Tag Archives: Li Ning

News Digest: April 21, 2015

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Reports Q1 Results (HKEx announcement)
  • China Adds Solar Power The Size Of France In First Quarter (English article)
  • China Fines Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) $129,000 For Pricing Violations (English article)
  • Sports Retailer Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) Closes 34 More Stores In Q1 (Chinese article)
  • Matchmaking Site Baihe.com Raises 1.5 Bln Yuan, May Consider Domestic IPO (Chinese article)

News Digest: September 2, 2014

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • VNOs Enter Silent Period, Sign-Ups Total Just 300,000 After 3 Months (Chinese article)
  • SAIC Seeks Written Explanation In Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Probe Within 20 Days (Chinese article)
  • Huawei, Alipay Introduce First Domestic Fingerprint Payment Standard (Chinese article)
  • Phoenix Publishing & Media (Shanghai: 601928) To Acquire 10 Pct Of PPTV (English article)
  • China’s Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) Stumbles From Gold Medal Spot To No Man’s Land (English article)

Wumart Joins List Of Ailing Retailers

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The list of traditional retailers suffering from the e-commerce challenge has gained a new member, with domestic giant Wumart (HKEx: 1025) reporting its profit for 2013 fell for the first time in 5 years. It’s noteworthy to point out the last time Wumart’s profit fell was at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, when the reasons for the downturn were sudden and severe but also relatively short-term. This time the reasons are much more gradual and signal a longer term decline for traditional retailers like Wumart, which are facing an unprecedented challenge from big e-commerce names like Alibaba, JD.com and Amazon China (Nasdaq: AMZN). Read Full Post…

2014 To See Consolidation For Web, Retail

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2014 to start fast for business, but end slow

It’s quiet outside as markets reopen on this first work day after the New Year, so I thought I’d start off 2014 with some predictions for the year ahead in the sectors that I cover. Generally speaking, I do think the first half of the year will see a continuation of strong momentum that began in late 2013 for many sectors. But that  momentum will slow as we near the mid-year mark, and 2014 could end with a whimper as the Chinese economy continues to slow and Beijing pushes for higher quality growth. Read Full Post…

Vancl In Arrears, Struggles For Direction

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Vancl in arrears to suppliers: Report

Online apparel retailer Vancl continues to struggle, with media reporting the former e-commerce rising star has fallen into arrears in payments to many of its suppliers, including more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) owed to sporting apparel maker Li Ning (HKEx: 2331). The latest reports are citing company chief Chen Nian saying that Vancl experienced its darkest period late last year, and is now on the mend. But if reports of the arrears are true, Vancl’s failure to pay its suppliers could mark the beginning of the end for the company, which has made a number of major adjustments over the past 2 years in a bid to find sustainable long-term profits. Read Full Post…

News Digest: October 15, 2013

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Vancl In Arrears To Suppliers, Owes Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) More Than 10 Mln Yuan (Chinese article)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) to Acquire Perfect World Literature Unit – Source (English article)
  • Huawei Hires Former EU Ambassador to China (English article)
  • GM-Peugeot Setbacks Set Scene For Dongfeng (HKEx: 489) Deal Push (English article)
  • After Weeks of Deliberation, China Okays ‘Gravity’ for Theaters (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

Yum, Li Ning Take Shine Off Retail

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Investors give thumbs down to Yum, Li Ning

Traditional retailers are taking a hit recently, with fast-food operator KFC and sporting goods seller Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) the latest to report disappointing results due to a complex series of factors. KFC is suffering from a number of company specific issues, combined with residual effects from China’s slowing economy and fallout from a bird flu outbreak earlier in the year. The picture looks more grim for Li Ning and other traditional non-restaurant retailers, which are fighting a losing battle against fast-rising e-commerce firms. Read Full Post…

News Digest: July 4, 2013

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • GM (NYSE: GM) China Sales Accelerate on Higher Demand for Cadillac (English article)
  • Huawei Says Hopes European Rivals Become Big Suppliers For China 4G (Chinese article)
  • WeChat 5.0 to Overhaul Public Accounts, Add Payment Features (English article)
  • LeTV’s (Shenzhen: 300104) First Batch Of Super TVs Sells Out In 49 Minutes (Chinese article)
  • Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) Seeks to Revive Brand With NBA Superstar Dwyane Wade

China Retail Slows As New Mega-Shops Open 中国零售业放缓 大型零售店继续开张

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The China retail scene is buzzing with conflicting signals from these last few weeks, as established names like Tesco (London: TSCO) sound negative notes amid a rapid economic slowdown, even as newcomers like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Forever 21 open massive new stores. In fact, there really aren’t too many contradictions in this latest news, since these new mega-stores were probably in the planning stages before China’s economic slowdown began. Thus these newer stores are more indicators of investments for the future rather than bets on the present.

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Alibaba Under New Merchant Assault 阿里巴巴或面临中小商户新一轮声讨

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E-commerce leader Alibaba loves to talk about how the business model for its popular TMall online mall gives it an edge over most of its rivals by letting it focus on its role as a web mall operator while leaving the actual business of managing online stores to third-party merchants. But the company is much less talkative about some of the downsides to such a business model, most notably the issue of quality control for the products and service provided by thousands of merchants that sell their goods on TMall. A sharp and sudden price hike in store rentals fees by TMall last year provoked a sharp backlash from many smaller merchants, creating huge headaches and a publicity nightmare for Alibaba. Now, many of those same small- and medium-sized merchants, known in the industry as SMEs, are complaining once again about new policies that Alibaba says are designed to improve quality and customer service, even as the SMEs argue those policies discriminate against them and lack transparency. (Chinese article)

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Dangdang Discovers E-Books — Finally 当当推电子书仍有成功希望

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I’ll finish my postings on this Winter Solstice day with a few tidbits from the retail sector, which offer some interesting glimpses into the potential power of e-commerce to help Chinese firms expand both at home and abroad. The biggest of these news bits comes from Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), China’s only listed major e-commerce firm, which is launching an electronic book service to complement its industry-leading online book store. (company announcement) My initial reaction to this news is “What took them so long to do this?” After all, online retail pioneer Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has been selling electronic books for years now and there’s absolutely no reason why Dangdang waited so long to get into this space, where it will have to compete with established players like Shanda’s (Nasdaq: SNDA) online literature unit, Cloudary, and new services from other big names like 360Buy. But that said, at least Dangdang is finally realizing the importance of e-books, and it still looks early enough for it to become a dominant player in the space if it offers a good books and e-readers. In another online retail news bit, sportswear clothing chain Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) is taking its first small step outside China by opening an online store for US customers. (Chinese article) I suppose I should commend Li Ning for looking beyond China, but I’m honestly not sure that the online store approach, which is certainly cheaper than opening traditional brick-and-mortar stores, is the right route for entering a major new market like the US, where competition is already fierce from big names like Adidas and Nike. I don’t think I would be taking a very big risk in predicting this initiative is very likely to fail, as it has all the markings of a company trying to expand internationally without properly funding the campaign. Last but not least, sportswear bearing the name of Bjorn Borg (Stockholm: BORG) will soon be coming to China, as the Swedish licensee of the legendary tennis star’s name seeks out a local partner with plans to open stores in China next year. (company announcement) This initiative also looks destined for failure, as Bjorn Borg isn’t very well known in China and this company doesn’t appear to have lots of money for the expansion. But considering the Chinese love of famous brands, perhaps it could still succeed if it finds a good Chinese partner to help fund and market the campaign.

Bottom line: Dangdang’s move to e-books looks late but still likely to do well, while a new overseas foray by Li Ning looks underfunded and set to fail.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Amazon Name Shift Signals China Ramp-Up 亚马逊改名背后折射中国野心

◙ Price Wars Beat Up Online Retailers 网上零售商引爆价格战

◙ Shanda Cloudary Returns to Market, Worth a Look