In this episode of the Tech Strategy Podcast, Jeff Towson discusses JD.com’s big play for the low-cost market of China. He provides insights into the implications of this move and how it fits into JD’s overall strategy. Towson’s analysis sheds light on the competitive landscape of the Chinese e-commerce market and the challenges and opportunities facing JD.com.
I’ve written a lot about Ant Financial because I think it is a cool example of a zero-human operation. It’s has been built from as an AI factory where all the core processes are done by AI and software. It is my standard example of the SMILE Marathon for AI/Machine Learning. But Ant also has […]
My standard question is: What is the quality of the business? I go through lots of checklists for this. It generally takes me 40 pages of written notes to get through a basic assessment of company quality. But the simple version is: What is the market size and its growth? Is there a long-term secular […]
In Part 1, I laid out some basic theory about marketplace platforms for services, which is a fascinating interesting subject. And it is much more complicated than marketplaces for products. Ecommerce for services just has a much longer development pathway. As ecommerce and marketplaces move into more complicated services, such as medical care, legal and […]
GoTo is a digital platform that combines the services of two of Indonesia’s largest tech companies: Gojek and Tokopedia. The company has a strong presence in the country’s e-commerce and ride-hailing markets, and it is growing rapidly. However, GoTo faces stiff competition from other tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent.
In Part 2, I laid out the story of Stone Company, a Brazilian digital native that is building out payment, financial and enterprise services for SMEs. My basic take was: I like the company’s basic value proposition (payment plus working capital services) for smaller merchants, especially compared to what they get from local banks. I […]
Stone Co is a Brazilian payment platform that provides merchants with a range of services, including point-of-sale terminals, credit card processing, and working capital loans. The company has been growing rapidly, but its share price has fallen sharply in recent months. In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the company’s business model, its competitive landscape, and its prospects for the future.
Shein, a cross-border online DTC retailer, is transforming the fashion industry with its agile digital marketing and real-time fashion strategies. Founded by Chris Xu in 2008, Shein has grown to become a dominant player in the US fashion market, with its business model drawing significant attention. This article provides a comprehensive look into how Shein has upgraded fast fashion and its impact on the fashion industry.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the rise of OMO (online-merge-offline) platforms in China, such as Alibaba’s Sun Art and Beike / Lianjia. He argues that these platforms are disrupting the traditional retail and real estate industries. He explains that OMO platforms offer a number of advantages over traditional businesses, such as convenience, personalization, and data-driven insights.
A final short discussion about this week’s lecture / podcast on JD vs. Alibaba. And how they compete on different factors. The talk is located here: JD vs. Alibaba: How Retailers and Marketplace Platforms Compete and Evolve in China (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 18) I expanded on this in yesterday’s Daily Lesson, where […]