Alibaba Sports Changes Name to Orange Lion Sports

21st Century Business Herald reported on June 24 that Alibaba Sports’ employees had received a letter from their CEO Mu Yang, saying that the company would be renamed as “Orange Lion Sports,” and that he would also serve as the company’s chairman.

The firm then publicly confirmed the news, saying that the renaming process is now underway.

According to insiders, Mu also mentioned in a previous internal email that thanks to “the traffic expansion and refined operation process of online business,” the company’s operating gross profit and total revenue in the past fiscal year have increased by more than 150% year-on-year. It was still profitable while the whole industry was under the influence of the external environment.

For Alibaba Sports, which was established in 2015, the name change will be an important milestone in the development of the company. Regarding the change, Mu said that the company has witnessed the changes of the whole sports industry in the past seven years, and now it focuses on sports services. The renaming will bring the company a more independent brand proposition.

Adjustments on the board level, which will see Mu serving as both chairman and CEO of the company, also give the firm stronger autonomy and make its business decisions faster and more efficient.

At last year’s partner conference, Mu proposed for the first time that the company would do management and digitalization of gymnasiums; IP incubation and digitalization of mass participation events; and digitalization of daily exercises. In addition, the company would not engage in sports copyright, large-scale event marketing, and vertical projects’ training. Mu also said that Orange Lion Sports would continue to develop these businesses.

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By the end of this year, there will be 30 offline stadiums operated by Orange Lion Sports. With the digital capability of the company’s subsidiary Ledongli platform, these offline stadiums will be fully connected with the online ones. “In the next five to 10 years, we hope to increase the revenue from offline sports services to 50%,” Mu said.