To many people in its home market China, Transsion Holdings is a company name they’ve never heard of. But this smartphone maker, based in Shenzhen, taking over 38% market share, is rising to dominate the smartphone market by with its Tecno Mobile, Itel and Infinix. Its success shows what differences can a small company make by truly catering to consumers’ long ignored needs, as said by local tech expert, “Transsion has succeeded because they addressed the problems of the market directly. They make phones with features that are attractive to Africans.”
Clayton Christensen on Innovation: Finding the Jobs to Be Done
“Innovation” is difficult, yet the word itself is so overly used that the meaning of it has become hollow. Some people consider being “innovative” as being “lucky.” Yet for Clay Christensen, a business professor at Harvard, innovation is about finding the “jobs that need to be done” in our lives. In this interview with CKGSB Knowledge, he argues that companies should not take the task as akin to gambling. Instead, companies should adopt a more focused, process-oriented approach of finding the “jobs” that customers need to do in their lives, and then create products that make those jobs easier.
Code and Capital: Genetic Testing in China
Most of us have heard that the secrets of our lives are hidden in our genes. As the technology advances, genetic tests have become common in certain situations, such as prenatal tests and medical treatment. Also, from genetic test results, professionals can read things like your personality, talent and health risks. Many Chinese companies, though with no intention of becoming “fortune tellers”, are luring people to do genetic tests and offer easy-to-read talent results–and public demand is running high. Startups are receiving millions in funds for making this technology accessible to ordinary people. But is the model of selling cheap genetic testing services sustainable? And are these tests accurate?
Business and Design: The Future of Design
Unlike technology, design seldom follows a neat curve. When it comes to questions of style, it’s hard to chart steady improvements. At the moment, however, design does seem likely to become an even more powerful business driver—provided it isn’t undone by its own popularity. In a number of sectors, executives are becoming more and more aware that smart design can be a shortcut to competitive advantage. The growth of Starbucks and the rise of Apple are two stories about the power of good design, but a number of industries have been similarly transformed by an idea that was less technically novel than packaged in a more appealing way.
China Data: McDonald’s China Ups the Ante
The world’s largest restaurant chain is gearing up to do even more in China. In a bid to make China its second-largest market globally, fast food company McDonald’s is set to open 1,250 new outlets in China over the next five years. Despite recent troubles over food safety in China, McDonald’s continues to be gung ho about its prospects in the country. Even concerns over a slowing economy aren’t dampening is spirits. McDonald’s is betting on population growth and rising urbanization to give sales a boost. In this edition of China Data, we bring you the latest numbers from China: from Ronald McDonald’s China plans to wind power and pork prices in the country.
China’s Food Imports: Hunger Games?
Until recently, China had largely fed itself. Yet now the tables have turned, transforming China into the largest food importer in the world. Changing food consumption patterns in China have seen increasing demand for foreign consumer food brands outpaced by even faster growth in demand for imported agricultural products and feed stocks. This has happened despite a continuing stated policy goal of food self-sufficiency. The result has been an evolution in land use within China, greater integration of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in global wholesale markets and a subtle shift of emphasis away from self-sufficiency within China, towards prioritizing the security of the Chinese supply chain.
Lenovo-backed ZUK Co-creates Smartphones With Millennials
Unlike parent company Lenovo, ZUK is trying to woo youngsters and blaze its own path. To do that it is immersing its engineers in their environment and involving youngsters in the conceptualization and design process.
China’s Robam Bets Big on the Smart Appliances Market
Zhao Jihong, President of the Hangzhou-based high-end kitchen appliance maker Robam, believes that the future belongs to smart appliances.
Why Companies in China Fear the World Consumer Rights Day
China’s national broadcaster CCTV shames errant companies on World Consumer Rights Day. A look at some of those who have been in the firing line in the past.
The Chinese Property Market Conundrum
As the Chinese property market slows and complicates the country’s economic outlook, the government faces a tricky balancing act.
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