Time for Alibaba to acquire Ali.com? — Is it
It might be time for Alibaba to buy a shorter domain.
Going short seems to be a trend in China. Just look at internet giant Alibaba. The name is well-known, easy to remember, and short at 7 characters only. Still, Chinese consumers think it is too long.
Why? The name is 4-pin (A Li Ba Ba=阿里巴巴) but Chinese consumers love 2-pin names as explained in What’s 2-pin and why does it matter for domain investing?. So, it is nicknamed “Ali” (A Li=阿里), which is frequently found in Chinese news.
The firm might have been inspired by the 2-pin nickname since now we see the use of “Ali” in many of Alibaba’s sub-brands. Some examples are listed below.
| Sub-brand | Domain | Business line | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AliPay | AliPay.com | Mobile payment | |
| AliExpress | AliExpress.com | Online shopping | |
| AliYun | AliYun.com | Cloud services | |
| AliHealth | AliHealth.com | Medical supplies | |
| AliSports | AliSports.com | Sports news | |
| AliTrip | AliTrip.com | Travel services | |
| AliMama | AliMama.com | Digital marketing | |
| AliGenie | AliGenie.com | Voice assistant on ioT | |
| AliCapital | AliCapital.co | VC | |
| AliTelecom | AliTelecom.com | Telco services | |
| AliMusic | (not found) | Music | |
| AliMail | (not found) | Email services |
Is it time for Alibaba to follow its sub-brands and acquire Ali.com to complement Alibaba.com?
Authentic Brands Group, LLC owns the domain. For many years, Ali.com was the official website of Muhammad Ali. Following Ali passed away in 2016, the domain forwarded to MuhammadAli.com or Alicenter.org. Right now, the domain sends you to Muhammad Ali’s account on Instagram. So, there may be a chance for Alibaba to acquire Ali.com.
