Ruhnn Holding is a Chinese company that not many people follow. Based in Hangzhou, tied with Alibaba and vaguely described as a talent agency and/or social commerce company, it’s a strange animal. And it is currently being taken private and off the US exchanges (maybe). But the company is fascinating and has some really important […]
Pinduoduo is a Chinese e-commerce platform that has grown rapidly in recent years. The company’s unique business model, which focuses on group buying and social media, has helped it to reach a large number of users in China. However, Pinduoduo faces challenges from competition and regulation.
Pinduoduo is a Chinese e-commerce platform that has grown rapidly in recent years. The company’s unique business model, which focuses on group buying and social media, has helped it to reach a large number of users in China. Pinduoduo’s target market is lower-income consumers who are looking for low-cost products. The company’s growth strategy has been to focus on rural areas and smaller cities in China.
China’s cross-border ecommerce business doesn’t get a lot of attention. It seems peripheral to China ecommerce. There are a lot of logistics, taxes and customs requirements. There are tons of regulations. And it’s just not sexy. But it is also non-political. It doesn’t have any of the national security concerns of telecommunication (i.e., Huawei and […]
There was an interesting report about China ecommerce trends released by Coresight Research, which specializes in retail meets tech consulting. It’s run by Deborah Weinswig, who I’ve crossed paths with a few times in the last couple of years. I find their research to be very data-driven and generally close to my own thinking. So […]
Much of our discussion about digital platforms (Alibaba, Tencent, etc.) has been about their business models. And all their strengths, which are formidable.But I haven’t talked much about the experiences of the user groups on these platforms. What does this mean for merchants and brands selling on Alibaba? For restaurants on Meituan? For content creators […]
Zoom is a video communications company that has seen explosive growth in recent years. In this episode of Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, Jeffrey Towson discusses the factors that contributed to Zoom’s success. He talks about the company’s early focus on usability, its ability to scale quickly, and its strong marketing campaign.
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 […]
Jeffrey Towson, a China tech expert, believes that TikTok’s success is due to its addictiveness, ease of use, and highly shareable content. He also credits the app’s ability to tap into China’s growing digital consumer network.
Three big things are happening in digital China right now. The coronavirus is radically altering the behavior of hundreds of millions of consumers (and businesses), resulting in what is being called the quarantine economy. Everyone is trying to move from in-person to digital interactions. This shift to digital interactions is supercharging and rapidly evolving China’s […]