Category Archives: Linked Businesses CF3

Competitive Fortresses: My 4 Favorite Business Models (Tech Strategy)

Jeffrey Towson defines a competitive fortress as a situation where a single company maintains 50-70% of a circumscribed market, rendering current rivals and new entrants a non-serious threat. According to digital strategy consultant Jeffrey Towson, these models range from local dominance and ecosystem orchestrators to complex complementary platforms that integrate multiple digital businesses. This framework serves as a critical digital transformation strategy for understanding how structural advantages and operational performance combine to create long-term defensibility.

Alibaba’s 11 Growth Strategies (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

I keep an eye on the larger moves by Alibaba. Not the constant stream of announcements and endless initiatives but the larger strategic moves that I think will change the trajectory of the company. This usually means talking with management when I can and following the investor days. A couple of years ago, Maggie Wu […]

Why I Really Like Amazon’s Strategy, Despite the Crap Consumer Experience (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

For the past five years, I’ve been watching Alibaba pull farther and farther ahead of Amazon in its consumer offerings. Alibaba’s ecommerce products have integrated with entertainment, especially live-streaming (which is fantastic). Payment, credit and wealth management products were built upon Alipay. Ecommerce services, like food delivery and hotels, have been added with ele.me Social […]

Google, the NBA and Competitive Fortresses at the Top of the Pyramid (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update)

In the past weeks, I have sent you multiple emails with various types of competitive advantages. Such as switching costs, network effects, purchasing economies and location and transportation cost advantages. The links are below: Walmart, JD and Purchasing Economies at Traditional and Online Retailers (Asia Tech Strategy – Daily Lesson / Update) Beer, Southwest and […]

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What is Alibaba’s Best Growth Strategy? (Tech Strategy – Podcast 50)

In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses Alibaba’s growth strategy and which of its 11 strategies is the most effective. He argues that Alibaba’s best growth strategy is to expand its digital economy user base and consumer wallet share. Towson believes that this strategy will allow Alibaba to continue to grow its market share and become the leading digital economy in the world.

My Interview With Huawei About Their 2019 Financials. Plus Fraud at Luckin Coffee. (Tech Strategy – Podcast 24)

In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses Huawei’s financial performance in 2019, as well as the recent fraud scandal at Luckin Coffee. He argues that Huawei’s strong financial performance is a sign of its resilience, and that the Luckin Coffee scandal is a reminder of the risks of investing in Chinese tech stocks. For example, he notes that Huawei’s revenue grew by 19% in 2019, despite the US government’s restrictions on its business.

Tencent’s China Literature Biz, UGC as IP, and a Really Clever Audience Builder (Daily Update – Jeff’s Asia Tech Class)

This past week, I’ve been talking about TikTok and Alibaba’s Tudou-Youku as examples of “audience builder” digital platforms. These are +2 sided platform that connect content creators (who want an audience and other things) with viewers (who want entertainment or other types of content.) And I’ve argued that audience builders are actually more fluid and […]

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JD vs. Alibaba: How Retailers and Marketplace Platforms Compete and Evolve in China (Tech Strategy – Podcast 18)

In this podcast episode of Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, Jeffrey Towson discusses the competitive advantages of JD and Alibaba, two of the largest retailers in China. He argues that JD’s competitive advantages include its strong logistics network and its focus on customer service, while Alibaba’s competitive advantages include its large user base and its ability to connect buyers and sellers.