After rumors that Alibaba, JD.Com, and Meituan are competing to buy Pupu Supermarket, valued at between USD2 billion and USD5 billion, JD.Com said it has not been in contact with the fresh grocery platform, while Alibaba and Meituan have not commented, Sina Tech reported yesterday.

TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL THE VNC CHINA PUB QUIZ! On the 1st of June in Den Bosch, Fred Sengers and I are teaming up with VNC again for a thrilling China Pub Quiz. There are still some seats left, so register as a team or individual while you still can. www.vnc-china.nl/event/vnc-ch...

TEMU WATCH #14: XINPINMU, TEMU'S PRIVATE BRAND STRATEGY chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/report-tem...

WILL RT-MART’S METAMORPHOSIS BE ENOUGH? Last year, Alibaba sold the RT-Mart hypermarket chain. RT-Mart is now undergoing a metamorphosis into 'life centres', community supermarkets, front-end warehouses (dark stores) and membership stores. But will it be enough? substack.com/@chinadigita...

Na het succes van vorig jaar gaan @edsander.bsky.social en ik nogmaals voor de Vereniging Nederland China een pubquiz presenteren in Den Bosch. www.vnc-china.nl/event/vnc-ch...

TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL THE VNC CHINA PUB QUIZ! On the 1st of June in Den Bosch, Fred Sengers and I are teaming up with VNC again for a thrilling China Pub Quiz. There are still some seats left, so register as a team or individual while you still can. www.vnc-china.nl/event/vnc-ch...

JD SCALED BACK FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE Zouma Finance argued that, in addition to fewer red delivery drivers on the road, there are signs that JD scaled back its meal delivery service, which it launched at the end of Q1 2025. Read a summary on China Digital Retail Report. substack.com/@chinadigita...

Tencent’s net profit jumped 19% in the first quarter from a year ago to CNY58.1 billion (USD8.6 billion), according to the Chinese tech giant’s latest earnings report released today. Total revenue climbed 9% to CNY196.5 billion (USD28.9 billion).

Alibaba’s net profit more than doubled in the three months ended March 31 from a year ago to CNY25.5 billion (USD3.7 billion), according to the earnings report released by the Chinese e-commerce giant today. Revenue climbed 3% to CNY243.4 billion (USD35.8 billion).

After webshops like Temu, AliExpress, and Joybuy have penetrated Western markets, often using low-price strategies with white-label products, they are entering a new phase. Chinese webshops are becoming distribution channels for Chinese brands. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/video-afte...

Does delivering milk tea and chicken nuggets by drone make sense? Find the report here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/report-doe...

DOUYIN’S NEW MOVES INTO INSTANT DELIVERY After several iterations of meal delivery over the past few years, Douyin launched ‘Douyin Instant Delivery’. ByteDance also quietly launched a standalone group-buying app called "Doushengsheng". Read more here: substack.com/@chinadigita...

In this new report, I assess the possibilities and limitations of meal delivery by drone and answer the question, ‘Does this actually make sense for consumers and the meal delivery companies?’ chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/report-doe...

DISCOUNT SUPERMARKETS DOING QUICK COMMERCE?! Intuitively, this sounds like an impossible combination. But it is happening in China. The operator of China's largest army of delivery couriers is adding instant retail to its self-operated discount supermarket. Read more: substack.com/profile/4484...

This week in China Digital Retail Report ... It's been quite some years since the shared bikes war of the mid-2010s. Only a few brands survived. But does the business model of shared (electric) bikes make any sense? chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/shared-ele...

AFTER JOYBUY, WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT CHINESE WEBSHOP? In a recent interview, I was asked an interesting question. ‘We have had AliExpress, Shein and Temu. Now that Joybuy has arrived, should we expect more Chinese platforms?’ chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/after-joyb...

WHY DID COMMUNITY GROUP BUYING FAIL? In a recent article, instant retail expert Lao Zhang shared some interesting things about CGB. Read some excerpts from the article on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

THE ‘NEW’ BATTLE: IN-STORE GROUP-BUYING Wasn’t that settled in the ‘1000 Groupon Battle’ in the early 2010s? Well, yes. Meituan came out on top, but the war is on again, with Alibaba entering this space at the start of 2026. Read more on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

In Temu Watch #13, I examine Temu’s adjusted pricing strategy, developments in competition and Temu’s GMV and profitability status. I also take a close look at what to expect from the platform in 2026. I wrap up the report with a summary video. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/report-tem...

LEGO BANS DISTRIBUTORS SELLING ON TEMU, SHEIN AND ALIEXPRESS There are three reasons for this move. Read more and learn how other brands are bound to follow. substack.com/@chinadigita...

No, these are not F1 drivers' racing suits... To find out what's going on here, check out this Note on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

Why JD needs to do a better job with Joybuy - Part 2: Joybuy 'Beta' Would Joybuy do better? In this second article, I evaluate Joybuy’s first year, from the day the website went live in the UK to the formal launch on March 16th. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/why-jd-nee...

A RANT ABOUT JD’S JOYBUY substack.com/@chinadigita...

Today, JD's European website is officially launching after Ochama was rebranded in August, and Joybuy has been in 'beta phase' for a year. In a series of articles, I examine how JD needs to do a much better job than it has in the past 5 years. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/why-jdcom-...

AI AGENT IN WECHAT - CAN IT BE A WINNER? An interesting perspective on whether traffic or fulfilment capabilities will be a decisive factor and how successful WeChat could be. substack.com/@chinadigita...

This week in China Digital Retail Report, I’m summarising and commenting on two interesting articles on instant retail in the Chinese business press. ▶️ Meituan’s alcohol-delivery service ▶️ A comparison between Sam’s Club, Hema and ALDI chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-in-c...

AI CAUSES COLLAPSE OF LIVE-ACTION SHORT DRAMA STUDIOS What’s going on? I have published a shortened version of a Tech Planet article on China Digital Retail Report. substack.com/@chinadigita...

Coming up this week in the China Digital Retail Report newsletter: ▶️ In China, a Crooked Horse Delivers Your Booze in 15 minutes ▶️ Sam’s Club, Aldi & Alibaba's Hema: Different Paths, Same Destination Subscribe here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/subscribe

WHY 3.000 FRONT-END WAREHOUSE ORDERS IS BETTER THAN 5,000 Why does Pupu Supermarket, a front-end warehouse format instant retail player in southern China, have 3,000 orders per warehouse rather than 5,000? Find out in a new note on China Digital Retail Report. substack.com/@chinadigita...

Spring Festival saw Tencent, Alibaba and Bytedance poor an estimated RMB 10 billion into campaigns that tried to get consumers to use their AI apps. Red envelopes (basically discounts) were flowing freely to trigger such onboarding. Read more: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-spri...

Earlier this month, I was a guest on the Let’s Talk Marketplace podcast. We discussed JD’s acquisition of Ceconomy (owner of the Media Markt and Saturn consumer electronics retail chains), the lack of success of its Ochama business, and the relaunch of its Joybuy brand.

I'll be in China in April and July, but in between, the June 2026 tour is starting to shape up nicely. 😉 vnc-china.nl diysummit.org ecommerceday.de/en k5.de

INSTANT RETAIL’S 60 BILLION YUAN CLUB After Meituan took over Dingdong Maicai (see my article here), they became a member of the ’60 billion yuan club’. Read more here: substack.com/@chinadigita...

Coffee price war ends, instant retail battle continues... This week's China Digital Retail Report just dropped. ▶️ Cotti Coffee ends the price war ▶️ Alibaba announced doubling down on instant retail ▶️ Pinduoduo is joining the battle. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-coff...

CHINESE RETAILREUS GAAT THUISBEZORGEN IN NEDERLAND Het is zo'n dag dat je een hoop werk probeert te verzetten, maar de journalisten blijven bellen omdat een Chinees bedrijf een persbericht heeft verstuurd. 😂 Na het interview op BNR Nieuwradio nu dus ook RTL Z ... www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

JD 'LANCEERT' JOYBUY WEBSHOP IN NEDERLAND Ik was zojuist op BNR Nieuwsradio om de komst - of moeten we zeggen 'terugkeer'? - van jd.com met de webshop Joybuy toe te lichten. Kijk hier naar het fragment: www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH YOUR TAKEOUT BEING PREPARED BY A MACHINE? www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

China’s Internet Companies Get Cooking (Part 2) – JD's 7Fresh Kitchen In part 2 of this report, we look at JD’s 7Fresh Kitchen. It includes video footage an extensive assessment by a former JD manager and a comparison with Meituan’s Raccoon Kitchen. techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/chinas-int...

TEMU, TARIFFS AND AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY I am sharing a recording of an interview I did with European Guanxi. In the interview I discuss, among other topics, how Temu survived the US import tariffs and why we shouldn't expect any European tariffs to stop Temu either. open.substack.com/pub/chinadig...

China Digital Retail Report is my new publication, focusing on the online and offline retail activities of China’s internet companies, both domestically and globally. I will publish reports, articles and videos weekly. Sign up here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com

China Digital Retail Report is my new publication, focusing on the online and offline retail activities of China’s internet companies, both domestically and globally. I will publish reports, articles and videos weekly. Sign up here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com

A summary video of the report I published yesterday on my new Substack page China Digital Retail Report. www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

Instant retail market consolidation: Meituan acquires Dingdong This article combines insights from various Chinese media (see sources), as well as those of the author. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-inst...

A few relevant thoughts: 1st, Apps can't refuse to offer basic services because a user won't provide information beyond that necessary for those services. Short-video apps like Douyin must offer SEARCH and PLAYBACK functions without collecting ANY personal info. aweme.snssdk.com/falcon/fe_do...

Final Call! Nog een paar dagen om je in te schrijven voor Dé Grote China Kennis Quiz 2026. Nog een paar plekjes vrij. leidenasiacentre.nl/event/de-gro...

CHINATECHTRIP x K5 X-PEDITION CHINA AFTERMOVIE My absolute highlight of 2025, like in 2024, was our cooperation with Sven Rittau and Jochen Krisch on the China study tour with K5 - Future Retail. www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

Yikes ...

While everybody is still trying to fight Shein and Temu, the next potential disruptor from China is already working hard toward a lofty $100 billion revenue target by 2033. China's number one food delivery platform, Meituan, dreams big for its overseas business, Keeta. substack.com/profile/6357...

THE COMING DISRUPTION - A WARNING TO RETAIL "While so many Western companies are getting hung up on today's controversies, things like import taxes, they are missing the much, much bigger strategic threat that is hurtling right towards them." www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

𝔹𝕖𝕟 𝕛𝕖 𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒-𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣? Quizmasters @edsander.bsky.social & @blogaap.bsky.social presenteren op 3 feb 🇨🇳 'de Grote #China Kennisquiz' @leidenasiacentre.nl in Den Haag De plekken raken snel vol, dus meld je snel aan en win mooie prijzen⤵️ @cineasiaonline.bsky.social