In Part 1, I went through Borsheims, Buffett’s jewelry retailer in Omaha. It has historically had a very strong business model, although this may be changing. And his jewelry business has a lot of interesting parallels to his biggest retail business, Nebraska Furniture Mart. Company 2: Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) I was in Omaha with […]
Apple and Pinduoduo are two companies that have been successful in purchasing economies. In this podcast, Jeff Towson discusses four lessons that can be learned from these companies. These lessons include the importance of understanding the customer, the importance of having a platform strategy, and the importance of having a strong brand.
I often get asked how JD competes with Alibaba (in ecommerce). Who is going to win? My answer is below. But first a little theory on the sources of competitive strength. My Checklist for Competitive Advantages I put competitive advantages in five buckets, with a total of 15 sub-types. That’s my checklist. But keep in […]
This discussion centers on the innovative digital business models developed by Walgreens and Ping An Good Doctor in the healthcare sector. These industry leaders have embraced digital transformation to establish new, compelling business models, each unique in its approach. The analysis will delve into three key areas: the economies of scale and scope, digital superpowers that lend competitive advantage, and the role of AI as a capability and potential learning platform.
In Part 1, I argued that Amazon’s ecommerce business was getting stronger over time (in terms of competitive strength). It has an impressive series of competitive advantages. Amazon Has a Winning Long-Term Strategy. Amazon Prime and Netflix Don’t. (1 of 2) (US-Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article) I also teed up the idea that Amazon’s […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how Amazon’s moat in ecommerce is growing, while its moat in video is falling. He compares Amazon’s video business to Netflix and argues that Amazon will need to make some changes in order to maintain its leadership position.
I’ve discussed Amazon’s basic business model in an article and podcast. What Amazon Should Copy from Alibaba and Pinduoduo (Tech Strategy – Podcast 124) Why I Really Like Amazon’s Strategy, Despite the Crap Consumer Experience (US-Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Article) And I basically argued that I look for 3 things in this type of […]
Amazon can learn a lot from Alibaba and Pinduoduo in terms of how to improve its consumer experience. Alibaba has integrated its ecommerce products with entertainment, payment, credit, and wealth management products, while Pinduoduo has focused on social commerce and group buying. Amazon could benefit from adopting some of these strategies in order to stay ahead of the competition.
In Part 1, I laid out how to think about physical networks. For logistics, that means lots of warehouses and trucks doing various routes between them. In Part 2, I talked about one of the big competitive advantages of logistics networks, which is network effects. Note: These are significantly different than the network effects we […]
Dingdong is a Chinese specialty ecommerce player focused on fresh groceries. It has gone public while still operating profit negative, but brings to mind a similar situation with Meituan at IPO. Jeffrey Towson argues that Dingdong’s success will depend on its ability to build a strong logistics network and scale its operations.