A New Model of Retail
An interesting and must-read article, especially if you are an American and you want stay in the game.
Something to get in on, especially if you are to consider LeVine's assertion that major American retailers, even an e-commerce giant like Amazon, is in troubled waters against Alibaba's model.
Also, I have seen it myself, did comparisons between Amazon and Alibaba. Alibaba is A LOT easier to navigate (at least from my own experiences). While Amazon is kind of a Byzantine labyrinth. Maybe I will forgo my Ramadan Plan of getting a ("better" and full time) job at Wal-Mart. The idea came from a co-worker at my current job, who used to be a manager there, telling me how good it was (he retired from Wal-Mart in the mid-2000s, making a little over $27 / hour with a generous dollar-for-dollar profit sharing retirement), my friend's dad, who currently works there tells me how great it is, and I have a fleeting urge to go back into retail (I kind of miss my Dierberg days).
But can a Yankee like me get in on this Chinese model easily and successfully?
That will be something I will have to learn myself, and do by trial and error, should I go ahead with it. Thus is the nature of entrepreneurship.
(Image courtesy of Quartz, 2018)
References:
https://qz.com/1171743/alibaba-is-trying-to-reinvent-chinas-mom-and-pop-stores/