celebrating wildly, as if the death of Taobao Mall was the right thing to do, deserved, and a good thing.

So, is that really the case?

Is the existence of Taobao Mall truly a mistake?

Comrades, I don't think so.

I think…

Retreating now would be the biggest strategic mistake of the next decade!

We must be keenly aware of a fundamental issue.

We are not discussing shutting down a failed project, but whether to kill the group's future.

[This post aims to clarify that Taobao Mall not only cannot die, but the B2C model it represents is the lifeline that the group must defend and win in the competition over the next decade.]

The current predicament is not a strategic mistake, but rather the inevitable growing pains experienced in the early stages of strategic implementation.

Retreat is a mediocre escape, while continuing to fight will win us the entire future!

First: Why must we persist?

Three Unshakable Core Principles

[Insight 1: We are not competing with today's marketplace, but with tomorrow's "regular army"]

Taobao's C2C ecosystem is a great foundation, but it is essentially a vibrant "marketplace".

The future of retail in China will undoubtedly be characterized by branding, standardization, and service-oriented "modern commercial entities."

What JD.com is doing is building such a modern, brand-directly-operated marketplace.

If we abandon the online store, we are essentially handing over all future brands and merchants aspiring to grow online to our future competitors.

[Insight 2: The essence of contradiction is not "divergence," but "evolution."]

The reason why some marketplace sellers hate Taobao Mall is essentially because they feel their traffic is being "diverted".

This is a shortsighted illusion.

The truth is, consumer needs are becoming stratified.

A user who wants to buy cheap tissues is essentially a different type of person from a user who wants to buy brand-name cosmetics or large appliances.

Taobao Mall is not competing with the marketplace for business; rather, it is meeting the needs of a higher-end, higher-quality user base with stronger future purchasing power.

Suppressing the marketplace to cater to the old ecosystem is like destroying the railway to protect coachmen—it's a step backward in history.

[Third point: The value of the online marketplace lies in its irreplaceable "trust infrastructure"]

Fellow comrades, C2C has solved the problem of "everything is available for purchase," but it cannot systematically solve the problem of "worry-free purchasing."

The core value of the online marketplace lies in building a trustworthy environment where consumers and brands can confidently conduct large-scale, high-frequency transactions through brand endorsement, standardized service, and invoicing capabilities.

This is a crucial leap that will propel China's e-commerce from "finding bargains" to "finding quality."

Without the mall, we will forever remain at the level of a "small commodity distribution center," unable to seize the high ground of consumption upgrading.

How to Win This Battle: A Three-Step Breakthrough from "Proof Mode" to "Detonation Mode"

Empty talk about strategy is useless; we must prove ourselves with a decisive victory. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately focus resources on a decisive battle to silence everyone.

[Step 1: Strategic Retrenchment, Building a "Sharp Edge Company"]

[Extreme Selection: From the existing merchants, we will carefully select no more than 30 brands with the highest potential and cooperation; they will be our "landing force."]

[Resource Infusion: The group is providing these seed merchants with top-tier traffic support, a zero-commission period, and dedicated customer service.]

Our goal is not to achieve widespread success, but to concentrate all our resources to help these 30 brands achieve explosive growth on Taobao Mall that they cannot match on any other platform.

[Step Two: Creating a Myth, Planning the "Nuclear Explosion Point"]

We must create a highly distinctive shopping festival that belongs to Taobao Mall.

[Holiday establishment: To be determined, but it is suggested to be between November and December (this period is the off-season for retail sales between National Day and Christmas)]

[Minimalist Rules: 50% off sitewide, free shipping nationwide. Rules must be simple, straightforward, and impactful.]

[Comprehensive Launch: Integrating resources across the entire group, with a month-long advance notice. Using this festival to declare to all consumers and brands: "Taobao Mall is the number one choice for discounted genuine brand products."]

[Step 3: Ecological Reconstruction, Defining the "Two-Way Road"]

After securing survival through a high-impact campaign, the company must immediately address its ecological positioning within the C2C ecosystem.

[Clear definition: Taobao (C2C): "The all-powerful marketplace"—rich, interesting, cost-effective, featuring long-tail products and individual entrepreneurship.]

Taobao Mall (B2C): "A Paradise for Brands"—Quality, Guarantee, Service, Efficiency, Flagship Brands.

[Traffic distribution strategy adjustment: On search, channel, and other pages, we will more intelligently differentiate and guide the two types of needs, directing those looking for bargains to the marketplace and those looking to buy brands to the mall, transforming "internal competition" into "coordinated fulfillment."]

III. What we need: Not tolerance, but faith and ammunition.

[Strategic decision and endorsement from top management: We need the group to issue a clear statement, firmly supporting Taobao Mall's development as an independent brand, ending internal wavering and suspicion.]

Limited, but absolutely focused resources: In the future, we need a dedicated marketing budget, and most importantly, temporary control over the group's core traffic, to build our "sky-mending" campaign.

[Conclusion: History will prove who is guarding the future]

Shutting down the online store may bring temporary peace and a smoother financial report today, but tomorrow we will be defenseless and utterly defeated by our well-equipped B2C competitors.

Keep going. Today we will endure all the misunderstanding and pressure, but tomorrow we will have it all.

[A core engine for upgrading service consumption]

[A major platform for global brands, a prestigious brand in online retail representing quality and trust]

This is not just a question of whether a business line should exist or not; it is a battle for the ultimate right to define the future of Alibaba.

Taobao Mall cannot die. Because what will die is not just a project, but our imagination about the future.

When Lin Mu finished writing all the content and clicked to publish it on the intranet, it caused a huge stir.

……

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