Search Results for: baidu e-commerce

Sina, Tencent Pose Threat in SNS, E-Commerce 新浪腾讯攻城掠地

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Despite their late arrival to the game, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) could soon become potent forces in their newly chosen fields of SNS and e-commerce, respectively. Sina looks the sharpest in this latecomer strategy, reporting that its Boke Qing social networking site, which held its beta launch last month (previous post) has already registered its 1 millionth user. (English article) Sina has achieved the breakneck growth by packaging Qing as a more substantial complement to its wildly popular Weibo microblogging service, considered the Twitter of China. Qing, which links seamlessly with Weibo, is likely to grow exponentially over the next few months, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it reach 10 million users by year end. If it achieves that kind of growth, it could easily challenge industry leader Renren (NYSE: RENN), which reported 31 million users in the first quarter of this year. If Qing really achieves such fast take-up and Weibo starts generating some profits, I could see Sina packaging these two units together and making a US public listing for the pair as soon as the end of 2012. Meantime, Tencent has detailed plans to develop a mega-platform for both B2C and C2C called Paipai, and will put 500 million yuan, or about $80 million, behind the effort. Like Sina, Tencent has proved to be very adept at leveraging a huge user base for its wildly popular QQ instant messaging service into other areas, overtaking Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) in just a few years to become China’s biggest online game operator. Of course, it will face stiffer competition in e-commerce, going up against sector giant Taobao, along with other names like Dang Dang (NYSE: DANG), 360Buy and Wal-Mart-invested (NYSE: WMT) Yihaodian. Despite that, I’d still give Tencent’s e-commerce initiative a fair shot at success due to its unique position as China’s Internet leader, while Qing’s success looks almost 100 percent guaranteed due to its links to Sina and Weibo.

Bottom line: Sina’s new Qing SNS service could become a major player by year-end, while Tencent’s new e-commerce initiative also stands a good chance of success.

新浪(SINA.O)在社交网络服务领域、腾讯(0700.HK: 行情)在电子商务领域，都算是後来者，但可能迅速崛起。新浪势头凌厉，上月启动轻博客公测版後，其注册用户已突破100万。新浪以轻博客作为微博的补充，两款产品实现相互联通，实现用户数量迅猛增长。新浪轻博客在未来几个月可能呈飞速成长，若到今年底用户达到1,000万，我一点都不会惊讶。若这成为现实，则可挑战该领域领头羊–人人网(RENN.N)，今年第一季人人网注册用户已达到了3,100万人。如果轻博客果真发展神速，微博也开始盈利，我认为，最快到明年底，新浪就可能将轻博客与微博整合到一起，在美国上市。与此同时，腾讯也制定详细计划，打造B2C和C2C商务平台拍拍网，将为此投入5亿元资源。与新浪相似，腾讯也善于利用其庞大的QQ用户群，将服务拓展至新领域，短短几年时间就取代盛大(SNDA.O)和网易(NTES.O)，成为中国最大的网络游戏运营商。当然，腾讯在电子商务领域面临的竞争会更激烈一些，需要面对当当网(DANG.N)、京东商城、和沃尔玛(WMT.N)投资的1号店等强劲对手。但鉴于腾讯在中国互联网领域的地位，我还是对其在电子商务领域的尝试寄予厚望。至于新浪的轻博客，其成功几乎没有悬念。

一句话：新浪轻博客到今年底将成为社交网络服务领域重要力量，而腾讯在电子商务领域新尝试也很有希望取得成功。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Sina Gets Serious on SNS With New “Blogging Light” 新浪推出轻博客 大力进军社交网络业务

◙ Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

◙ Belle, Baidu See Beauty in Online Shoe Store 百度和百丽投资优购网或为明智之举

Baidu’s One-Dimensional Growth Story Continues 百度亮丽财报难掩前景不确定性

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China Internet bellwether Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has just announced its latest quarterly results, which continue to show a company with strong growth but a worrisome inability to diversify beyond its core online search business that is showing early signs of slowing. First the good news, which has clearly captured investor attention, with Baidu’s revenue up about 80 percent and profits up an even stronger 90 percent in the second quarter, thanks to surging sales for its online search advertising services. (company announcement) Furthermore, Baidu also forecast its third-quarter revenue will continue to grow in the 75-80 percent range to more than $600 million — second in China’s Internet space behind only sector leader Tencent (HKEx: 700). But those strong numbers also hide the less impressive fact that Baidu still derives 100 percent of its revenue from online marketing related to its core search business, after high-profile initiatives in a number of other areas like micro-blogging and e-commerce all ended in disappointing failures. (previous post) What’s more, its volume of online marketing customers only grew by a modest 17 percent in the second quarter, with its big revenue growth coming on the back of a sharp 50 percent jump in spending per customer. Clearly Baidu is finding ways to squeeze more money out of its customers, but that growth is likely to slow down sharply in the next year as advertisers start to reach their comfort limits over spending too much on a single marketing source, no matter how good the results. When that happens, look for Baidu’s top and bottom line growth to slow sharply — most likely in the next year or two — unless it can find some alternate new sources of growth from some of its other business initiatives.

Bottom line: Despite posting stellar Q2 results, Baidu’s top and bottom line growth will slow sharply in the next 1-2 years as its search business starts to mature and advertisers rein in their spending.

中国互联网巨头百度<BIDU.O>刚刚公布季度财报，显示其保持强劲增长势头，但令人担忧的是，百度仍严重依赖其核心的网上搜索业务，而该领域已呈现放缓苗头。首先，我们得说其强劲财报是个好消息，显然也吸引了投资者的关注。得益於在线搜索广告营收大幅增长，百度第二季营收增约80%，获利更跳升约90%。此外，百度预计第三季营收将保持75-80%的增幅，超过6亿美元，若实现该目标则在中国互联网领域仅次于腾讯<0700.HK>。但这些亮丽的数据掩盖了一个事实：百度所有营收都来自与核心搜索业务有关的网络营销，意味着其在微博和电子商务等领域的尝试均遇挫。值得注意的是，今年第一季其网络营销客户总数仅增加了17%，百度营收增长主要源自客户的平均支出跳增50%。显然，百度成功从客户处掏出了更多的钱，但未来一年其增长率可能大幅放缓，因广告客户将开始不愿意在单一营销渠道上投入太多的资金，不管广告效果有多好。到那时候，除非百度能找到其他新的营收和利润增长渠道，否则其营收和利润增长会急剧减速，这很可能在未来一两年就会发生。

一句话：尽管百度第二季财报抢眼，但未来一两年中其营收和利润增长可能大幅放缓，因其核心搜索业务开始趋於成熟，而广告客户将开始控制广告支出。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Baidu Flounders Abroad, Wastes Time With Microsoft Tie-Up 百度海外拓展 与微软合作纯属浪费时间

◙ Baidu’s Takes a $300 Mln Spin on Travel Market 百度斥资3亿美元进军旅游市场

◙ Baidu’s Latest Botch: Microblogging 百度“微博”的倒掉

 

Belle, Baidu See Beauty in Online Shoe Store 百度和百丽投资优购网或为明智之举

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E-commerce in China is hot right now and apparel seems to be the latest hot area based on the latest deal involving online footwear seller Yougou. News on the investment is a bit conflicting, but consensus seems to be that Yougou has received hundreds of millions of US dollars in a new round of funding, and some are specifying the amount is around $450 million, with investors including Hong Kong-listed footwear distributor Belle International (HKEx: 1880) and Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). (English article; Chinese article) I haven’t been a big fan of Baidu’s e-commerce initiatives in the past, most notably its failed online store You’a, but this one certainly looks like it could have some potential with both a big Internet name behind it in the form of Baidu itself and a big apparel manufacturer and retailer in the form of Belle. This latest investment comes amid a recent flurry of activity in the e-commerce sector that points to its strong growth potential. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) bought into online retailer Yihaodian in May (previous post), and leading online apparel seller Vancl is reportedly in the process of an IPO that many believe will do well despite weak investor sentiment toward Chinese companies in general. Leading Web commerce company Alibaba also made  headlines last month when it split its Taobao unit into three pieces, a move aimed at breaking out the more profitable online B2C store business from the more problematic online auction C2C site. (previous post) All these companies are clearly chasing a growing Chinese Internet market that now numbers more than 500 million users, many of whom like to shop online as such transactions become easier and provide more choice and quality guarantees to traditional brick-and-mortar stores. As the market develops, Yougou looks like it’s in a nice mainstream niche and should be an interesting company that, depending on its finances, could make an IPO in the next 2-3 years.

Bottom line: Online footwear seller Yougou looks like a smart investment for backers Baidu and Belle International, with potential for big growth and an IPO in the next 2-3 years.

电子商务目前在中国非常热门，鉴於鞋类销售网优购网日前获投资，服饰似乎是最新的一个热门领域。相关新闻说法略有些矛盾，但共识是，优购网在新一轮融资中筹到上亿美元，一些报导称，该融资具体金额约为4.5亿美元，投资者包括香港上市的鞋类销售商百丽国际<1880.HK>和网络搜索巨头百度<BIDU.O>。一直以来，我并不看好百度的各种电子商务举措，尤其是失败的百度有啊网站，但这次百度和百丽联手投资看似颇具潜力。电子商务领域近期各种动向均表明该领域极具增长潜力。沃尔玛<WMT.N>5月收购中国在线零售商1号店股权，有报导称凡客诚品正在准备首次公开募股（IPO），许多人认为，尽管对中国企业投资者情绪普遍偏弱，但凡客诚品IPO或会有良好表现。阿里巴巴集团上月将淘宝网分拆为三家独立公司，意在将盈利的B2C业务同问题重重的C2C业务分离。上述公司显然都加紧在中国互联网市场发展步伐，中国网络用户目前已突破5亿，许多人喜欢网上购物，因为交易更容易，选择更多，而且有质量保证。随着网购市场的发展，优购网看似发展方向不错，根据其财务状况，公司或会在未来两三年上市。

一句话：优购网增长潜力巨大，并有望在未来两三年上市，百度和百丽投资优购网似乎是明智之举。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

◙ Taobao Split: Separating Wheat From the Chaff 淘宝一分为三 如何取其精华

◙ 360Buy — A $10 Bln Company? 京东商城价值100亿美元？

Baidu Shake-Up Underscores Instability, Frustration 百度重组表明公司高层动荡及新产品受挫

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Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) new restructuring announcement contains details on the four main business units it will form in its latest transformation, but the subtext in all this is the problems the company has faced retaining top talent and moving into new product areas. Clearly Baidu CEO Robin Li is trying to reassure investors by pointing out that three out of four of his new division heads have been at the company for six years or more. (company announcement) Unfortunately, what appears to be the most important new appointment — head of new commercial products and technologies — has only been with the company for a year, throwing a spotlight on the difficulty that Baidu has had in nearly all of its new product initiatives over the last few years. Its list of failing of failed new initiatives is long and varied, including a struggling Japan business (previous post) and shuttered micro-blogging and e-commerce services. (previous post) Chatter is nearly non-stop about the latest departure of top executives at the company, no doubt due in part to all these failed initiatives and possibly in part due to Li’s own difficulties in communicating with his top management team. As the latest case in point, the restructuring announcement says that senior vice president Shen Haoyu will be leaving Baidu at the end of the month for “personal reasons”, industry jargon for saying that he and Li didn’t see eye to eye on important issues. Clearly Li is worried about his company’s inability to find any new business areas to diversify beyond its core online search business, whose growth is likely to slow down in the next few years. This restructuring is probably designed to show investors Baidu is working actively to keep its growth alive, but it will take more than announcements to do that. In the meantime, look for more turmoil at the top of Baidu as it struggles to chart a new direction.

Bottom line: Baidu will continue to be plagued by turmoil in its top management and failure of its new initiatives, as CEO Robin Li struggles to find a long-term growth formula for his company.

百度<BIDU.O>最新重组声明整合四大业务部的细节，但言下之意是该公司面临留住高端人才和开发新产品的困境。百度首席执行官（CEO）李彦宏指出，四个新部门的负责人有三人在公司任职至少六年，显然希望以此打消投资者疑虑。但不幸的是，看起来最重要的新任命–新商业产品和技术部负责人却刚进百度一年，凸显百度过去几年几乎所有新产品的开发都受挫的困境。百度有很多开拓新业务以失败告终的例证，包括日文搜索引擎、微博和电子商务平台。有关百度多名高管离职的传闻不断，毫无疑问，部分原因是新举措失败，还可能因为李彦宏自身与管理团队沟通不畅。最近一个很好的例子是，重组声明称，百度高级副总裁沈皓瑜将在月底因“个人原因”离职，言外之意是他和李彦宏在重要问题上有分歧。李彦宏显然担忧百度无法拓展搜索引擎以外业务，未来几年这一核心业务势必放缓。这次重组可能是向投资者证明，百度积极采取行动，以保证其增长，但该公司要做的不止发声明这麽简单。同时，预计在百度寻找新的发展方向时，其高层还将继续发生动荡。

一句话：由於百度首席执行官李彦宏未能找到公司长期增长模式，百度未来将继续受高层动荡和新举措失败的困扰。（

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Baidu Flounders Abroad, Wastes Time With Microsoft Tie-Up 百度海外拓展 与微软合作纯属浪费时间

◙ Baidu’s Mobile Plan: Do We Need Another OS? 百度手机操作系统计划有没有市场？

◙ Baidu’s Takes a $300 Mln Spin on Travel Market 百度斥资3亿美元进军旅游市场

Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

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Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT) recent announcement that it is buying an undisclosed stake in China e-commerce company Yihaodian has touched off widespread chatter that this young but up-and-coming Chinese online retailer could become Wal-Mart’s online partner in China. (English article; Chinese article) The e-commerce space in China does indeed appear to be hot these days, with 360Buy recently raising a whopping $1.5 billion in new capital (previous post), and Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) making a successful IPO earlier this year. Considering that US online retailing leader Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has had a presence in China for several years now through its purchase of Joyo.com, it does indeed seem logical that Wal-Mart might want to position itself in the local online retailing space as it embarks on a major China build-up, to avoid losing ground to both its US rival and other Chinese players like Alibaba’s Taobao in this fast growing space. Yihaodian’s numbers do look impressive: after just three years in business, the company expects to notch 800 million yuan in revenue this year and keep its top line growing at 100 percent or more over the next two years. I expect that Wal-Mart is positioning itself for a potential buy-out if Yihaodian continues to perform well. Given Wal-Mart’s already sizable presence in China, the connections and expertise it has to offer could provide a potent combination for Yihaodian, creating a major new player on the China e-commerce scene.

Bottom line: Wal-Mart’s tie-up with Yihaodian marks the US retailer’s first step into China’s lucrative e-commerce arena, and could pay handsome returns for both parties.

沃尔玛<WMT.N>近期宣布收购中国电子商务企业1号店股权，外界盛传後者可能成为沃尔玛在中国大陆的在线合作夥伴。近期中国电子商务领域如火如荼，京东商城新筹资15亿美元，当当商城<DANG.N>今年稍早在美国成功上市。考虑到美国在线零售巨头亚马逊<AMZN.O>已通过收购卓越，进军中国市场数年，沃尔玛想通过收购本土企业确立在中国电子商务领域地位，听起来倒也合情合理，这样有助其与美国竞争对手–亚马逊，以及淘宝等中国电子商务企业竞争。1号店业绩也确实不俗：运营才三年，该公司预计今年营收可达8亿元人民币，且未来两年营收可望以100%甚至更快速度增长。倘若1号店保持这样的势头，我估计沃尔玛未来可能全面收购该公司。而沃尔玛在中国市场已颇具影响力，建立的网络与经验可助1号店一臂之力，巩固其在中国电子商务领域地位。

一句话：沃尔玛与1号店结盟，是沃尔玛进军中国电子商务的第一步，可望带来双赢局面。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ 360Buy — A $10 Bln Company? 京东商城价值100亿美元？

◙ Dangdang Hits Its Stride, Dang It!

◙ What’s in a Name? Plenty for Best Buy in China

Baidu’s Latest Botch: Microblogging 百度“微博”的倒掉

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They should change Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) name to Botchdu, as this company seems to mess up just about anything outside its core search business. In the latest botchdu for Baidu, the company announced a “reorganization” for its microblogging service, Baidu Talk, launched just last year, that seems to indicate this latest failed product will eventually be quietly retired to oblivion. (English article) The failure would follow the disappointing results for Baidu’s e-commerce initiative, the company formerly known as You’a, and a number of other failures in non-search areas before that. In fact, the only things that Baidu seems good at outside search all involve facilitating illegal trade in copyrighted products. Of course Baidu has just launched a new service for legally obtained music, no doubt destined to become another botch, even as it refuses to close its older popular music site that’s a favorite among  music pirates. This latest case with Baidu Talk just reiterates what I’ve always said, namely that this company lacks imagination and the ability to execute. But that hasn’t stopped the speculators, who have bid its stock up to ridiculous valuations that will have to come down someday when people realize that search emperor Robin Li is wearing no clothes.

Bottom line: Baidu’s reorganization of its microblogging service marks the latest in a growing list of failures for this unimaginative company outside its core search area.

百度<BIDU.O>应该改名为“百糟蹋”（Botchdu），因为这家公司似乎会把一切不属於其核心搜索引擎业务的事情搞得一团糟。最近，百度宣布了其“微博”服务——“百度说吧”的“重组”计划。看样子，这个去年刚推出的产品最终也难逃阵亡的厄运。此前，百度的电子商务平台“有啊”经营惨淡，除了核心的搜索引擎业务，其在核心业务以外的很多生意都表现平平。甚至似乎可以说，百度在搜索领域外擅长的那些业务都是与侵犯版权的非法生意有关。不错，百度刚刚推出一项合法的音乐新服务，但毫无疑问，这项服务的下场也不会好到哪里去。与此同时，百度仍拒绝关闭它那个在盗版爱好者中人气超旺的音乐旧网站。“百度说吧”的最新动态印证了我一直以来的说法：这家公司缺乏想象力和执行力。但这并未阻止投机客将百度的估值推高到不可思议的程度。实际上，当人们发现百度搜索帝国的李皇帝在其核心业务之外只不过是没穿衣服的国王时，百度股价总有回归理性的一天。

一句话：百度这家在核心搜索服务之外毫无想象力的公司重组微博服务，意味着它又一次新业务开拓的失败。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Baidu’s Li Under Assault in Media Spotlight 百度李彦宏遭媒体炮轰

◙ Baidu: Tidbits But Still No Search Alternatives 百度：干扰不断

◙ Baidu-Powered Cellphones? I Don’t Think So 百度也想做手机？恐怕没戏

Alibaba, Baidu Get Snagged in U.S. Piracy Report

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As if Alibaba Group’s problems weren’t bad enough, now the company, along with fellow Chinese Web firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have become ensnared in a U.S. report accusing them of hosting sites that are rampant with piracy. (English article; Chinese) The U.S Trade Representative’s office has branded Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce site and Baidu as “notorious markets” for abetting piracy and counterfeiting — a move that won’t do much to boost Taobao’s prospects for an IPO that many suspect will come in the next year or so. As you may recall, Alibaba’s B2B site, Alibaba.com (HKEx: 1688), is embroiled in its ownalibaba scandal involving bogus vendors who defrauded buyers, resulting in the resignation of its CEO and COO. Chinese media are saying the report may be payback for China’s hard line towards Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and other western Web firms in China. But regardless, investors might be well advised to avoid any Alibaba companies and also Baidu until the dust settles on this one. Investors in Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), whose stake in Alibaba is one of its most lucrative assets, might also take note.

TELECOMS: Huawei Lands at Center of US-China Trade War

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Bottom line: The US case against Huawei’s CFO is likely to end with her release on technical grounds as part of a deal between the US and China, though the company could still face punishment for illegally selling US products to Iran.

Huawei CFO detained for violating US anti-Iran sanctions

It’s a few days old by now, but I wanted to begin the new week by sharing some of my thoughts on the recent blow-up involving telecoms equipment giant Huawei’s CFO, who was detained in Canada at Washington’s request. At this point I mostly want to give my views on the politics behind this story, and also my take on how things are likely to play out.

I’ll start off with the view that this particular story has been a long time in the making, and anyone who thinks it was cooked up by Donald Trump as an excuse to wring concessions out of China is mistaken. I’ll also give my view that this kind of come-uppance for a corporate giant like Huawei is relatively deserved, since Chinese companies have basically thrived and grown as quickly as they have by frequently thumbing their noses at the law. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Alibaba Works on China’s Railroad

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Bottom line: Alibaba’s potential new partnership with China’s rail operator could become a major new business opportunity, and could see the pair sign a strategic equity tie-up within the next year.

Alibaba ties with railway operator

Up until now, I’ve written about China’s mixed-ownership reform program mostly in the context of China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the nation’s second largest wireless carrier, which is in the final stages of drafting a plan to sell some of itself to one or more private companies as part of a strategic alliance. But now the latest headlines on the program are coming from a decidedly low-tech source, with word that China’s railway operator has invited Internet giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) to participate in its own mixed-ownership reform plan.

This particular development is interesting because it marks the second time that Alibaba’s name has come up in the context of the mixed-ownership reform plan. The e-commerce giant has also come up in reports as a potential partner for Unicom, as have China’s other two Internet giants, Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Tencent (HKEx: 700). Read Full Post…

VIDEO: Youku, Tencent Scuffle Spotlights Video Tensions

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Bottom line: A tussle that resulted in injuries to a Tencent worker by a Youku peer at an industry event reflects the big tensions that exist in China’s online video sector due to years of stiff competition that shows no signs of easing.

Wine glass incident reflects tensions in online video

Stiff competition in a wide range of online industries is pretty much par for the course in China, but a scuffle between employees of Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Youku at an industry event is underscoring just how high tensions can get. This particular case won’t really mean much for either company beyond a few sensational headlines in the next few days, and perhaps some internal emails at both companies. But it does show how tough things are in the online video space, where everyone is looking for the elusive formula for profits.

This particular story looks quite similar to another one that happened in February, in which a video of brawling take-out deliverymen from rivals Meituan and Ele.me went viral. (English article) That particular story had a very blue-collar feel, since most of these deliverymen are migrants from the countryside with relatively low education and who tend to stay at their jobs for relatively short periods. Read Full Post…

FINANCE: Ant Financial Pushes Sesame Credit in New Tie-Ups

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Bottom line: Sesame Credit’s new tie-ups with Unicom and a shared phone company are part of a string of deals to aggressively build up its credit rating business, and could add buzz to Ant Financial’s future IPO.

Sesame Credit in 2 new deals

Lest anyone think Alipay is the only asset in financial services giant Ant Financial’s portfolio, the company’s newer Sesame Credit unit is also hankering for headlines these days, with a couple of new deals for its service. The larger of those will see China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the nation’s second largest wireless carrier, waive deposit requirements for some of its users with high credit scores, based on Sesame’s system. The other deal looks similar, and will see a shared phone operator also waive deposits for people with similarly high credit.

This kind of aggressive promotion is quite typical of Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and one of the main people calling the shots at both companies. Ma likes to be ahead of the curve, and is quite aggressive about peddling his vision for emerging sectors like credit ratings. That strategy has served him well in e-commerce and electronic payments, where Alibaba now dominates. Read Full Post…