I wasn’t too surprised to read the latest news that British retailing giant Tesco (London: TSCO) was effectively bowing out of the Chinese supermarket business, as the company never really found a niche in the fiercely competitive market. But more interesting will be the fate of remaining giants Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Carrefour (Paris: CA), and even domestic leader Sun Art (HKEx: 6808), as these companies struggle to remain relevant amid a major assault from e-commerce firms. Of those big players, only Walmart has made a serious move into e-commerce, which looks set to rapidly overtake traditional markets in China’s retailing space. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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BMW (Frankfurt: BMWG): Breakneck Growth in China Is Over (English article)
US Lawmakers To Examine Smithfield (NYSE: SFD)-Shuanghui Deal (English article)
High inventories At Leading Smartphone Vendors May Cause Price War (English article)
Datang Telecom (Shanghai: 600198) To Acquire Gaming Firm Yaowan (English article)
Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) To Test Electronic Receipts in August (English article)
The retail world is buzzing with the latest reports that global giant Carrefour (Paris: CARR) is considering a potential withdrawal from China, as it tries to figure out how to make money in a market with huge potential but also massive competition. A Carrefour source in China was quick to deny the possibility of a sale, but clearly big discussions are happening behind the scenes on what’s likely to be some major changes for the world’s second largest retailer. One of the company’s biggest handicaps is its failure to recognize the rapid rise of e-commerce in China, which has put it at a disadvantage over other traditional retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Read Full Post…
Just 2 weeks after reporting that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) had broken off talks to buy PPTV, a sudden flurry of new reports have appeared saying several other companies are bidding for the online video company, including leading e-commerce firms Alibaba and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Rather than reflecting PPTV’s attractiveness, I suspect this sudden flurry of talks is being driven by a impatience among its shareholders who have pumped big money into the money-losing company but have received little returns so far. If that’s the case, I would expect to see PPTV acquired most likely by the end of this month, though perhaps at a far lower price than the investors were originally seeking. Read Full Post…
Some 6 months after buzz first emerged that Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) could soon bring its popular Kindle tablet PCs to China, media are reporting that the product could finally make its debut in the market next month. I’ll be frank in saying that Amazon is coming to the China tablet PC market a bit late, as the space is already quite competitive due to the earlier arrival of Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, along with tablet offerings from Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and homegrown giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). But that said, I would also say there’s still no clear leader in the space, meaning Amazon could quickly grab some market share if it makes the right moves. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 30-April 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China “Resolutely Opposes” US Curbs On IT Imports: State Media (English article)
NEC (Tokyo: 6701) In Talks to Sell Cellphone Business to Lenovo (HKEx: 992) – Source (Chinese article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Wins Patent Case against Huawei in Paris District Court (Businesswire)
Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) to Introduce SNS (English article)
Gome (HKEx: 493) to Establish 50 Superstores in First-Tier Cities (English article)
Online discount retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) emerged as one of China’s most remarkable turnaround stories in 2012, as its shares rallied sharply in the second half of the year after a miserable IPO. Now the company is passing more new milestones, reporting its first-ever profit in the fourth-quarter of 2012 and also entering the relatively small club of Chinese Internet firms that can boast of market values of $1 billion or more. The company has also solidified its position as China’s most valuable publicly traded e-commerce firm, after taking the title from older rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) last fall.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Reports Q4 and Full Year 2012 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
Court To Hear Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Case against Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) (English article)
EU And China Stumble Towards Solar Trade War (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) 4G Network To Reach 100 Cities This Year (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Announces New Company Structure (English article)
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but a lot of Chinese Internet firms suddenly seem to be engaged in a series of major reorganizations. I came to this conclusion after reading this morning that Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024), one of China’s top e-commerce firms, has just undergone a major structural reorganization as part of what the company says is a regular exercise. (Chinese article) News of this latest reorganization comes the same week that headlines have been buzzing with news of another major reorganization at Tencent (HKEx: 700), China’s leading Internet company. (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Chinese Firm Wins Bankrupt A123 Despite US Tech Transfer Fears (English article)
Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) To Adjust Structure After Chinese New Year (Chinese article)
China’s 2012 Group Buy Transaction Value Grows 61 Pct in 2012 (English article)
People.cn (Shanghai: 603000) Says 2012 Profit Up More Than 50 Pct (Chinese article)
New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Announces Results For Quarter Ended Nov 30 (PRNewswire)
Just days after announcing it would shutter its Hong Kong stores, we’re getting word that struggling home appliance and electronics retailer Gome (HKEx: 493) is also cutting positions in its online division as it looks to return to profitability. These latest job cuts look particularly interesting to me, as they seem to represent a retreat in the important but ultracompetitive e-commerce space, where rivals like Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) and Jingdong Mall continue to add staff even as everyone is losing massive money. In this case, Gome’s online cut-backs could perhaps presage a future strengthening of its current alliance with e-commerce specialist Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), and even result in a future marriage between these 2 companies whose e-commerce and traditional retailing businesses are quite complementary.
Online discount retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) emerged as one of China’s most remarkable turnaround stories in 2012, as its shares rallied sharply in the second half of the year after a miserable IPO. Now the company is passing more new milestones, reporting its first-ever profit in the fourth-quarter of 2012 and also entering the relatively small club of Chinese Internet firms that can boast of market values of $1 billion or more. The company has also solidified its position as China’s most valuable publicly traded e-commerce firm, after taking the title from older rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) last fall.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but a lot of Chinese Internet firms suddenly seem to be engaged in a series of major reorganizations. I came to this conclusion after reading this morning that Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024), one of China’s top e-commerce firms, has just undergone a major structural reorganization as part of what the company says is a regular exercise. (
Just days after announcing it would shutter its Hong Kong stores, we’re getting word that struggling home appliance and electronics retailer Gome (HKEx: 493) is also cutting positions in its online division as it looks to return to profitability. These latest job cuts look particularly interesting to me, as they seem to represent a retreat in the important but ultracompetitive e-commerce space, where rivals like Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) and Jingdong Mall continue to add staff even as everyone is losing massive money. In this case, Gome’s online cut-backs could perhaps presage a future strengthening of its current alliance with e-commerce specialist Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), and even result in a future marriage between these 2 companies whose e-commerce and traditional retailing businesses are quite complementary.
