Alan Fang – Novo CEO Interview

Alan Fang - CEO of Novo at Their HQ in Shanghai It seems Alan Fang – CEO of Novo Holdings has always been ahead of the game. He launched Novo Concepts – one of China’s biggest multi-brand fashion retailers back in 2003, way before China was hot and the floodgates of global fashion brands coming to China opened. Then in 2010, he launched Novomania – China’s only independent... Read More

Logistics of Luxury and E-Commerce in China

Chinese Customs Officer Inspects Proucts Entering China. Image: Huangpu Customs The topic of logistics is definitely not the sexiest side of the fashion and luxury  industry. Yet understanding logistics in China is vital for retailers, as even a big brand name and network of fancy stores wont do you any good if  you cant get products into the country to sell. The  operational... Read More

Logistics Impeding E-Commerce Growth in China

Amazon China Delivery Man on the Streets of Beijing Thanks to the hyper-growth of e-commerce in China, bicycles, scooters, pedicabs, and pedestrians increasingly have to compete with a new breed of guided human missile – the e-commerce delivery man. Led by Taobao the surge in e-commerce in China has also caused exponential growth to the country’s domestic logistics sector.... Read More

Taobao – China’s all Dominating C2C E-Commerce Site

Taobao's Fashion Category Page   For young Chinese consumers it must be hard to imagine a life without Taobao – China’s biggest C2C e-commerce portal. Taobao completely changed the way Chinese shop and it has become so dominant that it now accounts for an estimated 80% of online transactions in China. Launched by Alibaba Group in 2003 to combat EBay’s entry into China,... Read More

China’s E-Commerce Emperor

The Alibaba Group's Portals Dominate E-Commerce in China Two weeks ago I wrote about the massive potential of e-commerce in China that Boston Consulting Group predicts will be worth more than 300 billion dollars by 2015. As numerous e-tailors fold under highly competitive market pressures and others battle it out with nasty price wars, through all of this, one company –... Read More

E-COMMERCE PRICE WAR CAPTIVATES CHINA

Olympic Style Leader Board from Chinese Online Price Comparison Site Etao.com Just as I was publishing this post on the Potential of E-Commerce in China two weeks ago, a vicious and very public price war begun among China’s main appliance e-tailers:  360Buy, Suning, Gome and Dangdang. The saga began when the CEO of 360Buy announced on his Weibo (China’s most popular microblog)... Read More

THE POTENTIAL OF E-COMMERCE IN CHINA

Screen Shot from Chinese Luxury E-Commerce Site 5Lux.com With half a billion Chinese now online, the growth of e-commerce in China appears to be a forgone conclusion and an encouraging business scenario for retailers. However, beneath the surface lie multiple issues that encumber companies and brands (both domestic and foreign) on their paths to conducting successful online retailing... Read More

Omni-Channel Retail 101

Online Commerce Site. Image: Branding. Inc. Today I gave a presentation on Omni-channel Retail to the China Chain Store and Franchise Association. The fact that there isn’t even a term in Chinese for Omni-Channel retail shows how new the concept is to China. Truth be told, the concept is relatively new worldwide. So what exactly is omni-channel retail anyway? Essentially, omni-channel... Read More

Interview with Iconix China President Veronica Chou

Iconix China Ltd. President Veronica Chou Based in Hong Kong yet perpetually traveling, Veronica Chou represents the new young breed of executives running fashion companies in China. As President of Iconix China Ltd. she is responsible for bringing over 20 international brands such as Badgley Mischka, London Fog, Ed Hardy and Rocawear into Mainland China. She is also involved with... Read More

China Luxury Market Predictions For 2012

Ermenegildo Zegna 20th Anniversary in China Exhibition in 2011 Looking back, 2011 was really the year that announced China’s arrival as a major force in the world’s fashion and luxury market. While momentum has been building steadily since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it was only last year that China became the hot topic for the industry at large. Last year it seemed one only... Read More