In Part 1, I laid out some of the challenges of doing ecommerce in groceries. And two innovative business models that attempted to make it work. One by Alibaba Freshippo and one by Dingdong. Both very interesting. Both, especially Dingdong, being unprofitable. In the past month, both companies have announced operating profits. That was really […]
Category Archives: Retail
How Alibaba Freshippo and Dingdong Got to Profitability in Ecommerce Groceries (1 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
Alibaba’s Freshippo and Dingdong are two of the leading ecommerce grocery companies in China. They have achieved profitability by reducing costs and improving margins. Some of the strategies they have used include:
Opening physical stores that serve as fulfillment centers for online orders
Using data analytics to optimize inventory levels and pricing
Offering same-day delivery
The strategies that Freshippo and Dingdong have used can be applied to other ecommerce grocery markets around the world.
Lessons in Competitive Advantage from Warren Buffett’s Omaha Businesses: Nebraska Furniture Mart (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
In Part 1, I went through Borsheims, Buffett’s jewelry retailer in Omaha. It has historically had a very strong business model, although this may be changing. And his jewelry business has a lot of interesting parallels to his biggest retail business, Nebraska Furniture Mart. Company 2: Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) I was in Omaha with […]
Lessons in Competitive Advantage from Warren Buffett’s Omaha Businesses: Borsheims Jewelry (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
Back in 2017 and 2018, I took a bunch of Peking University students to Omaha to have lunch with Warren Buffett. And we also did visits (arranged by Berkshire) to several of his private businesses around Omaha. And as every business he buys has a competitive advantage, it was a good chance to try and […]
Mercado Libre vs. Magazine Luiza / Magalu in Brazil is an Awesome Strategy Question (Tech Strategy – Podcast 147)
Jeff Towson’s Podcast 147 provides a detailed comparison of Mercado Libre and Magazine Luiza (Magalu) in the Brazilian e-commerce market. The podcast delves into their individual strategies, offering unique tech insights. Tune in to understand the dynamics of this thriving digital retail landscape.
Alibaba’s 3 OMO Lessons for Magalu: How to Merge the Physical and Digital Worlds (2 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
Alibaba has three key lessons for Magalu, a Brazilian e-commerce company, on how to merge the physical and digital worlds to create a seamless customer experience. These lessons are:
1) Merge the physical and digital worlds to create a seamless customer experience.
2) Use data to personalize the customer experience.
3) Invest in technology to improve the customer experience.
The future of retail is OMO, and retailers that merge the physical and digital worlds will be the most successful.
An Introduction to Magazine Luiza / Magalu, the Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) Pioneer of Brazil (1 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
Magazine Luiza, also known as Magalu, is a leading entity in digitizing physical retail in Brazil, pushing the boundaries of Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) retail. The company’s unique ‘virtual stores’ concept in the 1990s set them up for digitization, and their strategic initiatives in recent years have further solidified their position as a tech-forward retailer. With a strong focus on growing product selection, enhancing user convenience, and improving the user experience, Magazine Luiza is well positioned to capitalize on the early stages of e-commerce adoption in Brazil.
3 Big Digital Trends Disrupting Retail and Ecommerce (Tech Strategy – Podcast 138)
Uncover the three significant digital shifts revolutionizing the retail and ecommerce sectors in this comprehensive podcast by Jeffrey Towson. This episode offers a deep dive into these transformative changes and what they mean for the industry’s future. If you’re passionate about retail and ecommerce, this insightful discussion is a must-read.
How JD Competes With Alibaba in Ecommerce (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
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 […]
The Pros and Cons of Farfetch’s Global Luxury Marketplace (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
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 […]