Hey. Thanks for attending my talk. Here are the slides. – jeff Talk-AIT.2019
Cool JD Stuff: Moneyball and Digital Marketplaces for China’s Farms (1 of 3)
I keep a short list of cool stuff China’s digital giants are doing. Not just the big initiatives – but the smaller and often more inventive ideas. And JD tends to have a lot of these. From building their own robotics and drones to trash sorting / redemption programs and farming initiatives, JD has lots […]
6 Questions About JD’s New E-Space (Pt 2 of 2)
JD’s E-Space Is a Fascinating New Frontier in Chinese Retail (Pt 1 of 2)
JD has opened a 50,000 sqm experience center in Chongqing. And in doing so, they opened a new frontier in online-merge-offline retail (also called new retail). Their new center raises some really cool questions about the emerging digital lifestyles of Chinese consumers. New retail (Jack Ma’s term) is really the first version of a much […]
How Intime and Alibaba Are Pioneering a New Digital Lifestyle in China
I recently visited the Intime department store in Hangzhou. And it struck me that department stores and shopping malls may be the most compelling version of new retail – the frontier of an increasingly dynamic, digital lifestyle for Chinese consumers. From New Retail to a New Digital Lifestyle The online world is surprisingly rich and […]
How Alibaba Singles’ Day Is Changing E-Commerce Everywhere
It’s Singles’ Day 2019! Woooohooooo!!! I am doing a little dance here in my hotel in Hangzhou. I look ridiculous. Singles’ Day launched at midnight last night and I was at the media center in Hangzhou for the opening (see above photo). And I spent yesterday with the Alibaba team getting a bit of a […]
7 Questions for Alibaba on Singles’ Day (pt 2 of 2)
This is Part 2 of my questions for Alibaba on Singles’ Day 2019. I’m on my way to Hangzhou shortly and am gonna try and figure these out. Part 1 is located here. Question 5: What is the next wave of hard-to-replicate physical assets? Alibaba is a competitive fortress. This comes from multiple factors like […]
7 Questions for Alibaba on Singles’ Day (pt 1 of 2)
Singles’ Day 2019 is almost here. Gonna be awesome. I’m currently packing up to head to Hangzhou. This will be my third year with the Alibaba “global influencers” group, which is just a great time behind the scenes with management. And it’s a nice reminder that I am no longer the obscure professor / failed […]
Who Really Owns Huawei? Their Carrier Customers (Pt 3 of 3)
The US government claims Huawei is tied to the Chinese government. Huawei says it is a private company, overwhelmingly owned by its employees. And the international press is having lots of fun digging into the legalese of Huawei’s organizational structures. My take is pretty simple. It doesn’t really matter who owns Huawei. What matters is: […]
Huawei’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is “Meritocracy Plus Partnership” at Scale in China Tech. (Pt 2 of 3)
On my visit to Huawei HQ, I visited the room where they keep all the records for the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). And the staff gave me a nice PowerPoint presentation with lots of org charts and legal structures (see below). But I don’t really understand these. And I wasn’t really paying that much […]