I’ve been writing for most of the past year about China’s bloody e-commerce battles, and now we’re getting some figures that finally show how bad the situation is with news that up-and-comer Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) has missed its 2012 online sales target by a relatively large margin. This bad stumble reflects the fact that China’s e-commerce market may have big potential, but the overall space is still limited in size. What’s more, with so many big names fighting for a piece of the pie, everyone is having to sell their products at very low prices that ultimately result in lower overall revenues and operating losses.
Tag Archives: Suning
News Digest: January 15 报摘：2013年1月15日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Xinhua Slams Yum (NYSE: YUM), VW (Frankfurt: VOWG) For Business Practices (English article)
- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in Talks to Invest in Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) – Blogs (English article)
- Guangzhou Automobile (HKEx: 2238) Looks Outside China For Growth (English article)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) Regains Compliance With NYSE Share Price Requirement (PRNewswire)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Enters Telecoms in Bid For Virtual Network License (Chinese article)
China Scandal Takes Bite Out of Yum 中国食品丑闻让百胜很受伤
Two news items from the retail space are showing how China remains a challenging and competitive market despite its huge potential, with KFC operator Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) and German retailer Metro (Frankfurt: MEO) both suffering setbacks for different reasons. In Yum’s case, the company is quickly discovering the meaning of the word “saturation”, as its rapid expansion in China has forced it to open restaurants in less profitable locations that are ultimately hurting its performance. Adding to its woes, KFC recently found itself at the center of China’s latest food safety scandal, which I’ll discuss shortly. In Metro’s case, the company simply discovered that the Chinese retail market is quite competitive, especially in the electronics space where Metro was trying to find a niche in a partnership with the consumer products unit of Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai (Taipei: 2317).
News Digest: January 5-7 报摘：2013年1月5-7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 5-7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Qihoo 360 (Nasdaq: QIHU), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Nearing Partnership Deal (English article)
- Automakers In China Brace For Year Of Tepid Growth As Japanese Struggle (English article)
- China’s Huawei Expects Profit Jump After Reporting Drop In 2011 (English article)
- China Galaxy Securities Files Application For $1.5 Bln HK-Shanghai IPO (English article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Enters Online Gaming Market – Source (English article)
Google Quits E-Commerce, Jingdong 谷歌关闭中国购物搜索 京东投资云计算
Several e-commerce items are in the headlines today, including Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) latest retreat in China as it shutters its Chinese online shopping search service. At the same time, domestic players Jingdong Mall and Suning are continuing their aggressive expansion, with the former pouring big new money into cloud-based services as the latter launches a major initiative based in its new chain of brick-and-mortar superstores. The common theme to all of these news bits is that e-commerce remains an incredibly competitive business in China, and is likely to remain that way for at least the next year or 2 until cash-rich companies fighting for supremacy in the space finally tire of losing massive amounts of money.
News Digest: December 13 报摘： 2012年12月13日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Adds $1.1 Bln More In Subsidies To Solar Sector – Xinhua (English article)
- Jingdong Mall to Invest 4 Bln Yuan in Cloud Computing Centers (English article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) to Launch Online-Offline Expo Superstore in Nanjing (English article)
- Ku6 Media (Nasdaq: KUTV) Becomes $1 Stock, CEO Says Won’t De-List (Chinese article)
- Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) Opens First Farmer Support Center in Yunnan (Businesswire)
China Wine Plays: Oversaturation? 中国红酒电商：“跟风潮”来袭？
Two news bits from the wine sector are making headlines, shining a spotlight on this hot industry whose fast growth is being fueled by millions of new middle class Chinese who are willing to pay big money for premium products like wine and coffee. But these latest 2 deals also reflect intensifying competition in a sector that could easily become the next bloody battlefield for over-eager Chinese start-ups, resulting in big losses and ultimately an ugly consolidation.
News Digest: December 7 报摘： 2012年12月7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- GM (NYSE: GM) China November Sales Increase 9.7% on Buick, Chevrolet (English article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Tests Out Finance With Small Loan Unit (Chinese article)
- Yum (NYSE: YUM) Tweaks China Growth Plans, Targets More Pizza Huts (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Says Apple Must Discuss IPhone Benefit Sharing (English article)
- Jiuxian Fails to Reach 2012 Sales Target (English article)
News Digest: November 17-19 报摘： 2012年11月17-19日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 17-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Approved to Issue Up To 40 Bln Yuan in Notes (HKEx announcement)
- NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Social Networking Site Stops Service (Chinese article)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) Reduces Production at Arizona Factory (PRNewswire)
- Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) Launches E-Book Channel (English article)
- Alibaba Makes Strategic Investment in Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo – Source (Chinese article)
Dangdang: Past the Worst? 当当：渡过最坏时期？
A couple of interesting news bits are coming from the e-commerce space, led by the latest quarterly data from Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) that shows the worst may be past for this fast-fading sector pioneer. Meantime, we’re also getting new sales figures for the November 11 Singles Day holiday from Jingdong Mall, showing just how distant a second-place player the company is to sector-leader Alibaba.
Suning Links With Vancl, 24Quan Shutters 苏宁易购联手凡客诚品 24券暂时停业
New signs of consolidation are appearing in the overheated in e-commerce and group buying spaces, with Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) again emerging as a potential major consolidator in e-commerce as a mid-sized group buying site named 24Quan closes up shop. The e-commerce news is easily the more interesting of these 2 bits, as China’s group buying sector has largely run out of cash by now and most players are tottering on the brink of insolvency. By comparison, the e-commerce field is backed by a big number of cash-rich companies like Suning, Alibaba and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), which have indicated they are prepared to lose big money for a long time to defend and build their positions in a country likely to become the world’s biggest e-commerce market in the next 5-10 years.
