Delve into the reasons why Ofo, once a promising bike-sharing company, failed in the competitive Chinese market. This article offers a detailed examination of the factors contributing to Ofo’s spectacular rise and subsequent fall. Gain insights into the complexities of operating a business in China and the lessons that can be derived from Ofo’s experience.
I’ve been thinking about Luckin Coffee, which was a big story a few years ago in China. It was a digital upstart taking on giant Starbucks. It was Jack Ma’s “new retail” applied to retail coffee. It was a digital innovator. Blah, blah, blah. It was mostly a lot of hype. And the company crashed […]
In Part 1, I argued that Starbucks China most interesting competitor is not Luckin Coffee. It is HeyTea, an upscale Starbucks-type business focused on tea (something Chinese consumers really, really like). And to their credit, HeyTea appears to be mostly focusing not on digital innovation but on product development and continually thrilling their customers. Which […]
China / Asia is usually the most dynamic frontier for retail – and especially when it integrates with ecommerce. This is the result of a really big market and never-ending hyper-competition. It means there is always frantic innovating just to stay in the game. It’s a space I generally avoid because of the degree of […]
In this class, Jeffrey Towson discusses how companies can develop digital superpowers to gain a competitive advantage. He compares and contrasts four companies in Asia that have successfully used digital technology to transform their businesses: Lazada, Grab, Luckin Coffee, and Hellobike. Towson argues that digital superpowers can be used to dramatically improve the user experience, enable a platform business model, create network effects, or provide other competitive advantages.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how Huawei and Luckin Coffee are using digital technology to create a sustainable competitive advantage. He argues that these companies are winning the “SMILE Marathon” by competing on scale, scope, efficiency, and effectiveness. Towson provides examples of how Huawei and Luckin Coffee are using digital technology to improve their operations, and he discusses the implications for businesses of all sizes.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses who should buy Luckin Coffee, following the company’s recent accounting scandal. He considers potential buyers such as Starbucks, Alibaba, and HeyTea. For example, Starbucks could benefit from Luckin’s strong presence in China, while Alibaba could use Luckin’s technology to expand its own coffee business.
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.
The big news yesterday was that Luckin Coffee has disclosed an internal investigation into fabricated sales for 2019. From CNBC:Luckin Coffee disclosed Thursday that an internal investigation has found that its chief operating officer fabricated 2019 sales by about 2.2 billion yuan ($310 million).Shares cratered more than 80% in premarket trading after the release of […]
A couple of topics for today. About how all business begins and ends with the customer.HeyTea and Why You Have to Thrill Your Customers.There was an interesting article last week about retail tea company HeyTea – and their rumored funding round at a price of 16B RMB ($280M). HeyTea is a popular and growing chain […]