Alibaba to sell Intime store chain for $1B booking loss on sale

Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) to sell its stake in department store chain Intime to a consortium of buyers including Youngor Fashion for approximately $1 billion, making a large loss on the sale.

The e-commerce giant will book a loss of about $1.3 billion compared to Alibaba’s (BABA) initial investment of $2.6 billion when it acquired Intime in 2017. A potential deal was first reported by Bloomberg on Monday.

The decision to divest Intime aligns with Alibaba’s (BABA) broader strategy to streamline operations and focus on its core e-commerce business. Merchants struggle with a persistent drop in foot traffic due to declining Chinese consumer spending.

Alibaba (BABA) is also considering sale of its stake in supermarket chain Sun Art Retail Group, with negotiations in progress.