Jeff Towson unpacks the all-encompassing impact of digital on business, politics, culture, and society1. Drawing on his experience as a consultant and lecturer at Peking University, Towson discusses how digital tools are transforming industries, expanding human capabilities, and reshaping society1. Discover how software, data technology, and digital innovations are triggering an explosion of new products, services, and business models1.
In this class, I discuss my visit to JD’s new 50,000 sqm e-space in Chongqing – and the question of what new retail (i.e., online-merge-offline) will mean for department stores and shopping malls. You can listen here or at iTunes and Himalaya. Articles / podcasts cited in this class: JD’s E-Space Is a Fascinating New […]
Jeffrey Towson met with Huawei Chairman Guo Ping for lunch and learned three important lessons. First, Huawei invests heavily in human resources. Second, Huawei is agile and adaptable. Third, Huawei benefits from economies of scale.
This is Part 2 on my list of cool stuff JD is doing. Not necessarily the big initiatives – but the smaller and often more inventive ideas. In Part 1, I talked about their farming initiative, which is pretty intriguing. In this part, I look at their trash sorting program and how China’s smart cities […]
Jeffrey Towson discusses what Ofo could have done to avoid its downfall. He argues that Ofo made a number of strategic mistakes, including burning through too much cash, expanding too quickly, and failing to innovate. Towson believes that if Ofo had taken a more conservative approach, it might still be in business today.
Jeffrey Towson argues that Vipshop could benefit from building its own logistics network, like JD. He says that this would give Vipshop more control over its supply chain and delivery times. However, he also acknowledges that this would be a major investment.
Hi everyone, Here is the daily update. Cheers, -j Suggestions for Questions for the CEO of Huawei? I’m going to Shenzhen next week to interview Guo Ping, Huawei’s CEO. Super excited about this. The Huawei campus is pretty awesome as well (see pic). The interview should be about an hour so I’m hopefully going to […]
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 […]
In Part 1, I laid out why I think JD’s e-space was a pretty bold move – and opens a new frontier in OMO retail. My argument was that as you move from retail about buying products in the supermarket to visiting shopping malls and department malls, you start to really merge products, services and […]
Jeffrey Towson argues that Chinese startups like Luckin Coffee, Mobike, Didi Chuxing, and WeWork are facing increasing challenges. He says that these companies are facing more competition, regulatory scrutiny, and rising costs. As a result, it is unclear if these companies will be able to achieve profitability in the long run.