In Part 1 and Part 2, I gave some background on sports apparel in China and detailed my visit to the first Tmall – Intersport store in Beijing. It was pretty great. With lots of new digital initiatives. Note: the above picture is what happens when you change the gender setting on the magic mirror. […]
Several years ago, I got a message (via LinkedIn) from Robin Trebbe, who was at that time the Managing Director for China / Asia Pacific for Intersport International. They had a new project with Alibaba that was trying to digitize the sports apparel business. I jumped at the chance to do a visit. Note: I […]
Will “new retail” change sports apparel? It turns out it’s a really interesting question. Sports apparel retail is people buying running shoes, Nike gear, yoga pants, sweatshirts and so on. At first glance it looks like pretty standard apparel retail. Requiring lots of stores, good inventory management and effective marketing. So that certainly presents lots […]
“New retail”, coined by Alibaba, was probably the least creative business term ever. But it was a big idea. You combine online and physical retail into a seamless, data-driven consumer experience. It is giving rise to new business models, from transformed supermarkets and cashier-less convenience stores to automated package pickup centers and re-imaged department stores. […]
Singles’ Day is not just about e-commerce. It is also about user-facing innovation, such as live-streaming, metaverse, and NFTs. It is also about merchant-facing innovation, such as R&D and financing. And it is also about physical assets, such as supply-side scale and building a barrier to entry.
Singles’ Day is not just about e-commerce. It is also about user-facing innovation, such as live-streaming, metaverse, and NFTs. It is also about merchant-facing innovation, such as R&D and financing. And it is also about physical assets, such as supply-side scale and building a barrier to entry.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses his concerns about Alibaba’s long-term prospects. He argues that the company is facing increasing competition from domestic rivals, regulatory scrutiny, and a slowing Chinese economy. He believes that Alibaba will need to make some significant changes in order to remain competitive in the years to come.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses his concerns about Alibaba’s long-term prospects. He argues that the company is facing increasing competition from domestic rivals, regulatory scrutiny, and a slowing Chinese economy. He believes that Alibaba will need to make some significant changes in order to remain competitive in the years to come.
I look for four types of competitive advantages on the revenue and demand side: Share of the Consumer Mind, Share of the Producer Mind and Customer / User Activity and Buying Behavior. Which contains lots of sub-types such as buying habits, branding and emotional attachment. And not just for consumers and B2B customers. But also […]
I wrote about Alibaba’s 11 growth strategies in the fall of 2020. At their investors day, management laid them out in pretty good detail. You can see my write-up at: Dissecting Alibaba’s 11 Growth Strategies. From Investor Day 2020 (pt 1 of 2). (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Daily Lesson / Update) This is my […]