Back in April, this magazine interviewed Jack Ma, who had this to say about the EBay-TaoBao battle for supremacy in China’s online auction market:
We actually believe that this game is already over. It is too late for eBay to make a comeback in China. The key has been focusing on local market needs and forgetting about e-commerce models in the West. Taobao is much more suited to China’s consumers and market conditions, and so long as eBay is directing eBay China from its Silicon Valley headquarters, it will be impossible for their local team to move fast enough to win.
A bold statement at the time, but one that proved correct.