Digitalization has changed book reading, book production and book marketing, and it may ultimately even change the nature of books. Amazon’s Kindle e-reader sold out in 5.5 hours after it was first released in November 2007 and remained out of stock until April 2008. All over the world, a similar shift has been underway—slower in markets where bookstores and book sales are regulated, such as France and Germany; faster in more open markets, such as China, where more than 2 million digital book titles are now available and nearly half of all books sold are sold online. Yet surprisingly, most book buyers still end up with print books.
Ctrip Goes on a Round the World Trip
Leading Chinese online travel company Ctrip now faces the dual challenges of overseas expansion and stronger competitors
An All-Click-No-Mortar Approach to China’s Fast Fashion Market
Chinese fast fashion brand Handuyishe is beating well-established rivals by focusing exclusively on e-commerce. Why is that a good strategy?
Will WeChat Succeed in Mobile Commerce?
WeChat, China’s wildly popular social messaging app, is experimenting with mobile commerce in a bid to become an all-in-one platform. What are the odds of success? Twenty two-year-old Yin Junyu has been selling fashion accessories made of synthetic pearls and designer jewelry replicas for the last two years at a small store in Beijing’s Tongzhou […]
China Roundup: China Industrial Production Slows and the Alibaba-Alipay Relationship Restructured
This week, China industrial production figures revealed a slower growth from last year; Lenovo and Tencent reported profits while sportswear manufacturer Li-Ning suffered yet another battering; and Alibaba restructured its relationship with Alipay. The Macro Picture China’s GDP growth bounced back to the target rate of 7.5% in the second quarter, but newly released data […]
What You Should Know About the Alibaba IPO
CKGSB Professor Teng Bingsheng, an expert on the Chinese e-commerce sector, walks us through the issues involved in the Alibaba IPO, such as disclosures, the company’s ownership structure and valuation. In a period that’s been characterized by rapid innovation in China’s high technology sector, Alibaba’s IPO—potentially one of the largest public offerings of all time—has been […]
In China’s Cosmetics Market Beauty is Pocket Deep
In China’s increasingly competitive cosmetics market who will come out ahead and who should re-evaluate? Stepping into the cosmetics section of any Shanghai-based department store means entering a brightly lit wonderland of shiny displays, impossibly beautiful faces plastered on the wall, and a barrage of demonstrations. Groups of young, fashionable girls cluster around the stands, trying […]
How Amazon and eBay influence the purchase decision making process
As we buy online, little do we realize how online buying platforms such as e-commerce websites influence our purchase decision making process. Each time you buy something online, you don’t realize that your choice is not yours alone. Throughout the buying process your decision is influenced—both at a conscious and subconscious level—by an online procurement […]
Fast Fashion in China: Revved Retail
After years of extraordinary growth, has fast fashion peaked in China? In November, property consultancy CBRE reported that landlords in second-tier city retail properties were courting China’s main fast fashion brands to drive foot traffic, going so far as to waive a flat rent rate in exchange for a percentage of turnover to attract these […]
Getting ahead of the curve
In the world of online retailers, Liu Qiangdong’s Jingdong Mall is a rare success story–a brick-and-mortar chain that made the transition to the internet. Earlier this year, Associate Professor of Strategic Management Teng Bingsheng looked into what has enabled Jingdong to stand up to giants like Gome and Jack Ma’s Taobao. Here’s what he found. Extracts […]
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