Alibaba Pulls In Record Singles Day Sales

A natural showman, Mr. Ma is usually an outsize presence at the gala--but not this year. In September, he said he plans to retire next year as executive chairman and hand the reins to Chief Executive Daniel Zhang. Mr. Ma was present at the event, but didn't take his usual star turn on stage. Instead, he appeared in a prerecorded video that showed him competing against Alibaba employees at tasks including delivering meals, taping packages and tieing up crabs. An Alibaba representative said the founder's participation in the annual gala is "different every year."