In this class, I talk about the difficulty of moving luxury into ecommerce. And how Chinese consumers will likely determine who finally cracks this problem. Secoo and Farfetch are two companies that are on this frontier right now.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Question: Will Farfetch or Secoo win in luxury ecommerce in China? Three factors to consider:

1. What do consumers care about most?
2. What do large luxury brands care about most?
3. What do small luxury brands and boutiques care about most?

Related podcasts and articles:

• Should Starbucks Buy Luckin Coffee? Should Alibaba? HeyTea? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 30)
• My Visit to JD’s E-Space: Is It a Game Changer for Department Stores in China? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 10)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #26: Advanced and Complicated New Retail

Concepts for this class:

• Platform Business Models: Marketplaces for Products and Services
• New Retail
• Online Merge Offline (OMO)
• SMILE Operational Marathon: Ecosystem Shaping and Management
• China Digital Consumer Network (CDCN)

Companies for this class:

• Farfetch
• Secoo
• JD

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, we go through 6 digital superpowers, which is a simple high-level checklist for when digital tools can significantly change the competitive dynamics of a business.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Which of the 6 Digital Superpowers does the company have? If any.

1. Dramatically transform the user experience
2. Enable a platform business model
3. Network effects
4. Other competitive advantage
5. Virality
6. Scalable

Related podcasts and articles:

• How Did Alibaba Beat Everyone? Products vs. Digital Platforms. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 4)
• Huawei, Luckin and the SMILE Operational Marathon (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 34)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #25: 6 Digital Superpowers

Concepts for this class:

• 6 Digital Superpowers
• SMILE Operational Marathon
• Competitive Advantages: Traditional vs. Digital

Companies for this class:

• Lazada
• Grab
• Luckin Coffee
• Hellobike

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I talk about the share of the consumer mind as a revenue competitive advantage. And how companies like WeChat and TikTok are changing this with digital tools.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Related podcasts and articles:

• Why Didi Needs Driver Switching Costs. Uber Too. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 23)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #24: Share of the Consumer Mind in a Digital Age

Concepts for this class:

• Competitive Advantages
• Share of the Consumer Mind
• Switching Costs
• Searching Costs
• Temporary Supply-Demand Imbalances

Companies for this class:

• TikTok / Douyin and Bytedance
• WeChat and Tencent

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I go into the how digital native education companies like LAIX are challenging traditional companies like New Oriental.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Which of the 6 Digital Superpowers does LAIX have? If any.

1. Dramatically transform the user experience
2. Enable a platform business model
3. Network effects
4. Other competitive advantage
5. Virality
6. Scalable

Related podcasts and articles:

• Review: The Sexy But Dangerous Economics of Digital (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 15)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 2, with a focus on:

• #1: Basics of Digital Economics

Concepts for this class:

• Jobs to be Done
• Digital Econoimcs
• Digital Superpower 1: Dramatically Transform User Experience

Companies for this class:

• Liulishuo (LAIX)
• New Oriental Education

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I go into the increasing dimensions of operational marathons. I call these the SMILE marathon.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

SMILE Marathons. Competing every day on which dimensions?

1. Scale, Scope, Efficiency and Effectiveness
2. Machine Learning / AI Factories and Zero-Human Operations
3. Innovation
4. Rate of Learning
5. Ecosystem Orchestration and Management

Related podcasts and articles:

• What Should Starbucks China Have Done About Luckin Coffee? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 3)
• My Interview With Huawei About Their 2019 Financials. Plus Fraud at Luckin Coffee. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 24)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #23: SMILE Marathon

Concepts for this class:

• SMILE Marathon
• SMILE Marathon Dimension 1: Scale, Scope, Efficiency and Effectiveness
• SMILE Marathon Dimension 2: Machine Learning / AI Factories and Zero-Human Operations
• SMILE Marathon Dimension 3: Innovation
• SMILE Marathon Dimension 4: Rate of Learning
• SMILE Marathon Dimension 5: Ecosystem Orchestration and Management 

Companies for this class:

• Huawei
• Luckin Coffee

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I talk about ways AI and cheap prediction are being used in fashion and apparel. From my interview with Dr. Tao Mei, Vice President of Cloud & AI at JD.com.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Related podcasts and articles:

• How Big Will Ant Financial / Alipay Become? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 28)
• Products with Personalities? My Interview with JD About Conversational AI (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 31)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #22: Basics of AI

Concepts for this class:

• Digital Superpowers
• Operational Marathon
• AI as Cheap Prediction
• AI Factories / Zero-Human Operations

Companies for this class:

• JD

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I go through some of the basics of Grab, GoJek and Lazada. And the different approaches for capturing local services in SE Asia.

You can listen here or at my webpage.

Which are the most important 1-2 factors for the competition in SE Asia services?

1. Consumer engagement and experience. Capturing a share of the consumer mind.
2. Merchant engagement and experience. Being strong with service providers.
3. Platform business models and their advantages (subsidized pricing, growing interactions, data, etc.)
4. Network effects.
5. Management execution and access to capital.

Related podcasts and articles:

• Meituan vs. Ctrip vs. Alibaba: Who Will Win in China Services? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 22)
• How Can Meituan Compete with Alibaba? And Prepare for Next Gen Services Marketplaces? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 27)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #16: Basics of Ctrip, Meituan and Marketplace Platforms for Services

Concepts for this class:

• Bundling
• Platforms: Marketplaces for Services
• Network Effects

Companies for this class:

• Grab
• GoJek
• Didi
• Lazada

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

Support the show

In this class, I talk about my interview with He Xiaodong of JD. And about how chatbots are evolving into conversational AI. Plus the basics of AI economics.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

CORRECTION. In this podcast, I mentioned that JD's Smart Customer Service has the personality of a young woman. Xiaodong was actually referreing to Microsoft's Xiaolce. My apologies. 

Related podcasts and articles:

• JD and Competitive Advantages vs. Entry Barriers in China Retail (Daily Lesson – Jeff’s Asia Tech Class)
• JD vs. Alibaba: How Retailers and Marketplace Platforms Compete and Evolve in China (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 18)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #22 Basics of AI

Concepts for this class:

• AI - Cheap Prediction
• Mismatched and/or Crippled Scale

Companies for this class:

• JD

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

www.jefftowson.com

Support the show

In this class, I talk about what can be done with Luckin Coffee post-scandal. Should another company or investor buy it?

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

Who should buy Luckin Coffee? Choose an option.

1. Starbucks
2. 711 or other convenience store
3. HeyTea
4. Alibaba or other ecommcerce company
5. Financial investors

Related podcasts and articles on Luckin and Heytea:

• What Should Starbucks China Have Done About Luckin Coffee? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 3)
• Will Luckin, Mobike, Didi or WeWork Ever Be Profitable? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 6)
• My Interview With Huawei About Their 2019 Financials. Plus Fraud at Luckin Coffee. (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 24)
• Forget Luckin. Starbucks’ Most Interesting China Competitor is HeyTea (pt 1 of 2)
• While Luckin Fights Starbucks, HeyTea Has Lines Out the Door in China (pt 2 of 2)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #21 New Retail and Value Added Deals

Concepts for this class:

• New Retail
• Company Quality: Good / Great / Bad / Too Hard
• Alwaleed and Surgical Value Add / Value Point

Companies for this class:

• Luckin Coffee
• Heytea

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

www.jefftowson.com

Support the show

In this class, I talk about Shopee (ecommerce) and Garena (online gaming) in SE Asia - and the complementary platform businesses Sea Limited is building.

You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.

The previous articles and books I cite are:

• Platform Revolution (book)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 4-5, with a focus on:

• #20 The Basics of Garena / Shopee and Audience Builder Platforms

Concepts for this class:

• Audience Builder Platforms
• Complementary Platforms
• Arms Race for Consumer Attention, Engagement and Spending

Companies for this class:

• Shopee
• Garena / Sea Limited
• Lazada / Alibaba

———-

I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.

I also run Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.

This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research. 

www.jefftowson.com

Support the show