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TODAY’S MAZE
Markets are rewarding discipline but punishing excess. Alibaba’s leaner playbook is fueling investor confidence, while Temu’s tariff storm is cutting into profits. The theme is clear: growth matters, but margins decide who wins.
Main Story
💹 Alibaba’s Q1 Results Spark Stock Rally
⚖️ Temu’s Tariff Turbulence Hits PDD Profits
News📖
🇬🇧 Amazon Returns to Google Shopping Ads
🇬🇧 Amazon Adds Extra FBA Fee for Peak Season
🇺🇸 Tariff Talk Hits U.S. Furniture Retailers
🇺🇸 Resale Booms as Tariffs Hit U.S. Shoppers
🇩🇪 Delivery Hero Grows But Cuts Guidance
🇨🇳 Meituan’s Profit Plunges on Price Wars
+ 15 other handpicked news from the last week you need to know 🔥
LET’S ENTER THE MAZE!
- Artur Stańczuk, MarketMaze Founder
🌀 Maze Story
Alibaba’s Q1 Results Spark Stock Rally 💹
Most expected a quiet quarter, but Alibaba’s latest results surprised the market. Heavy bets on AI and instant commerce are showing traction. The stock surged after earnings—even as headline growth stayed modest.
What happened?
Alibaba’s shares jumped nearly 9% intraday, closing at around $130, after reporting Q1 results on August 29.
Q1 revenue hit $34.6B, up just 2% year-over-year, but cloud sales soared 26% to $4.66B, their fastest growth in three years.
Net income beat expectations, boosted by disciplined spending and gains from investments, despite missing analyst revenue forecasts by about $600M.
Why it matters?
The share surge shows investors are betting on Alibaba’s pivot to AI and cloud, not just e-commerce recovery.
Strong cloud and AI growth signal Alibaba can compete with US tech giants—and develop its own AI chips.
Financial discipline and focus on tech helped cushion soft China retail, keeping investors confident and the year-to-date stock gain close to 50%.
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🌀 Maze Story
Temu’s Tariff Turbulence Hits PDD Profits ⚖️
PDD Holdings, owner of Temu and Pinduoduo, posted strong Q2 revenue—up 7% to $14.5B—beating analyst estimates. But profit took a hit as Temu ramped up spending to defend share in a hyper-competitive market and braced for the end of U.S. tariff loopholes. After an initial 11% surge in premarket trading, shares closed up just 1% as management flagged “choppiness” in near-term results.
What happened?
Q2 revenue reached $14.5B, up 7% YoY, as Temu and Pinduoduo grew their active user base, especially outside China.
Net profit fell ~4% to $4.3B, driven by a sharp rise in spending—on marketing, deep discounts, U.S. warehousing, and supply chain tweaks to handle new tariffs.
Margin squeeze: Operating profit dropped 21% YoY as Temu subsidized shipping, promoted more U.S.-stocked goods, and rolled out aggressive promotions to retain customers amid rising competition from TikTok Shop, Shein, and Amazon.
Stock reaction: Shares jumped premarket on the revenue beat, but faded as the market digested guidance about ongoing high costs, competitive threats, and short-term margin pressure.
Why it matters?
Investors: Growth is still there, but profit volatility is the new normal as Temu races to adapt to higher U.S. costs and defend share. Analyst sentiment is split—bulls like the growth, bears worry about profitability.
Competitors: The forced shift to more U.S. warehousing could narrow Temu’s price advantage, giving rivals like Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok Shop room to grab share or squeeze margins further.
Consumers: Temu’s rock-bottom prices and ultra-fast shipping are under pressure. Expect more U.S.-stocked goods, but likely at higher prices and with fewer extreme bargains as cost pressures bite.
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📰 Market Briefing
🛒 Mass merchant platforms
🇬🇧 Amazon Returns to Google Shopping Ads. Amazon resumed Google Shopping ads on international sites after pausing in July, while U.S. ads remain off. The test shows how Amazon manages ad spend and competition outside its home market. 👉 Search Engine Land
🇬🇧 Amazon Adds Extra FBA Fee for Peak Season. Amazon will charge a holiday fee on select FBA orders in the UK and Germany from Oct 15 to Jan 14, with UK surcharges starting at £0.10. Sellers also face higher storage fees during the season. 👉 Ecommerce News EU
🇨🇳 Taobao and Tmall Launch Growth Plan. Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall rolled out a store growth plan with billions of RMB in co-investment and smart discounts. The program lifted sales 10% and drove 70% of growth from new customers. 👉 GuruFocus
🇺🇸 Temu Restarts China-US Shipments After Truce. Temu resumed direct shipments from China to the U.S. after a tariff truce, bringing back its managed service. It also boosted U.S. ad spend and asked some suppliers to hold stock in America. 👉 PYMNTS
🇮🇳 Flipkart Hires 220,000 for Festive Rush. Flipkart is adding 220,000 seasonal jobs and 650 delivery hubs for the festival season. About 15% are first-time workers, while Amazon India is hiring 150,000 for its biggest peak push in three years. 👉 Economic Times
🇧🇷 Brazil E-Commerce Grows 24% in H1 2025. Online sales in Brazil grew 24% in the first half of 2025, reaching R$100.5 billion. The data confirms strong momentum in one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world. 👉 Valor International
🇩🇪 The Platform Group GMV Up 47% in H1. Germany’s The Platform Group lifted GMV to €652M, up 47% year-on-year. Revenue rose 48% to €343M and net profit hit €33M, helped by 7 acquisitions and growth to 6.2M active customers. 👉 Ecommerce News EU
👗 Fashion, Home & Beauty Ecommerce
🇺🇸 Tariff Talk Hits U.S. Furniture Retailers. Trump’s tariff threat pushed Wayfair, RH, and Williams-Sonoma shares down, while La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen gained. Investors favored U.S. producers as imports face duty risks. 👉 WSJ
🇺🇸 Resale Booms as Tariffs Hit U.S. Shoppers. ThredUp hit $77.7M Q2 sales (+16%), Depop’s U.S. GMV rose 54%, and Goodwill traffic grew 9%. Tariffs and inflation pushed buyers to secondhand platforms investing in AI tools. 👉 Modern Retail
🇧🇷 H&M Opens First Store in Brazil. H&M launched in São Paulo with local production of jeans and shoes, plus a 25,000 m² DC. Four more stores are planned as it mixes domestic sourcing with imports from Asia and Europe. 👉 Reuters
🇳🇱 Bol Expands Refurbished Product Selection. Bol grew refurb partners from 4 to 20, adding consoles, desktops, and appliances. Launched in 2024, the program aims at value and sustainability beyond smartphones. 👉 bol.com
🇬🇧 New Look Owners Explore Sale Options. Alcentra and Brait hired Rothschild for a review after investing £30M this year. New Look runs 340 UK stores with 10,000 staff and strong online growth. 👉 Sky News
🇬🇧 Marks & Spencer Launches Resale on eBay. M&S “Another Life” lets shoppers trade old clothes for £5 vouchers. Reskinned handles returns, with 15% of profits to Oxfam. eBay says resale makes up 40% of its GMV. 👉 ChannelX
🇬🇷 Westwing Expands into Greece. Westwing entered its 21st market with furniture, lighting, and decor. The company targets €425–455M 2025 revenue and 6–8% margin, driven by premium assortments and its own collection. 👉 Westwing
🍔 eGrocery & Food Delivery
🇫🇮 Wolt Restructures Finnish Customer Service. Wolt is cutting up to 80 jobs in its Finnish support team to focus on complex local cases, while aligning with its global model. Other Finnish operations remain unaffected. 👉 Helsinki Times
🇩🇪 Delivery Hero Grows But Cuts Guidance. Q2 GMV rose 11% to €12.2B, revenue jumped 27% to €3.7B, and H1 EBITDA grew 71% to €411M. Full-year profit guidance was cut due to FX headwinds, despite record orders and strong Asia trends. 👉 Delivery Hero
🇨🇳 Meituan’s Profit Plunges on Price Wars. Meituan’s Q2 profit dropped 89% to CNY1.49B as subsidies and competition from Alibaba and JD.com eroded margins. Revenue grew 12% to CNY91.8B but missed estimates, ending its profit growth streak. 👉 Morningstar
🇺🇸 DoorDash Expands Tools Beyond Delivery. DoorDash added website, SEO, and loyalty tools for merchants, with a Pro plan at $249 per month. The update aims to help restaurants and shops build direct customer relationships outside the marketplace. 👉 DoorDash
🇺🇸 Robomart Debuts $3 Delivery Robot. Robomart launched the RM5, a self-driving van with 10 lockers and a $3 flat delivery fee. Starting in Austin, it can cut delivery costs by up to 70% compared to human couriers. 👉 TechCrunch
🇮🇳 Swiggy Relaunches Dining Festival. Swiggy’s Great Indian Restaurant Festival offers up to 50% off at 20,000+ eateries across 50 cities. New DineCash rewards and HDFC Bank card deals aim to boost dining frequency nationwide. 👉 PR Newswire
🇪🇸 Decathlon Opens 18 Soccer Shops in Spain. Decathlon is launching 18 football-only Pro Shops with specialist staff, club partnerships, and customization services. The move targets rising football demand ahead of the new season. 👉 RetailDetail
🇺🇸 Uber and Dollar Tree Launch Delivery Deal. Uber Eats will now deliver low-price essentials from Dollar Tree and Family Dollar nationwide. Thousands of products like snacks and cleaning items will be available on-demand. 👉 Uber
🚚Ecommerce Logistics
🇪🇺 Europe’s posts pivot as letters collapse. PostNord ends letter delivery in Denmark, cutting 1,500 jobs. DHL may shed 8,000 roles in Germany. PostNL pushes for new EU rules as parcels dominate. Operators shift to parcel-first networks to stay profitable. 👉 Consultancy.eu
🇺🇸 Shopify adds built-in shipping platform. Sellers can now print labels, track orders, insure, and manage returns inside Admin for up to 250 orders. DHL, UPS, USPS and others join with DDP labels to cut import surprises. Rollout starts in US and Germany. 👉 Shopify
🇸🇦 DHL invests in Saudi firm AJEX. DHL eCommerce takes a minority stake with board seat and option to expand. AJEX runs 8,600 pickup points, 5,400 vehicles, and 600k m² of space with 13,500 staff. The deal supports Vision 2030 and DHL’s Gulf expansion. 👉 DHL Group
🇨🇳 China lifts courier fees to end price wars. Regulators raised parcel floors in Yiwu and Guangdong, adding ¥0.10–0.40 per delivery. Bulk senders now pay at least ¥1.20. The move aims to curb destructive price cuts and protect courier margins. 👉 SCMP
🇺🇸 Flexport launches $250M finance pool. Backed by BlackRock funds, Flexport Capital offers loans for tariffs, inventory, and logistics. CFO Stuart Leung says it helps customers manage higher duties. Flexport has already financed $2B since 2017. 👉 Air Cargo News
🇺🇸 Oway raises $4M for AI freight tool. YC and General Catalyst back the 12-person startup led by Phillip Nadjafov. Oway uses AI and truck data to cut pallet costs by up to 50%, e.g. LA–Dallas shipping dropping from $350 to $140. 👉 TechCrunch
🇩🇪 JTL buys Bringly to boost delivery tech. JTL-Software acquires Dutch startup Bringly to add AI carrier routing, delay alerts, and smart returns. Bringly stays as an app inside JTL’s platform serving 50k DACH merchants. 👉 Retail-News.de
📣Ecommerce Marketing
🇺🇸 Google Ads launches Asset Studio in beta. Google rolled out Asset Studio inside Google Ads, giving advertisers tools to generate images, edit backgrounds, and produce ad-ready videos. The beta integrates with Performance Max to speed creative testing. 👉 Search Engine Land
🇺🇸 Meta boosts AI-powered holiday ad tools. Meta added AI features to Instagram and Facebook ads, including region filters, shoppable catalog units, and flexible placements. Tests showed up to 23% conversion gains, with Shops Ads expanding to more global markets. 👉 MediaPost
🇺🇸 Microsoft pushes impression-based remarketing. Microsoft now builds remarketing lists from ad impressions across Bing, Copilot, and more, not just clicks. Advertisers can use up to 20 sources per list with short membership windows, adapting to privacy rules. 👉 Search Engine Land
🇺🇸 Instacart, MDI partner to power indie grocers. Instacart and Merchants Distributors joined to offer Storefront Pro and Carrot Ads to independent grocers. The deal adds same-day delivery, custom storefronts, and ad tools to a network covering 600+ retail banners. 👉 PYMNTS
🛠️Ecommerce Software
🇺🇸 Walmart adds AI tools, slashes fees for sellers. Walmart launched AI listing, Smart Assistant, and Brand Portal upgrades at its Marketplace Seller Summit. Referral fees drop on toys and pet supplies, while Next-Day Delivery expands to five US cities. 👉 Walmart Newsroom
🇺🇸 Wix merchants get Pinterest sales integration. Wix merchants can now sell on Pinterest, sync catalogs, and manage orders in the Wix dashboard. The move expands Wix’s multi-channel reach and gives SMBs quick access to visual discovery commerce. 👉 Wix Press Room
🌏 Visa Click to Pay expands in Asia-Pacific. Visa partnered with 2C2P, Adyen, AsiaPay, and Worldpay to expand Click to Pay, cutting checkout friction and lifting success rates. Banks in Hong Kong and Vietnam are early adopters, with more markets to follow. 👉 PR Newswire
🇺🇸 Domaine launches AI suite for Shopify brands. Domaine rolled out an AI Commerce Suite that creates product copy, videos, and SEO content. The Shopify agency says brands can cut campaign time from weeks to hours and capture fast-rising AI-driven traffic. 👉 Business Wire
🇺🇸 Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger goes live. Google Cloud introduced a blockchain ledger for payments and settlement with CME Group piloting integration. The platform supports Python contracts and targets banks, PSPs, and exchanges. 👉 Ainvest
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