Alibaba, JD, and Secoo Are Still Struggling to Do Luxury / Fashion Ecommerce

In 2022, luxury e-commerce platform Secoo Holding Ltd filed for bankruptcy in Beijing. After 14 years of operations, this was a disappointing end to the largest luxury marketplace in the world’s largest luxury market. The company (founded by Li Rixue in 2008) grew out of a second-hand handbag shop. It went digital and found itself […]

The Rise of Alibaba in 10 Slides (1 of 2) (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

Years ago, I started mapping out the evolution of Alibaba with pictures. I was having a hard time keeping all the moving parts in mind. And I was becoming more and more convinced that digital company development is path dependent. What comes next depends on what just happened. Microsoft is only capable of its current […]

Alibaba’s 11 Growth Strategies (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)

I keep an eye on the larger moves by Alibaba. Not the constant stream of announcements and endless initiatives but the larger strategic moves that I think will change the trajectory of the company. This usually means talking with management when I can and following the investor days. A couple of years ago, Maggie Wu […]

Expedia’s Painful Lessons in Money Wars and Other China Tactics. Plus Morgan Stanley.

I’ve written quite a few articles on companies that have struggled in China. However, in many cases, they later came back and won, often spectacularly. It’s a fun subject. For example: In Part 1, I detailed how Carlsberg beer and Danone both initially struggled in China. But Carlsberg later came back with an impressive success […]

Alibaba, WeChat and How Nike Won as a “Platform Participant” in China (Tech Strategy – Podcast 118)

This week’s podcast is about Nike in China. But it really about how you win as a participant in large platform businesses in ecommerce and social media. You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts. Here is my new book: Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in […]