In 2022, luxury e-commerce platform Secoo Holding Ltd filed for bankruptcy in Beijing. After 14 years of operations, this was a disappointing end to the largest luxury marketplace in the world’s largest luxury market. The company (founded by Li Rixue in 2008) grew out of a second-hand handbag shop. It went digital and found itself […]
This week’s podcast is about economies of scale in purchasing power. I go through Walmart and Costco as traditional examples. And point to JD, Apple, and Pinduoduo as digital examples. You can listen to this podcast here, which has the slides and graphics mentioned. Also available at iTunes and Google Podcasts. Here are types of economies of […]
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 […]
I have been re-assessing my focus in China tech. The tech giants are now, likely perpetually, on the government’s radar. That will likely create more freedom to grow for the medium companies. Health tech has just moved much higher on my list. Health tech was a big deal in China in 2015-2016. Tons of PE […]
When you look for big competitive advantages on the cost side, it is usually about economies of scale – when a company with a larger volume has a lower per unit cost. Or, to be more precise, when a company has… …lower per unit costs based on a higher volume of production or throughput being […]
This week’s podcast is about how “traditionally great” logistics businesses like DHL and ecommerce giants like JD Logistics are both doing major digital upgrades in logistics. It’s a big unknown but it all looks pretty attractive. You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya. ——– Related articles: JD Logistics and the Dream of […]
Competitive moats (i.e., structural advantages) tend to be viewed as one thing. But it is usually two. And it is helpful to view it this way when looking at the impact of various digital tools. Here is how I separate it. Competitive advantages Barriers to entry and other soft advantages See the green part below. […]
This week’s podcast is about JD Central in Thailand. I had an interesting visit and interviewed the CEO. And it raises a bigger point of whether China’s ecommerce giants can or will go international? You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya. The McKinsey & Co article I mentioned is here. Related podcasts […]
In Part 1, I summarized my visit to a media event at JD Central (JDC) Thailand. And I teed up some of the difficulties for Chinese ecommerce giants trying to go international, especially in Southeast Asia. After the media event, I sat down with JD Central CEO Vincent Yang, which turned out to be a […]
Last week, I attended a media event at JD Central in Bangkok. And I interviewed CEO Vincent Yang. This is JD’s joint venture with Central Retail, one of Thailand largest retailers. Note: This is one of JD’s two initiatives in Southeast Asia. The other is in Indonesia. It was a pretty interesting experience for a […]