Digitally China

Digitally China

By DigitallyChinaMedicine
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Digitally China episodes

  • The unsexy part of new retail

    When it comes to buzzwords in the tech industry, "new retail" ranks high on the list. For the past few years, Alibaba has popularized the catchphrase to describe smarter, more high-tech ways of serving customers in brick-and-mortar shops -- by linking online and offline data -- from facial recognition-powered payments to smart mirrors that lets customers "try on" cosmetics before buying them.


    But beyond the shiny add-ons that consumers see, the real impact of new retail - especially for physical stores -- is more invisible: the supply chain and inventory.


    In this episode, we'll piece apart what new retail actually means for brick-and-mortar shops, why ecommerce platforms are moving offline, and how traditional brands are trying to catch up with JD and Alibaba before they get left behind.


    Episode summary: 

    what is "new retail" and why are ecommerce platforms so gung-ho about it?

    case study: how the fashion industry -- where customer demand is volatile and products are always changing -- could really benefit from new retail

    why are traditional brands struggling to streamline their physical shops and are Alibaba and JD solution providers or competitors?


    Guest: Sicheng Peng, general manager and president of 7thonline APAC,


    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong.

    Production: Jacob Loven.


    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles.



    27 min
  • TikTok and the rise of new social

    A "new social" is on the rise led by TikTok. But despite soaring user numbers, will they survive the competition from giants like Facebook and Tencent? In this episode, we look into TikToks journey from startup to half a billion users.


    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong.

    Production: Jacob Loven.


    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles.



    34 min
  • Weishang - The WeChat Hustle

    When you think of ecommerce in China, Alibaba is probably the first name that comes to mind. And no wonder - the internet giant has built a multibillion dollar empire off a sophisticated ecommerce, logistics, and payments trifecta.


    But WeChat, China's most ubiquitous and popular messaging app, often goes unnoticed. Thanks to built-in payments, the app's social newsfeed, and one-on-one chat, these 'micro' shopkeepers are able to operate lucrative businesses from their phone -- and connect with customers in a more intimate way than Taobao, Alibaba's online bazaar. 



    34 min
  • Project Dragonfly & Google's re-entry

    Eva and Tom have been looking into the development around "Project Dragonfly". Why has Google's interest in China increased lately and what's their potential on the world's largest Internet market? Will they actually be able to enter China after 8 years of "absence"?


    Thoughts on the episode? Do not hesitate to give us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected].


    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong.

    Production: Jacob Loven.


    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles.



    33 min
  • The Pilot - Luckin Coffee

    In this pilot episode we are checking out the business model of Luckin Coffee. Is the "digitalisation of coffee" just a hype or actually something that has value? With guest expert Greg Savarese.


    Thoughts on the episode? Do not hesitate to give us your feedback [email protected]


    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong.

    Production: Jacob Loven.


    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Distributed and powered by Radii, an independent media platform exploring China from all angles. All music licensed.

    23 min
  • Interview: Diversity and entrepreneurship with Jill Tang
    In the latest episode of Digitally China, Tom is joined by Jill Tang, co-founder of Ladies Who Tech, an influential Chinese organization focusing on entrepreneurship and gender diversity in China.
     
    As someone who works in the unique cross-section of tech, diversity, multinational companies, and market-entry in China, Jill shares her observations and thoughts on how multinational companies can be more gender inclusive in China, and how China's younger and more international workforce is changing work culture in the country.
    Topics covered in this episode:
    - Ladies Who Tech & gender diversity at companies in China
    - Entrepreneurship, different types of entrepreneurs and startups
    - What multinational companies in China do well and can be better at
    - Market-entry for foreign brands to the complex Chinese market
    Guests:
    · Jill Tang, co-founder Ladies Who Tech
    Host: Tom Xiong
    Producer: Jacob Lovén
    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
    29 min
  • RED: The ups and downs of social commerce
    Companies around the world are latching onto social commerce, but in China, where mobile payments are ubiquitous and consumers are extra wary of fake goods, the integration between social media and online shopping has been especially fast.
     
    That doesn’t mean it’s a silver bullet for brands though -- or even the multi-billion dollar internet celebrity industry, where influencers are tasked with advertising products without appearing too commercial.
    In this episode of Digitally China, we’ll discuss Xiaohongshu or RED, which is often compared to Instagram and Pinterest.
     
    The fast-growing app, which is popular among young, female urbanites in China, has over 85 million monthly active users and is valued at $3 billion following a $300 million funding round last year led by e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba.
    But the e-commerce side of RED is still behind more price-conscious competitors like Pinduoduo — and the app hit its latest roadblock earlier this week, when it was pulled from Chinese app stores.
    We’ll cover some of the challenges the app is facing as it tries to grow its e-commerce business – monetizing its vibrant user community -- and manage the thousands of influencers on its platform.  
    Episode summary:
    · Xiaohongshu backstory and introduction
    · Xiaohongshu vs. competitors
    · Xiaohongshu’s content quality problem
    · Success cases of brands working with influencers
    · Cosmetics: an industry where Chinese brands have really optimized social media and ecommerce
    Guests:
    · Elijah Whaley, chief marketing officer at Parklu, an influencer marketing tech firm in China
    · Huo Qiu, a fashion and cosmetics influencer with over 1 million followers on Weibo and about 30,000 followers on Xiaohongshu
    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong
    Producer: Jacob Lovén
    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
    31 min
  • So You Want to Work in Chinese Tech
    In China’s fast-growing tech industry, it’s easy to focus on exciting new products and businesses while overlooking one of the most important elements of any company: the talent.
    Inthis episode, we look at how the recruiting process at Chinese tech firms does -- and doesn’t -- differ from that of multinational firms, and how China's new wave of tech professionals view their career options.
    EpisodeOutline:
    - Incentives/disincentives for working at multinational firms vs. Chinese internet companies
    - The importance of 996 or working overtime
    - Probation and the concept of “hire fast, fire fast”
    - Unstructured vs. standardized hiring practices
    - China’s gender discrimination problem
    Guests:
    - Vincent Wang, a senior associate at executive recruiting firm Atkins & Associates
    - Ben Jiang, who runs the India bureau of Krasia, an Asia-focused tech media platform 
    - A Zhen, a product manager and team leader for front-end development at a Shanghai-based internet company
    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong
    Producer: Jacob Lovén
    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
    40 min
  • Making Sense of Chinese Tech’s IPO Craze
    Corporate offerings such as secondary listings and IPO’s from Chinese tech companies are accelerating. This year alone we have seen 161 such events, which is already 72% of entire last year.
     
    Why do Chinese tech companies turn to public markets to raise capital? Why are the Hong Kong stock exchange increasingly popular? And how does the domestic Chinese stock market fit in all this for tech companies?
     
    In the latest episode of Digitally China we are interviewing the co-host of China Tech Investor podcast James Hull to get an understanding of the latest trends and what all of this means for Chinese technology companies.
     
    Topics covered during this episode:
    - The rush to IPO from tech companies around the world
    - Differences between Hong Kong and US public markets
    - The future of domestic public listings in China
     
    Hosts: Eva Xiao and Tom Xiong
    Guest: James Hull, founder of HullX and co-host of China Tech Investor podcast
    Producer: Jacob Lovén
    Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
    30 min
  • [Fixed Full version] Inside Huawei’s ‘wolf’ culture
    (The previous publication was not the full version due to a technical bug. This is an upload of the full episode - sorry for that!)
    Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is one of China’s largest success stories in tech.
    No other domestic tech firm has been able to grow its business overseas around the world and beat the competition the way the Shenzhen-based company has, despite keeping a relatively low profile.
    But over the past six months, Huawei has found itself increasingly in the limelight and under public scrutiny. After the arrest of one of its top executives in December and an escalating trade war, the Chinese telecoms company has become a symbol for both China’s technological rise and ambition -- and the threat that poses to Western countries like the US.
    To take a closer look at the company -- at a more human-scale -- we decided to dive into the people and unique ‘wolf’ culture of Huawei, from its dark history of employee suicides to inspiring “war” stories, where company staff brave earthquakes and civil war to serve clients.
    So what makes the company tick? How does it produce both die-hard loyalists and Huawei-haters? In this episode, we explore the following topics:
    - Huawei’s management system and how it works
    - Founder Ren Zhengfei’s influence on Huawei
    - Militaristic Huawei slogans and sayings
    - Company training and “boot camp”
    - The trade-offs of a “wolf” culture
    Host: Tom Xiong and Eva Xiao
    Producer: Jacob Lovén
    Guest: Shen Rui, an ex-Huawei employee who worked there 2011-2015 For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
    40 min

About Digitally China

From the publisher's feed

A podcast about the Chinese tech industry by Tom Xiong, Eva Xiao and Jacob Loven. Created together with RADII (radiichina.com), an independent media platform about today's China and its next generation.