Dangdang Discovers E-Books — Finally 当当推电子书仍有成功希望
I’ll finish my postings on this Winter Solstice day with a few tidbits from the retail sector, which offer some interesting glimpses into the potential power of e-commerce to help Chinese firms expand both at home and abroad. The biggest of these news bits comes from Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), China’s only listed major e-commerce firm, which is launching an electronic book service to complement its industry-leading online book store. (company announcement) My initial reaction to this news is “What took them so long to do this?” After all, online retail pioneer Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has been selling electronic books for years now and there’s absolutely no reason why Dangdang waited so long to get into this space, where it will have to compete with established players like Shanda’s (Nasdaq: SNDA) online literature unit, Cloudary, and new services from other big names like 360Buy. But that said, at least Dangdang is finally realizing the importance of e-books, and it still looks early enough for it to become a dominant player in the space if it offers a good books and e-readers. In another online retail news bit, sportswear clothing chain Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) is taking its first small step outside China by opening an online store for US customers. (Chinese article) I suppose I should commend Li Ning for looking beyond China, but I’m honestly not sure that the online store approach, which is certainly cheaper than opening traditional brick-and-mortar stores, is the right route for entering a major new market like the US, where competition is already fierce from big names like Adidas and Nike. I don’t think I would be taking a very big risk in predicting this initiative is very likely to fail, as it has all the markings of a company trying to expand internationally without properly funding the campaign. Last but not least, sportswear bearing the name of Bjorn Borg (Stockholm: BORG) will soon be coming to China, as the Swedish licensee of the legendary tennis star’s name seeks out a local partner with plans to open stores in China next year. (company announcement) This initiative also looks destined for failure, as Bjorn Borg isn’t very well known in China and this company doesn’t appear to have lots of money for the expansion. But considering the Chinese love of famous brands, perhaps it could still succeed if it finds a good Chinese partner to help fund and market the campaign.
Bottom line: Dangdang’s move to e-books looks late but still likely to do well, while a new overseas foray by Li Ning looks underfunded and set to fail.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Amazon Name Shift Signals China Ramp-Up 亚马逊改名背后折射中国野心
◙ Price Wars Beat Up Online Retailers 网上零售商引爆价格战
◙ Shanda Cloudary Returns to Market, Worth a Look
