Huawei released their 2019 financial results last week. And I had the opportunity to interview Karl Song, the VP of Corporate Communications, prior so I knew what was coming (but I got embargoed). You can see that interview here. And it was fascinating. Step back and consider what a truly crazy year Huawei had. Has […]
I recently went to the WeChat Open Talk meeting and founder Allen Zhang raised some questions that have really stuck with me. He talked about about the increasingly important role of information flows in daily life and who controls this. His talk is here but my basic take-away is the below question. How do you […]
Three big things are happening in digital China right now. The coronavirus is radically altering the behavior of hundreds of millions of consumers (and businesses), resulting in what is being called the quarantine economy. Everyone is trying to move from in-person to digital interactions. This shift to digital interactions is supercharging and rapidly evolving China’s […]
Three important things have happened in consumer China in the past decade. Chinese consumers finally started spending money after decades of working and saving. They are now the first or second largest market in the world for most consumer businesses. They became connected 24/7 via smartphones, both to businesses and to each other. Their behavior […]
In my online Asia Tech Class, I talk a lot about digital superpowers, which are digital tools that upend established business. And one of these superpowers a dramatically improved user experience, such that the traditional offering is now unacceptable to users. And this sort of dramatically improved user experience is what is happening in luxury […]
When the SARS virus swept through China / Asia in 2002-2003, it resulted in millions of workers isolating themselves in their homes. And this phenomenon turned out to be pivotal for several, now dominant digital companies. For then small company Alibaba, it created a surge of activity in e-commerce. And for then physical-only retailer JD, […]
I keep an eye out for digital phenomena where China / Asia is on the frontier. We’ve seen this sort of digital leadership in mobile apps, mobile payments and e-commerce. And after meeting with head of smart cities at Huawei, I am convinced we are seeing the same phenomenon in smart cities. Below is my […]
I recently attended the WeChat Open Class in Guangzhou and WeChat Work 3.0 was one of the big topics this year. There is a growing suite of digital tools for enterprise management, communication and collaboration. And they raise some fascinating strategy questions. It’s clear that enterprise tools in mobile-first China are going to evolve differently. […]
I recently traveled to Shenzhen to interview Huawei rotating Chairman Guo Ping. Not only is he one of the key decision-makers for the company right now, but he was also Huawei’s 5th employee. So I thought he would be the perfect person to ask both about Huawei’s early days and the most important business questions […]
In Part 1, I detailed my visit to JD’s new E-Space store in Chongqing. And I ended by posing the following question: Can “experiential” retail dramatically improve the user experience such that traditionally run department stores are at a competitive disadvantage? And my answer to that is yes in basically 6 situations and product types. […]