China’s most popular short-messages platform WeChat has at last included Snapchat/Instagram style stories. Long overdue, says Tencent and WeChat specialist Matthew Brennan at his website. He tells how it works, and why – if very late – this is a smart move.Read More →
Beijing’s Forbidden City tried to follow international cultural centers by developing itself as a brand. But business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, wonders if the effort has been very successful, he says in the South China Morning Post.Read More →
Alibaba’s major competitor JD is trying to change its corporate structure, after its CEO and owner Liu Qiangdong has been accused – and acquitted – of sexual misconduct. Business analyst Ben Cavender sees an effort to reframe the JD story, he tells in Benzinga.Read More →
Consumers from China are spending less, and certainly luxury brands in the US will feel the downturn at least in the short run, says luxury consumer expert Ben Cavender to AP. Tighter visa restrictions under President Donald Trump also make it harder for Chinese shoppers to get to the United States.Read More →
Ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, the main competitor of Uber, is trying to move upscale, into self-driving cars, foreign cooperation and projects out of China, but at home, they still face basic challenges, says Shanghai-based business analyst Ben Cavender. Local authorities focus on illegal drivers, according to Reuters.Read More →
Dolce&Gabbana was the latest fashion brand to feel the growing power of picky Chinese consumers, but it will certainly not be the last one, says consumer analyst Ben Cavender to the New York Times. “The reality is this is probably going to kill growth for them,” he said on D&G.Read More →
Fashion brand Dolce&Gabbana got blamed for racism by its Chinese customers after using a promotional video, celebrities withdrew from a show planned for Wednesday in Shanghai and the brand withdrew its goods. The damage to the brand will be lasting, says branding expert Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to AP.Read More →
Self-made cyber celebrities take over positions of established Key Opinion Leaders (KOL’s) and redefine marketing, says vlogger and China-veteran Ashley Dudarenok to the China Daily. Brands are discovering the new trend.Read More →
Videos of 5-star hotels in China showed unhygienic practices and went viral last week. But business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, did not see anything new here, apart from the Western media picking up the upheaval this time, he tells at the Bangkok Post.Read More →
Marketing expert Ben Cavender discusses how China’s Single’s Day developed from a nondescript event ten years ago to a major shopping event at CGTN. “Consumers now want a more compelling experience, not just a product on display,” he says.Read More →
Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok, co-author of Unlocking the World’s Largest E-market: A Guide To Selling on Chinese Social Media, looks back at the successful 11.11 Single’s day and compared Alibaba and competitor JD. She also noticed an emerging anti-consumerism movement at Weibo, where a growing number of people refuse to buy during this shopping festival.Read More →
China is in the middle of the 10th Single’s Day, a very successful shopping holiday. But both the US-China trade war and the drop in stock markets might hit the most optimistic expectations as consumer confidence drops, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting fromRead More →