In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how Nike has successfully built a competitive advantage in China by participating in the large platform businesses of Alibaba and WeChat. He shares insights on how other businesses can do the same. Towson argues that businesses need to focus on providing a great customer experience and building strong relationships with platform partners. He also emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making.
“New retail”, coined by Alibaba, was probably the least creative business term ever. But it was a big idea. You combine online and physical retail into a seamless, data-driven consumer experience. It is giving rise to new business models, from transformed supermarkets and cashier-less convenience stores to automated package pickup centers and re-imaged department stores. […]
So much of the discussion about enterprise software and services is about the giants who dominate. Think Microsoft, Salesforce, etc. But what about the smaller, specialty plays? Which of the specialty enterprise companies will be viable long-term? That is the question I am interested in. In Podcast 108, I spoke about Tuya, which is a […]
Jeffrey Towson’s article “How Do You Identify Cultures and Management Teams that Outperform?” explores the challenge of identifying cultures and management teams that will outperform operationally in digital businesses. The article details the six levels of competition for digital businesses and the most common outcome metrics that indicate relative competitive strength. The article also highlights the role of people in digital operating basics and digital marathons.
B2B and enterprise software / services is a big, new frontier in digital China / Asia. It is far behind the West but it’s an area a lot of venture capitalists have been focusing on. There is the argument that the B2C story of the past 10 years is fading. I don’t really buy that. […]
Singles’ Day is not just about e-commerce. It is also about user-facing innovation, such as live-streaming, metaverse, and NFTs. It is also about merchant-facing innovation, such as R&D and financing. And it is also about physical assets, such as supply-side scale and building a barrier to entry.
In Part 1, I made a distinction between the development of cloud and enterprise software. There is a sweeping new cloud architecture emerging at the same time almost every B2B enterprise software and service company is trying to become a platform or ecosystem. It’s pretty crazy. For enterprise software and services companies, the price of entry […]
In this episode of the Tech Strategy podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses what everyone is getting wrong about Snowflake. Towson argues that Snowflake is a “data ecosystem” company with a compelling digital business model. He believes that Snowflake could become the next Google or Microsoft. Towson also discusses the importance of data in the digital economy and how Snowflake is positioned to capitalize on this trend.
Most all sustainable growth is based on 1-2 strong cores. A profitable core is centered on the strongest position in terms of loyal customers, competitive advantage, unique skills, and ability to earn profits. To assess an adjacency move, consider the following factors: 1) how tightly the adjacency is tied to a strong core; 2) the attractiveness of the adjacency market; and 3) the ability to capture economic leadership in that market.
Hillhouse Capital is a leading private equity firm that invests in China. The firm has a successful track record of investing in and digitizing Chinese companies. Hillhouse’s approach is based on three key principles: identifying strong management teams, investing in digital transformation, and building moats.