Alicast From Alizila

As shoppers increasingly lean on generative AI to answer questions and refine their searches, they will expect merchants, brands and marketplaces to keep pace.In this episode of Alicast, join Alizila’s Managing Editor, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, as she asks Hong Kong-based Herbert Yum, a Research Manager at consultancy Euromonitor International, how he sees changes in technology and consumer behavior impacting retailers. Tune in to this conversation to learn what’s in store for e-commerce in 2024, the Lunar New Year of the Wood Dragon, and beyond!

Alibaba Group and the world's largest cosmetics company L'Oréal have joined forces in a three-year partnership to promote a circular economy within China's beauty industry. This collaboration was announced in Beijing last month during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the country.In this episode of Alicast, join Alizila's Managing Editor, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, as she speaks with Janet Neo, L'Oréal's Chief Sustainability Officer for North Asia & China. Tune in to this conversation to learn about the importance of sustainability in the beauty industry and the challenges Alibaba and L'Oréal are tackling together.

E-commerce has steadily grown as a percentage of total retail sales in China. We spoke to consultants at Bain & Co to hear if the trend will continue into next year.Worried about staying one step ahead of your competitors in China? Bain also counseled brands on how to keep their edge. Tune into this, the second part of our wide-ranging discussion with James Yang, a partner at consultancy Bain, for advice on mastering the defining trends in the world’s second-largest retail market.  In this episode of Alicast, Yang offered his insights into overcoming supply chain snarl-ups as well as speeding up product development.

Retail expert David Roth joined Alicast to discuss about the latest e-commerce trends in China, the world’s second-largest e-commerce market.David, CEO of retail practice The Store-WPP and Chairman of consultancy WPP BAV, spoke about the evolution of the retail industry in China. London-headquartered communications group, WPP, is at the forefront of advising global brands on navigating markets and absorbing cutting-edge technology.  “If you really want to see the future of technology, of retail, of the combination between on-and-offline is, then China is the place to have a look,” said David. Alicast spoke to David on the eve of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the world’s largest retail event. 

Brands are rethinking their marketing tactics in China, as the world’s second-largest retail market matures and customer behavior evolves.Instead of chasing growth through discounting drives, brands are turning to customer membership programs to generate revenue over the long term, according to a new report by consultancy Bain & Co.We sat down with one of the report’s authors, Bain Partner James Yang, to discuss what makes a winning loyalty program.James draws on examples from global marquee brands such as Costco, an American multinational corporation that operates membership-only big-box retail stores, French beauty products retailer Sephora and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s 88VIP program to illustrate how brands should design rewards programs. 

Niche luxury fashion houses are expanding in China, using digital tools to build a loyal following in the world’s second-largest economy. In this episode of Alicast, we speak to Scandinavian fashion house Filippa K’s CEO Rikard Frost about connecting with Chinese consumers.A Swedish native, Frost joined Filippa K last year with a mission to reboot Filippa K for the post-pandemic landscape using his experience in e-commerce.Frost spent over a decade leading the digital transformation of Acne Studios from a local denim brand to an international fashion house. He went on to become Alexander Wang’s Chief Consumer Officer based in New York.

Alibaba Group will offer Chinese consumers the most diverse range of products on record during this year’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the world’s largest retail event. This year’s 11.11, also known as Double 11 or Single’s Day in China, will feature over 290,000 brands from more than 90 countries and regions. There will be 17 million products on offer to over 1 billion consumers shopping on Alibaba’s marketplaces in China.  In this episode of Alicast, we’re joined by Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group to talk about the latest e-commerce trends coming out of China and how global brands can best leverage 11.11 to build lasting connections with consumers. 

Nanushka, one of fashion’s fastest-growing brands, is out to make a big splash in China, targeting nine stores across the world’s second-largest economy by 2026.The Budapest-based fashion house also launched on Alibaba Group’s business-to-consumer marketplace Tmall and opened a store in Shanghai in October.In this episode of Alicast, we’re joined by Péter Baldaszti, the co-founder and CEO of Nanushka and fashion investment platform Vanguards Group to talk about his China vision.  

Shopping festivals are evolving from discounting drives into an opportunity for brands to connect with new consumers and build a loyal fan base.The 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, also known as Single’s Day in China, is the biggest retail event of them all and brands prepare months in advance to perfect their campaigns.Traditionally conservative luxury brands are embracing online shopping in droves as the user experience improves in strides and e-commerce takes an increasingly larger share of total retail sales. In China, digitally native consumers expect a seamless shopping experience whenever and wherever they want to shop.Luxury brands, such as Italy’s Brunello Cucinelli and Hungary’s Nanushka, recently made e-commerce in China a core plank of their international expansion.In this episode of Alicast, Kathy Jiang, Principal & Chief Researcher at global consultancy Roland Berger talks with Alizila's Managing Editor, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, about how luxury brands can maximize their investment in 11.11

You're listening to Alicast, a deep dive into innovative and emerging trends in e-commerce, online payments and digital entertainment, brought to you by Alibaba Group.In this conversation, Alizila's Managing Editor Alison Tudor-Ackroyd talks with Michael Huang, General Manager for the Greater China region at Italian luxury brand, Brunello Cuccinelli. Michael has over two decades worth of experience working for high-end brands in mainland China and has served at Brunello Cucinelli for more than eight years based in Shanghai.  They talk about luxury trends in China, the impact of the pandemic on brands and pointers for going digital. 

You’re listening to Alicast, a deep dive into innovative and emerging trends in e-commerce, online payments and digital entertainment, brought to you by Alibaba Group.In this conversation, Alizila’s Managing Editor, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd talks to Eat Just’s Chief Executive Josh Tetrick, about the plant-based food provider’s expansion into China.Josh has worked on sustainability initiatives throughout this career, be it at the United Nations or Citibank, as a government advisor and for the past 11 years as an entrepreneur.

You’re listening to Alicast, a deep dive into innovative and emerging trends in e-commerce, online payments and digital entertainment, brought to you by Alibaba Group.In this conversation, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd talks with Guive Balooch, head of L'Oréal's technology incubator, about how the brand embraces augmented reality and blockchain to enhance consumer experience.You will also hear topics including beauty trend, personalization as well as the brand’s sustainable moves to save the planet.

You are listening to Alicast, a deep dive into innovative and emerging trends in e-commerce, online payments and digital entertainment brought to you by Alibaba Group. I'm Alizila's editor, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd, and today's guest is JuE Wong, CEO of Olaplex, a professional haircare line.We'll be digging into the latest trends in China's fast-growing haircare market and how brands can take part in China's largest shopping festival, 11.11.

In this episode of Alicast,  Alizila's Jing Wang talks to Frank Lavin about how companies can succeed in China, informed by his 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors.Before becoming an entrepreneur, Frank had a stellar career in Washington as the top trade negotiator for China and India in the Commerce Department and later served as US Ambassador to Singapore. As CEO and Founder of ExportNow, a China e-commerce solution firm, Frank has facilitated hundreds of market entries for international brands from Fender to the NFL.

Technology has completely disrupted the way we shop in the 21st century. So how can retail leaders navigate these massive changes – especially after the experiences of the Covid lockdowns? To answer these questions and more, Alizila's Liyan Chen talks to one of the most influential scholars and thought leaders in retail. Barbara Kahn is the Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  To read the full transcript, visit here: https://www.alizila.com/podcast/author-and-scholar-barbara-kahn-on-retail-innovation-in-china

In this conversation, Alison Tudor-Ackroyd talks with Davin Leong, managing director for Asia Pacific at British hairstyling and appliance brand ghd, about China’s fast-growing hair care market and taking part in China’s largest shopping festival, 11.11. They dig into what brands need to do to make a successful 11.11 debut.Other topics covered include how and when to use Alibaba’s Hey Box to launch new products in the Chinese market.Find more stories from Alibaba and around its ecosystem here: www.alizila.com

Reis launched SuperOrdinary in 2017 has since helped innovative young beauty brands like Supergoop!, Biossance, and Drunk Elephant build their presence in China. Recently, SuperOrdinary expanded their business in the U.S. to help brands build their portfolio and presence in the crowded Amazon marketplace. The founder shares his learnings from China's e-commerce operations to the businesses they will help on Amazon. 

Alibaba Group's online marketplace AliExpress is expanding its services in Brazil, from payments options to delivery networks, as e-commerce takes off in Latin America's largest e-commerce market during the coronavirus pandemic.

On this year's Ali Day, an annual celebration of Alibaba employees and their families that takes place on May 10th, we profile our outgoing general counsel, Tim Steinert. Tim is a 14-year veteran of Alibaba. He joined in 2007 and has been instrumental in building the legal structure for the company, guiding Alibaba through ups and downs as it grew. In this episode, Tim shares his views as a former member of the Alibaba partnership on the culture that makes the company so unique. 

From recent discussions with German brands Lauenstein and Beurer, Alibaba's Karl Wehner details how China - which offered a viable market during Covid lockdowns in their home and EU markets - has become core to the SMEs' future growth strategies.