Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we would bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. Meituan Takes A Leaf Out of New Rival Douyin’s Book by Adding More Video
Meituan is adding video features to its app as China’s food delivery services giant braces for competition from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, in the online local services sector.
As ByteDance’s Douyin pushes into the local delivery market, dominant player Meituan has taken a page from Douyin’s playbook by using a mix of video content from live streaming to short videos on its platform to facilitate transactions. Analysts say the move could help Meituan to stay popular among younger consumers who are glued to mobile video content.
2. ByteDance to Allow US Staff To Cash Out Shares Amid IPO Delays
ByteDance, the Chinese owner of short video app TikTok, will allow shares owned by US employees to vest without waiting for the company to list in the stock market, thereby letting them cash out, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move is aimed at appeasing restless employees who have been waiting for an initial public offering (IPO) to profit from the shares they have been awarded as part of their compensation. It is also an indication that ByteDance, whose worth in excess of US$200 billion makes it the world’s most valuable start-up, is in no rush to go public amid Beijing’s heightened scrutiny of China’s technology giants.
3. Xiaomi Pushes Bricks-And-Mortar Retail Expansion in India
Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp plans to expand its network of bricks-and-mortar stores across India, a strategy that belies its shrinking market share in the country and a protracted legal battle with New Delhi over returning US$676 million of the company’s frozen funds.
Beijing-based Xiaomi – the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor in the first quarter, according to research firm IDC – will expand its physical retail network in the country after years of building up sales via e-commerce channels, Xiaomi India president Muralikrishnan B said in a Reuters report, without elaborating on the number of stores to be added and the timeline for this roll-out.
4. Chinese E-Commerce Giant JD.Com Launches Own Large Language Model, Chatrhino
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has launched its own large language model (LLM) – representing the technology used to train chatbots like ChatGPT – that is expected to escalate efforts by the country’s Big Tech companies to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into various industrial applications.
The value of LLMs “will be realized through industrial applications”, said Sandy Xu Ran, who was named JD.com’s new chief executive in May, at the unveiling of the company’s ChatRhino LLM during its annual JD Discovery tech summit in Beijing. ChatRhino, called Yanxi in Chinese, was described at the summit as an AI model that combines 70 percent general data with 30 percent native intelligent supply chain data. It purportedly offers targeted solutions across a range of industries, from retail and logistics to finance and healthcare.
5. NEIWAI Opens First Overseas Store in Singapore
The Chinese women’s underwear brand NEIWAI unveiled its first store outside of China in Singapore on July 11.
Located in the Raffles City shopping centre, the new outlet showcases the brand’s offerings across women’s loungewear, casualwear, and sportswear as well as its growing range of men’s products. With its high spending power and large population of overseas Chinese, Singapore makes a strong choice for NEIWAI’s first foray into offline retail outside of China. Singaporeans are also more likely to shop in-store as the city-state’s small size makes offline shopping highly accessible.
6. Burberry Reports A Strong 46% Sales Increase in Mainland China
British luxury brand Burberry has unveiled its financial results for the first three months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, revealing remarkable performance in the Chinese market.
The company reported a staggering 46% year-on-year increase in mainland China’s store sales, contributing to an overall 18% growth in comparable store sales for the group. This exceptional surge appears to be connected to the reopening and subsequent gradual recovery from post-pandemic mainland China.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of the July report, click here.