A New Model of Retail

in #alibaba6 years ago (edited)

An interesting and must-read article, especially if you are an American and you want stay in the game.

https://www.axios.com/china-alibaba-tencent-jd-com-artificial-intelligence-corner-store-df90517e-befb-40ca-82d5-f37caa738d54.html

Something to get in on, especially if you are to consider LeVine's assertion that major American retailers, even an e-commerce giant like Amazon, is in troubled waters against Alibaba's model.

Also, I have seen it myself, did comparisons between Amazon and Alibaba. Alibaba is A LOT easier to navigate (at least from my own experiences). While Amazon is kind of a Byzantine labyrinth. Maybe I will forgo my Ramadan Plan of getting a ("better" and full time) job at Wal-Mart. The idea came from a co-worker at my current job, who used to be a manager there, telling me how good it was (he retired from Wal-Mart in the mid-2000s, making a little over $27 / hour with a generous dollar-for-dollar profit sharing retirement), my friend's dad, who currently works there tells me how great it is, and I have a fleeting urge to go back into retail (I kind of miss my Dierberg days).

But can a Yankee like me get in on this Chinese model easily and successfully?

That will be something I will have to learn myself, and do by trial and error, should I go ahead with it. Thus is the nature of entrepreneurship.


(Image courtesy of Quartz, 2018)

References:

https://www.axios.com/china-alibaba-tencent-jd-com-artificial-intelligence-corner-store-df90517e-befb-40ca-82d5-f37caa738d54.html

https://qz.com/1171743/alibaba-is-trying-to-reinvent-chinas-mom-and-pop-stores/