"Meijing Future Business Think Tank" regularly shares "Weekly Future Business", focusing on the fields of e-commerce/new consumption, logistics/supply chain, life services, and future business innovation and venture capital, in the form of "events+short comments", to gain insights into future business development trends.
Last week (November 27th - December 1st), we selected 10 important news articles for you.
#E-commerce New Retail#
1. Pinduoduo's US stock market value once surpassed Alibaba's Jack Ma's internal network post: Everyone has been amazing, but only organizations that can reform and be willing to pay for the future are respected
On the evening of November 29th Beijing time, Pinduoduo rose more than 3% during trading, surpassing Alibaba in market value. During the day, Jack Ma replied to a post from Alibaba employees regarding the market value of Pinduoduo, asking everyone to provide constructive opinions and suggestions. Especially innovative ideas. I believe today's Alibaba people are all watching and listening. I firmly believe that Alibaba will change, and Alibaba will change. All great companies were born in winter. The era of AI e-commerce has just begun, and it is both an opportunity and a challenge for everyone. Congratulations to PDD on their decisions, execution, and efforts over the past few years. Everyone has experienced great success, but only those who can reform for the future of Tianniu and are willing to pay any price or sacrifice are respected. Back to our mission and vision, Ali people, come on!
Future Business Review: The fierce rising star's expected results in the supermarket field have made Alibaba tremble with fear. Pinduoduo only used one-third of the former's development time, at least catching up with the previous wave in market value. The fierce competition in domestic e-commerce seems to have given a phased result. Jack Ma's post not only demonstrates his sense of urgency, but also motivates all employees to remain steadfast in their pursuit of change, allowing Alibaba to face shame and be brave.
2. Wang Xing: Currently, Meituan's stock price is undervalued, considering promoting a $1 billion repurchase plan
On November 28th, Meituan released its financial report for the third quarter of 2023 as of the end of September. The revenue in the third quarter was 76.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.1%. The net profit for the third quarter was 3.59 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 195.3%. At the third quarter financial report conference call, Meituan CEO Wang Xing stated that the management has full confidence in the company's long-term growth potential. Currently, Meituan's stock price in the secondary market only reflects the valuation of a single takeout business, which does not match the company's intrinsic value. They are considering promoting a $1 billion repurchase plan. "The company will make prudent decisions based on comprehensive consideration of business investment, cash situation, and market conditions," said Wang Xing.
Future Business Review: From the Q3 financial report, Meituan's revenue performance is still decent. Meituan CEO Wang Xing stated that the company's stock price has been undervalued and is considering promoting a $1 billion repurchase plan, demonstrating long-term confidence in the company. This move may have a positive impact on investor sentiment and enhance market confidence in Meituan. Meanwhile, the repurchase plan may also represent the company's emphasis on market value management and its determination to actively give back to investors. This move may lead industry trends, attract more companies to pay attention to their own stock prices, and actively take measures to enhance market confidence.
3. Starting from an annual salary of one million, there is no ceiling! Taotian Global Competition for Top AI Talents
Taobao's comprehensive acceleration of AI layout has received heavyweight news again. On November 30th, a reporter from the Daily Economic News learned that Taotian Group has launched a top talent recruitment program called T-Star, attracting competition, academic, and practical experts in the global cutting-edge technology field, and offering a series of special benefits: offers are not hierarchical, adopt a customized training model, provide challenging topics, equipped with "Big Bull" supervisors and top R&D platform resources, with annual salaries starting from one million without a cap. The reporter learned that the T-Star program has undergone three major changes compared to previous campus recruitment: from targeting domestic universities to globally renowned universities, from recruiting various talents to mainly recruiting technical talents, and from cultivating general talents to exploring and cultivating the next generation of leading talents.
Future Business Review: This global recruitment of top talents reflects Taotian's current emphasis on AI. On October 20th, at the Tmall Double 11 press conference, Dai Shan, CEO of Taotian Group, systematically explained to the outside world the thinking logic of Taotian Group's three major strategies of "user first, ecological prosperity, and technology driven" for the first time. At that time, Dai Shan stated that the explosion of new technologies such as AI would also bring a large number of business opportunities. As the largest consumer platform, Taobao and Tmall would be the largest experimental and breeding ground for AI applications, which would inevitably bring efficiency improvement and huge innovation. Since the launch of internal testing in September, Taobao has experienced over 5 million native AI applications for large models; Among them, the highly active population asks more than 8 questions per day, and a single user can ask more than 4000 questions at most.
#Life services#
1. 12 hours of abnormal APP service on Didi: the cause is a software failure in the underlying system, not "being attacked"
On November 28th, the Didi APP experienced a 12 hour system malfunction, which triggered strong market reactions and concerns. On November 29th, Didi Chuxing apologized through Weibo and stated that through internal review and investigation, it has been preliminarily determined that the cause of this accident was a failure of the underlying system software, not a rumored "attack". In the future, we will carry out in-depth technical risk investigation and upgrading work, comprehensively ensure service stability, and make every effort to avoid similar accidents from happening again. Currently, all services on the Didi App have been fully restored.
Future Business Review: The system malfunction of the Didi platform has raised concerns among some drivers, and the company has responded and clarified the rumors, which helps alleviate driver concerns and enhance the platform's trust. This incident also highlights the public's attention and expectations towards travel platforms, as well as the importance of the platform's responsibility and transparency in responding to crises. This is not the first time that the Didi system has encountered problems. With the continuous development of technology and the evolution of threats, it is necessary to constantly update and improve our security measures and strategies. This includes regular security training, timely updates of software and systems, conducting security audits and risk assessments, etc. On the other hand, it is necessary to set up more redundancy and have a backup system ready at all times, even if it is never needed.
2. Marching into all categories, 5-year-old Meituan Maicai renamed "Xiaoxiang Supermarket"
On December 1st, after a few days of preheating, Meituan (HK03690) officially announced that Meituan Maicai was renamed Xiaoxiang Supermarket, which also means that Meituan Maicai has officially upgraded from a fresh e-commerce platform to a full category retail platform. The business manager of Xiaoxiang Supermarket revealed that the launch of the new brand is a strategic move for Meituan to advance into the local retail field. After upgrading the brand of Xiaoxiang Supermarket, it will further promote local consumption by building local warehouses and logistics to deliver the goods needed by users to their homes in real-time.
Future Business Review: The renaming of Meituan Maicai coincides with the third day after the release of Meituan's third quarter report. Or due to performance growth not meeting capital expectations, Meituan's stock price experienced a 12% intraday decline on the first trading day after the financial report was released (November 29), breaking a new low since April 2020. At the third quarter financial report conference call, Meituan CEO Wang Xing stated that the management has full confidence in the company's long-term growth potential. Currently, Meituan's stock price in the secondary market only reflects the valuation of a single takeout business, which does not match the company's intrinsic value. They are considering promoting a $1 billion repurchase plan. E-commerce analyst Zhuang Shuai said in an interview with the Daily Economic News that the official announcement of Meituan Maicai's renaming and strategic upgrade may to some extent boost the confidence of the capital market in Meituan's new business.
3. Entering the sinking market, Leke officially releases its sub brand "Lightning Panda"
On November 26th, Leke officially announced its sub brand "Lightning Panda" and began to expand its business. Lightning Panda is a fitness brand launched by Leke specifically for the sinking market, mainly targeting more than 300 prefecture level cities in China. Co founder of Leke; Co CEO Xia Dong told the Daily Economic News in an interview that the company has no specific regulations on the number of Flash Panda stores and is currently more concerned about the number of expansion cities. However, according to preliminary calculations, Xia Dong believes that it is possible for Lightning Panda to open 2000 to 3000 stores in the sinking market. The Daily Economic News learned that lightning pandas have landed in Shaoxing and Foshan cities. At the meeting, the person in charge of Lightning Panda, Wang Pengzhi, stated that Lightning Panda is about to enter third tier and below cities such as Shantou, Tangshan, Putian, Handan, Wuhu, Huai'an, Ganzhou, Luoyang, Liuzhou, Fuyang, Jining, Shangrao, and Nanyang.
Future Business Review: To achieve the goal of ten thousand stores, Leke Fitness regards the sinking market as a powerful carrier to achieve this grand goal. Seeking growth in the sinking market has become a consensus among almost all Chinese chain consumer brands. But the fitness consumption in the sinking market is not quite the same as the high-frequency catering consumption, ultimately it is a problem of penetration rate. Different user needs can be met through different business models, and the solution should be appropriate to satisfy users, thus achieving commercial value at the same time.
4. Zhengxin Chicken Chop has closed nearly 10000 stores in 3 years, and the number of stores has fallen to over 11000
According to Interface News, in mid-2020, the number of stores of Zhengxin Chicken Chop in China once surged to 22030, three times that of KFC China and seven times that of McDonald's China, making it a true "street bully". According to data from the narrow door catering platform, the number of Zhengxin Chicken Chop stores has now fallen to over 11000, and nearly 10000 stores have closed down in three years. Some franchisees said that Zhengxin Chicken Chop has lost its brand bonus, and some franchisees also complained that "the franchise fee is far more than the official website", "the decoration is mandatory every three years, and you can only exit without paying."
Future Business Review: The significant decline in the number of Zhengxin Chicken Chop stores reflects the management challenges it faces after rapid expansion. This news indicates that catering enterprises that rely solely on franchise models and brand dividends may encounter difficulties in fierce market competition and increased management pressure. For investors, such rapidly expanding enterprises should be viewed with caution, focusing on their ability to sustain operations and long-term development potential. This incident also serves as a warning to other companies in the industry to focus on improving their management and continuous innovation capabilities in order to maintain an advantage in market competition.
#Innovation and venture capital#
1. ByteDance shrinks its gaming business on a large scale, establishing a new department to focus on the AI application layer
On November 27, it was reported that one of the six major BUs of ByteDance, which is responsible for the game business, will carry out large-scale business contraction. The Daily Economic News reporter learned that Chaoxi Guangnian will divest games that have already been launched and performed well while ensuring their operation; For projects that have not yet been launched, except for a small number of innovative projects and related technology projects, all will be closed. In addition, according to 36 Krypton, it was learned from several independent sources that ByteDance recently established a new AI department Flow, and the technical director was Hong Dingkun, vice president of ByteDance technology. Within Bytecircle, social recruitment has also begun for some time. In the post, he said that it was the AI innovation business team under ByteDance, "at present, two products, Doubao and Cici, have been launched at home and abroad, and several AI related innovation products are being incubated".
Future business review: This may reflect ByteDance's strategic adjustment to the game market and its emphasis on the AI field. Shrinking the gaming business may be aimed at optimizing resource allocation and improving operational efficiency, but it may also raise concerns among investors about the company's competitiveness and prospects in the gaming market. The newly established AI department may bring new growth opportunities and competitive advantages to the company, but there are also certain risks and uncertainties. This may arouse the attention and discussion of the society on the strategic adjustment and future development direction of ByteDance.
2. ByteDance's big model product goes global for the first time, launching ChitChop
On November 29th, it was reported that ByteDance has launched a large model product called ChitChop overseas. The development and operation company is POLIGON, and ByteDance's overseas social product Helo is also operated by the company. Currently, it has launched an independent APP and web version. It is reported that ChitChop is an artificial intelligence assistant tool that can provide users with up to 200+intelligent robot services, serving their work and life by providing creative inspiration and improving work efficiency.
Future Business Review: The news of ByteDance's first overseas release of its large model product indicates ByteDance's active exploration and development in the field of artificial intelligence. As an artificial intelligence assistant tool, ChitChop provides users with a variety of intelligent robot services, which will help improve work efficiency and quality of life. This move may provide new opportunities and growth points for ByteDance's development in overseas markets.
2. You Zan Bai Ya: Gradually opening up open-source technology research and development experience, code, tools, etc
On November 27th, it was reported that at the 11th anniversary "Intelligent Operation" conference of Youzan, founder and CEO Bai Ya announced 5 Youzan open strategies, including gradually opening up more product design and technology research and development experience, code, and tools, and promoting more colleagues to provide customers with a relatively consistent product experience together. In addition, proactively communicate with peers about system information and data that do not involve legal issues or customer needs; In addition to the existing basic system, new customer requirements should be prioritized by partners and developers, and must not be done on their own.
Future Business Review: Youzan is gradually opening up its experience in open source technology research and development, code, tools, etc., demonstrating Youzan's positive attitude in promoting industry cooperation and openness. This move may have a positive impact on Youzan himself and the entire industry. The reaction of investors to this news may depend on their actual implementation of the open strategy and market reaction. This move may represent an increasing trend in the SaaS industry towards openness and sharing.