JD’s profit strength hides shopper fatigue 10 May 2019 After an impressive first quarter, China's $40 bln web retailer is on track for its first annual net profit. But customer growth has flatlined. That suggests damage from nemesis Alibaba catching up in logistics, and upstarts like Pinduoduo adapting faster to new consumer trends.
Alibaba’s custom font plays to tech type 3 May 2019 The Chinese e-commerce titan designed Alibaba Sans to push its brand and improve legibility. Text is becoming as personalised in tech-land as accounting metrics. Apple, Netflix and Uber have bespoke characters, too. The bar on visual vanity projects has been raised.
Japan’s telecom upstart tests plan for disruption 2 May 2019 E-commerce group Rakuten has done well out of bets on Lyft and Pinterest. That supports its capex-light push to challenge Japan's mobile oligopoly. Reliance upended the Indian sector with a costlier, but similarly daring gamble. Hiroshi Mikitani can hope for some of that success.
Amazon’s best weapons are sprawl and usefulness 25 Apr 2019 With revenue of $60 bln in the last three months alone, it’s hard for Jeff Bezos’s firm to stay camouflaged. U.S. presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has already made Amazon a target. Expect more cash to be diverted into socially helpful technology and geographic dispersion.
Casino sales merely keep its head above water 23 Apr 2019 The indebted 4.2 bln euro French retailer has sold 470 million euros of supermarkets to U.S. buyout firm Apollo. The valuation looks adequate and the group’s shares are well above September lows. But leasing back its own stores will act as a drag on Casino’s recovery.
Morgan Stanley puts its seal on Jack Ma’s bazaar 12 Apr 2019 The Wall Street bank upped its stake in a mutual funds joint venture using Taobao, Alibaba’s online mall better known for makeup and clothes. E-commerce is playing a bigger role selling Chinese financial assets, but it makes some uncomfortable. This deal could reassure doubters.
Bezos breathes down overpaid Oracle bosses’ necks 11 Apr 2019 The Amazon founder’s bold bets helped the e-commerce giant create a $30 bln cloud unit. His annual letter talks about winning more commercial-database business. It’s a warning for Oracle’s top executives, who will need to better justify their pay if they’re to see Bezos off.
Asian logistics IPO delivers at a discount 11 Apr 2019 Warburg Pincus plans a Hong Kong listing for $4 bln warehouse operator ESR. Fancy godowns are in short supply and e-commerce is booming. Yet public markets have not favoured regional rivals like GLP, taken private in 2017. Plain packaging will help the sale stack up.
Altaba’s $11 bln tax will be a gift widely shared 4 Apr 2019 Yahoo spent years trying to avoid taxes on selling its stake in China’s Alibaba. After various advisers and schemes failed to find a magic bullet, successor Altaba is paying up. That’s an equitable outcome. It also gives other tax holdouts reason to stop dawdling and pay up.
Lyft takes Japanese backer Rakuten on new ride 28 Mar 2019 An IPO valuing the U.S. taxi app at up to $24 bln warrants a fresh look at its biggest shareholder. Lyft will now account for about a fifth of the sprawling Rakuten’s market value. Even with a SoftBank-lite investment success, however, the scattershot approach looks shaky.
Jumia to test faith in the rare African unicorn 27 Mar 2019 The e-commerce startup from Rocket Internet is hoping for a $1.4 bln price tag when it goes public in New York. Sales are galloping but so are losses. That’s a punchy valuation given the poorest continent’s social and political problems – unless Alibaba or Amazon are the buyers.
Naspers relocates its Tencent discount to Europe 25 Mar 2019 The Johannesburg group is shifting internet investments, including a $134 bln stake in the Chinese web giant, to an Amsterdam-listed unit. That might tempt investors wary of South African risks. But it does little to address fears that Naspers will squander its Tencent windfall.
Levi Strauss IPO looks a few sizes too big 21 Mar 2019 The 166-year-old jeans-to-jumpsuits maker is worth $8.7 bln after shares popped 33 pct on its return to the public market. That’s perhaps justified, but it’s a stretch, suggesting denim will remain in vogue. Recent bankruptcies of two rivals are a reminder such fashion fads fade.
Pinduoduo offers New York a Shanghai bargain 14 Mar 2019 The $29 bln shopping app is giving investors a taste of Chinese tech: promise, growth and volatility. Shares fell over 17 pct after it spent far more than expected in 2018 to lure and retain customers. Still, the experience of rivals like Alibaba suggests better times ahead.
JD’s winding road to profit keeps getting longer 28 Feb 2019 The Chinese e-commerce group’s sales rose by more than a fifth to top $20 bln in the fourth quarter. But heavy investment in new bets means JD is barely breaking even. Financial discipline would help, but may not be enough to counter cooling demand and competition from Alibaba.
Three digital ad giants are no better than two 20 Feb 2019 Google and Facebook’s combined share of U.S. online advertising is poised to fall for the first time this year. The reason: Amazon is taking a bite out of their slice. Even a muscular challenger does little to reduce the case for tighter regulation.
Walmart proves big is relatively beautiful 19 Feb 2019 The $290 bln company’s quarterly sales defied the overall slump that hit U.S. retailers in December. Earnings beat expectations too. Walmart’s growing online revenue and cheap grocery business should help it capitalize on weaker retailers’ misfortune in a softer economy.
Pinduoduo’s bid for calm has its limits 12 Feb 2019 Even by Chinese tech company standards, the $31 bln e-commerce outfit has had a volatile start to public life. A $1 bln follow-on will up the float and help to ease wild price swings. But ballooning losses, competition with Alibaba, and legal woes will continue to create a stir.
Amazon can afford to give Big Apple one more shot 11 Feb 2019 The e-commerce giant’s plan for a second HQ is in jeopardy over local opposition. One idea would be to give up half of the $3 bln in incentives. Amazon can afford it, and rival Google created jobs for less. If that doesn’t quiet the critics, Amazon may be better off elsewhere.
Amazon and Walmart get caught in India’s web 1 Feb 2019 The U.S. titans will be limited to operating marketplaces and prevented from being online retailers under New Delhi’s rules. That opens the door for billionaire Mukesh Ambani to power ahead with his own e-commerce plans. The miscalculation by Amazon and Walmart could be costly.