Investing.com-- Alibaba Group (NYSE: ) said on Tuesday it will sell its stake in Chinese department store operator Intime to a consortium of buyers including Youngor Group and Intime executives, and will take a big loss on the sale.

The e-commerce giant will sell its 99% stake in the chain for about 7.4 billion yuan ($1 billion), and record a loss of 9.3 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) on the sale. alibaba said in an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The sale comes after Bloomberg reported the potential deal on Monday. Alibaba bought Intime for $2.6 billion in 2017, and was reportedly considering a sale of the business earlier this year.

The company underwent a major corporate restructuring in 2023 in which it broke down its holdings into six separate units and refocused on its main money makers, mainly its e-commerce and cloud units.

Intime sales are also likely part of this restructuring, as physical retailers grapple with a steady decline in foot traffic due to declining spending by Chinese consumers. It has also affected Alibaba's core businesses, with the firm reporting mediocre quarterly earnings over the past two years.

Alibaba is also considering selling its stake in supermarket chain Sun Art Retail Group Ltd (HK: ), with the sale currently in talks.

Hong Kong shares of Alibaba (HK: ) fell 1.5% after announcing the intime deal on Tuesday.