Golden Years Baijiu Cocktail & The Chinese eCommerce Invasion
Issue №23 - Baijiu is the most popular liquor in the world, yet a mystery to most in the west. Let’s make a cocktail with it as we ponder the rapidly escalating growth of Temu and Shein.
One thing I have found thus far with writing the newsletter is that there does not seem to be a shortage of what to write about, only a shortage of time. Apologies for not having an issue out over the last few weeks. Multiple overlapping consulting projects conspired with surgery on my hand to keep me away. Last issue we had the Chairman Approves cocktail, and we continue with the China-vibes this week as make a cocktail with the quintessential spirit of China - baijiu - and take a look at the growth and impact of Chinese direct-to-consumer business on North American and European retailers and brands. It is indeed a long-read, but I hope it is informative on both the cocktail and commerce fronts.
Cheers!
Cocktail: Golden Years - a savory Old-Fashioned riff, with the world’s most popular liquor
Who you calling Old-Fashioned?
The Old-Fashioned cocktail is perhaps the quintessential cocktailing entry point for bourbon lovers. The simple combination of sugar, cocktail bitters, ice and spirit offers a great, simple template and is perhaps the closest modern expression linking to the very origin of cocktails - the earliest definition of which is from 1806 - specified a cocktail as “spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters”. Turn that water into a solid, and we are basically in the same place with the Old-Fashioneds of today.
In the early days of cocktailing no one ordered an Old-Fashioned (it was new fashioned after all!) but instead would order a cocktail with the spirit they favored - hence a Whisky Cocktail, Brandy Cocktail, Rum Cocktail, or Fancy Gin Cocktail. As cocktailing began to evolve in the mid nineteenth century bartenders began to experiment, including with Vermouth - which at the time was new to America - leading to the creation of the likes of the Manhattan, Martinez, and Martini (Mmm!).
But of course, not everyone was on board with how things were changing, and some drinkers preferred the proven ways, preferring their cocktails ‘old-fashioned’. Even back in the day, the Whiskey Old-Fashioned was the most popular, but by no means the only way one might order their Old-Fashioned - but over time the Old-Fashioned became by default based on bourbon or rye whisky - but that is not to say it is the only way, and here we are this week with a baijiu-based Old-Fashioned variation - still essentially using that same classic formula - with a salty, umami twist (hold your fish-sauce, we will get to that!)
Baijiu, I thought I knew you.
Count me as one of the many westerners who would describe baijiu as a, um, well let’s just say… an acquired taste. Having had the opportunity to travel to China and other parts of Asia many times - including in my (dating myself here) “pre-Internet” career in product sourcing for American brands and retailers - I had many opportunities to consume baijiu in abundance. Often that was late-night, after dinner, playing the Chinese drinking game Fifteen-Twenty with factory people in Southern China.
Typically we would start with beer, but when the baijiu rolled out, I knew I was in for it unless I managed to win more games than I lost - but more likely I would end up shooting a lot of baijiu and paying for it the next day as I tried to hold my own at the negotiating table. Many westerners have compared baijiu's aroma and taste profile to something like jet fuel, kerosene, nail polish remover, drain cleaner, Burgundy cheese, or even salty garbage water - and my experience was similar.
Some might argue that this is merely uniformed Eurocentricity - and they may be right - but more likely is that they (and I) just had bad baijiu. Baijiu can be compared to many agave spirits - tequila and mezcal for example - or peaty whisky, all of which can have strong flavors and aromas. The entry point for most Westerners is going to be entry-level “low-aroma” baijiu - which for comparison sake would be like declaring you hate tequila because the only tequila you ever tried was Kirkland Signature Silver - and that was at a sorority party, after which you puked into a half-eaten bowl of spiked watermelon. (We can all dream.)
Baijiu, who knew - the most popular spirit in the world and a sidecar to Chinese history.
Largely due to the immense population of the nation from which it hails, baijiu is actually the most consumed spirit in the world - based on annual volume - and perhaps surprisingly, that is well ahead of the next most consumed, whiskey/whisky and vodka.
Baijiu is typically drunk neat and at room temperature, and has an exceptionally long history in China. Prehistoric peoples in China began producing alcoholic beverages somewhere around nine thousand years ago, and somewhere around 221 BCE the predecessor to modern baijiu, huangjiu (“yellow wine”) became widely drunk in China. The earliest reference to baijiu (“white spirits”) indicates that it first appeared during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), but there is archaeological evidence - in the form of bronze stills from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE) - that indicate it began far before then.
Typically distilled from sorghum - though there are variations made from rice, wheat, corn, or millet - baijiu is somewhat unique in that it is typically distilled in a ‘solid-state’ process in batches with the fermentation taking place through the use of qu. Qu are cakes of wheat or rice inoculated with naturally occurring, harvested cultures of airborne yeast and microorganisms, especially the fungus Aspergillus oryzae. That is the same fungus used to produce sake and shōchū, as well as to ferment soybeans for making soy sauce and miso.
Most baijiu is distilled in Chinese pot stills, which pass steam through the fermented grains to release an alcoholic vapor - which contrasts with the ‘wash’ used in most Western grain distilling. And the use of naturally occurring yeasts and fungus - plus the variety of grains and climates across what is today China - meant that there was a vast variety of baijiu produced, with many regional and very local variations.
After many centuries of evolution, baijiu production changed substantially in modern times - at the end of the long and turbulent Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in China. The formation of the fledgling Chinese Republic in 1912 brought with it a resurgence of Chinese nationalism - and paired with an effort to modernize Chinese society and economy, large modern distilleries were formed. However, years of political instability, Japan’s invasion of China (before and during WWII), and of course the civil war between the Kuomintang and Communists disrupted efforts to industrialize China. As a result baijiu remained a relatively small scale and local endeavor until the Communists, led by Mao Zedong, formed the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It was in the early decades of the PRC that most of the major distilleries that dominate baijiu production today were formed.
Baijiu was always a peasant, proletarian spirit - which of course fit well into the Chinese Communists ethos - and it was during this period that baijiu was elevated to the status of national spirit. Distilleries with patriotic links - such as Kweichow Moutai and Red Star Erguotou (which I used in this issue's cocktail) - got official promotion and became household brand names throughout China. It was also during this period that the classification system of baijiu was introduced. The system has four major classifications known as Strong-aroma style, Light-aroma style, Rice-aroma style, and Sauce-aroma style. Sauce-aroma style - so named as the flavor has hints of soy-sauce - is considered the top of the heap, with Low-aroma style being the bottom, and thus typically the lowest cost and most widely available.
During the lean years of Mao’s tenure - marked by the Cultural Revolution and famine - grain was scarce and rationed, thus keeping baijiu production to a fraction of what it is today. It was only with the advent of President Deng Xiaoping’s “Reform and Opening Policy” in the mid-1970’s - and the introduction of market economics and foreign trade - that the PRC economy began to take off and baijiu production and consumption took off along with it - eventually becoming a status symbol in Chinese business and politics, with the most prized bottles suddenly selling for the equivalent of hundreds of U.S. dollars. That has quelled some, after President Xi Jinping initiated a wide-spread anti-corruption campaign and high-priced bottles of baijiu lost some of their currency.
Enough history? How about this cocktail!
This cocktail was created by Boston barman Nick Lappen for a themed menu at Boston’s Baijiu Bar, a pop-up at his Backbar. Lappen has claimed that the cocktail was inspired by pork ribs with fish-sauce caramel glaze, a dish Lappen first discovered in Vietnam. He added a touch of maple syrup for the sugar in his Old-Fashioned riff, in a nod to New England. This cocktail is also interesting in that it incorporates a touch of fish-sauce, adding a salty, umami aspect that enhances the drink and gives a nod to Lappen’s inspiration - though perhaps not adhering to the Old-Fashioned spec. (But this is mixology! Let’s experiment!)
Here’s to travel and to understanding our ever increasingly interconnected world! Cheers!
I would like to acknowledge the sources used in research for this article:
Drunk in China: Baijiu and the World’s Oldest Drinking Culture, by Derek Sandhaus, University of Nebraska Press.
Punch, a great cocktails and mixology magazine and website from which I sourced this spec.
Golden Years Cocktail Spec, serves one:
1 1/2 oz (~45 ml) - Baijiu (rice-aroma preferred, see note)
1/2 oz (~15 ml) - Scotch whisky
1/4 oz (~8 ml) - Maple syrup
6 drops or 3 dashes - Mole bitters
3 drops - Fish sauce (Red Boat preferred)
1 dash - Chinese five-spice bitters
No Garnish
The process:
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail pitcher or mixing glass. Add ice. Stir and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice-cube. [Preparation time: 5 minutes]
Notes:
Rice-aroma baijiu is not easy to find in the U.S., and that was my experience in Seattle this week. The only baijiu I could find in Seattle was Red Star Erguotou, a low-aroma baijiu.
Analysis: Temu to rise and Shein and smell the coffee, these two are coming for your (client’s) business
We are facing a Chinese invasion - one in many ways of our own making and one that in a sense both North American and European consumers are inviting. Cheap and cheerful has a way of doing that, though the ramifications may be profound and persistent if there is not a response - perhaps across business models and trade regulation.
This invasion - let's think music, not military - has the potential to reshape the American and European retail and advertising landscapes and impact everything from today’s dominant marketplaces to low-cost discounters; from department stores to big-box retailers; and from apparel DTC brands to fast-fashion incumbents. Amazon may in fact be the one with the most to lose. But the ramifications of this ‘invasion’ go beyond the business impact, impacting the environment and consumer behavior as well.
This invasion is led by Chinese marketplace Temu and vertically integrated online retailer Shein, both of whom are fast-growing, well-armed players coming for American, European, and indeed global markets. They play with a different playbook, a different supply chain model, and a style that will challenge the status-quo of entire consumer economies. And just like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones during the British (again, music) Invasion, they are in fact rivals - pushing each other to go faster and bigger.
And while North American and European relations and competition with China is very of the moment - from military to diplomatic; from computer chips to EV vehicle manufacturing; from the rise of Tik Tok to the role of private hackers - I want to focus here on the impact to the retail and consumer economies of Europe and North America - and thus the commerce tech and services industry writ large.
This ‘invasion’, unchecked, will no doubt have downstream impacts on jobs, business models, and the viability of both well established retailers and brands as well as upstarts if something is not done. Acting now to stem the tide would be prudent, but powerful forces are benefiting, and the political will to face the challenge may be difficult to organize in our current political climate and with so many competing priorities, many of which may seem more pressing militarily or from a technological view.
Excuse me, do you have the Temu?
I was unable to locate a reliable statistic for Temu’s brand awareness, so I turned to anecdotal evidence - asking my friends and family. Many thought they may have seen the name somewhere, but were not entirely sure. So for the uninitiated or unfamiliar, Temu is a fast growing international online marketplace operated by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings. Temu offers inexpensive - and some would claim heavily discounted - goods primarily shipped to consumers directly from China via air. The Temu platform first went live in the United States a relatively short time ago, in September 2022. But in 2023 - in quick succession - Temu launched in Canada, Australia , New Zealand. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the Latin American market.
In 2023, Temu saw a remarkable 140% growth in Western markets, with Temu leading app downloads across a whopping one hundred and twenty five markets. In the U.S., Temu was one of the fastest-growing websites of 2023, growing its web and mobile traffic by more than 700% YoY, reaching an average of 92.2 million monthly visits, eclipsing Target’s traffic and gaining rapidly on Amazon and Walmart’s. Notably, the average Temu customer spent eighteen minutes per day on the app in Q2 2023, nearly double the ten minutes they spent on average on Amazon - and while one could argue that showcases a poor user experience, it is also a lot of engagement. (Sources: eMarketer, Sensor Tower, Similarweb, Apptopia)
As a result, it is estimated that Temu accounted for nearly seventeen percent market share in the discount store category in the U.S. in 2023 - and remember, that is after only launching in the U.S. 2022. While Dollar General (43%) and Dollar Tree (28%) may seem to be dominant in that segment, they have a very different store-based model largely focused on low-income exurban and rural communities - and Temu is going direct with a much wider catalog and more flexible supply chain model. (Hmmm, sound familiar?)
Temu is now also opening up its marketplace to U.S. based sellers - a move likely aimed at deflecting criticism as well as potentially reducing delivery times to the U.S. consumer for products sold from domestic-based U.S. inventories. But that will likely be a small fraction of what is sold through the Temu marketplace - as price will be a key factor in domestic based merchants ability to compete. This will remain primarily about Chinese goods sold directly to consumers.
Shien on you crazy diamond
Compared to Temu, Shein is a relative teenager - beginning in 2008 as a fashion marketplace with most of the goods sold sourced from manufacturers drop-shipping from Southern China’s apparel manufacturing megalopolis in Guangdong Province. In 2012, Shein began to establish its own supply chain, transforming itself into a fully integrated, vertical apparel retailer - leveraging a reported three thousand different suppliers in Southern China as of 2022. Shein is expected to overtake Zara this year as the world’s top fast-fashion brand. During the first nine months of 2023 Shein generated $24 billion in revenues - up over 40% year-over-year - and was projected to exceed $32 billion for the year. (Source: The Information)
Shein generated $24 billion in revenues during the first nine months of 2023, up over 40% year-over-year, and the retailer was expected to bring in between $32 and $33 billion in 2023 as whole. As a result, Shein is expected to overtake Zara this year as the world’s top fast-fashion brand and their pre-IPO filings project it to reach $58.5 billion in revenues by 2025, more than twice what it generated in 2022. (Source: The Information). And while the retailer’s sales have grown swiftly, profits are another story. Shein reported a net margin of just 3.5% in 2022, nearly three times lower than Inditex’s 12.6% (the parent company to Zara). Shein will face increased pressure to improve its bottom line - and broaden its appeal - with the pending public market debut.
Perhaps to avoid any western political backlash, Shien has relocated it’s HQ to Singapore and is moving toward an IPO listing in the west as well. Originally that was slated for one of the major U.S. stock exchanges, but now Shein is likely to list in London out of concerns that a U.S. listing could get blocked. An IPO has the potential to add even more capital resources and potentially also bring a change in consumer perception as they look to take on high-powered competitors such as Amazon, and interestingly also Temu. Shein is also looking to team up with other established apparel retailers - such as Forever 21 - perhaps a sign that Shien may one day hang their own fast-fashion shingles and compete even more directly with H&M and Zara.
Shien’s potential headwinds also include a vocal if perhaps still nascent fast-fashion backlash from some consumers, particularly younger Gen-Z consumers who are increasingly concerned about the impact of disposable, rampant consumerism - with the added element of working conditions and the sourcing of cotton from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. But the reality is this is still a small minority of consumers, and there are plenty even in that cohort who may be tempted by the low-priced fashion the moment they see it on Tik Tok.
De Minimis Value - the little trade rule that explains a lot of 777s
Both Temu and Shein are operating today with fulfillment direct from almost exclusively China-based manufacturers. Goods are often packaged at the factories, or at small logistics hubs there, and then sent via air direct to the consumer in North America, Europe, or elsewhere. This skips the weeks or months it typically takes goods to reach market via ocean freight and traditional distribution. Paired with the speed with which these factories in Southern China can adapt their manufacturing - this presents a huge advantage.
But there is another interesting advantage this presents as well - something called de minimis value. Taken from the latin “De minimis non curat lex” - meaning “the law cares not for small things” - something of de minimis value in the context of international trade is something that is so small, or of such little value, that it does not attract the imposition of duty or tax. In other words, the value of the item is so low that it’s not worth the time and effort to determine its real value.
This in a sense presents a customs loop-hole Temu and Shien are flying Boeing Triple-sevens through. Collectively, Temu and Shien, along with Alibaba, ship an estimated 10,800 tons a day via air freight from Southern China —the equivalent of 108 Boeing 777 cargo planes. Shein alone ships 5,000 tons daily, around five times the amount that much large companies like Apple typically transport via air. That is a crazy amount of apparel. (Source: Reuters).
Temu & Shein are verifiable juggernauts already, but this is really just beginning
Each of these players are aggressively investing in both North America and Europe to acquire customers and grow share. Temu's U.S. advertising spend increased by 280% in the fourth quarter of 2023, and it is now the fifth-largest digital advertiser in the US. Meanwhile, Shein increased ad spend 120%, good for the 16th spot in U.S. ad spending. For context, the overall ad spend in the U.S. grew only 9.7% last year. (Sources: Sensor Tower, Media Radar, eMarketer).
My casual quick count of advertising during the recent Swift Bowl (the Super Bowl, in case you somehow missed my joke) had Temu at seven ads during and immediately after the game. (Holy egg-shaped leather balls!) Its ad - titled “Shop Like a Billionaire” - featured an animated protagonist who shares her love of online shopping with everyone around her, though those at the watch party I was at commented that the ad seemed more tailored to a Chinese audience. (I guess buying $5.99 t-shirts and $8.50 headphones did not resonate as billionaire behavior, at least to this Seattle audience.) Temu also paired the ad spend with a $10 million coupon and discount giveaway campaign on Super Bowl Sunday. In total, Temu will spend an estimated $3 billion on marketing this year and was second only to Amazon in ad spending on Meta advertising (Facebook/Instagram) in Q4. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
That brings us the powerful forces benefiting from all this… Meta & Google in particular
Meta’s growth in particular was significantly boosted by Temu and Shein's advertising on its platforms in 2023. Meta captured 46% of Temu's and 44% of Shein's ad spend in Q3 2023. Social is the primary means of customer acquisition for each of these players, with Temu investing 76% of its ad spend on social media overall. Meta even shared that China-based advertisers contributed to 10% of its 2023 sales, or about $13.7 billion (with a “B”) in total, nearly doubling 2022 revenue. (Sources: Sensor Tower, Media Radar)
With that kind of boost in ad spend, Google and Meta surprised the markets with their performance in 2023, and the markets celebrated. As a result Meta added a stock-market record $197 Billion surge in market cap in one day. Something tells me Meta and Google are perfectly fine with all this.
The beast that Amazon has been feasting on is now coming for its lunch (and dinner)
When Amazon made the bold bet to sunset auctions and ‘zShops’ and launch the marketplace model in 2000, it was largely on the back of large retailers. Overtime this expanded to included small sellers selling everything from their own sourced product, to gray-market goods, to products sold direct from largely Chinese factories using ‘psuedo-brands’ to list products across the Amazon marketplace. These Chinese brands learned to play Amazon’s game very well - deploying legions of young, smart people (and now GenAI) to ‘optimize’ their Amazon business with copy-paste product descriptions, fake reviews, deceptive keywords and search gamification.
Amazon built out logistics operations to facilitate this China trade, and took advantage of the same de minimis value rule to facilitate the expansion of this direct from China trade. And while the pandemic certainly put a hiccup in the supply chain and logistics surrounding the business, we are back to ‘game on’.
Today, a remarkable six out of ten (60% for you math majors) units sold on Amazon.com are from third-party merchants selling through the marketplace - and many many of them are offshore sellers using Amazon as a way to reach the American consumer. They also added home appliances, electronics, and kitchen utensils to its platform, which is encroaching on Amazon’s marketplace even further.
In response to Temu and Shien, Amazon has rolled out several initiatives to drive more Chinese merchants to sell more through its platform - reducing seller fees on clothes priced below $20 just this past January to 5% - far below the typical 17% margin Amazon charges for Apparel in the marketplace overall, and opening an innovation center in Shenzhen to help Chinese merchants “build brands, promote products, and digitalize operations.” (Source: South China Morning Post).
The Implications of this ‘Invasion’ are many - here are but a few:
Shein and Temu both represent powerful challengers for western retailers and brands - including Amazon. By leveraging aggressive advertising strategies and offering ultra-cheap goods, significantly affecting digital advertising costs. Their rapid growth, fueled by vast marketing budgets, directly impacts traditional retail and e-commerce marketplaces by driving up ad prices and diverting consumers with their low-priced offerings. This competitive pressure forces other retailers to increase their ad spending to retain visibility, potentially further straining their financial resources and market position. Retail is a brutal business, and the implications of this model will make it even more difficult for those who can not adapt or who do not have the brand power to maintain customer allegiance and presence of mind.
These Chinese based direct competitors do have their challenges, but expect them to get better. While their rock-bottom prices and ability to quickly jump on emerging trends is fueling their rise in popularity, it remains to be seen whether the likes of Temu and Shein can turn casual shoppers into regular customers. Poor quality of goods, service levels, and extended promise dates can have that effect. (And above we already talked about some of the push-back Shein has seen.) As a result, perception toward Temu’s brand values and trustworthiness fell 2% over the past six months (Source: HundredX). Not only are each of these players investing heavily in brand advertising in part to improve the consumer’s perception of them, but we should all expect these players to work to improve the end-to-end experience they deliver. In fact, Shein and TikTok are coming after Amazon’s U.S. logistics and supply-chain operations expertise - poaching Amazon’s employees in their (and my) backyard - and building out offices in the same Bellevue, WA office tower where many of Amazon’s supply chain and logistics staff work today.
Amazon once looked unstoppable, but now? Amazon’s investments in expansive assortment, speed, convenience, and Prime have helped make it most shoppers’ ‘everything store’. Fifty-one percent of consumers begin their online product searches on Amazon, well above the number starting on search engines (39%) or TikTok (16%) (Source: Jungle Scout’s Q3 consumer trends report). Shein and Temu, on the other hand, are primarily destinations for impulse purchases made while scrolling on TikTok or Instagram - or in annoying ads embedded in casual games (and don’t tell me you don’t know what I am talking about). Amazon’s experience is far from what it once was - and the addiction to the ad business is a huge factor - but Temu and Shein now represent a fundamental existential threat that Amazon’s e-commerce dominance has not faced until now. Can Amazon preserve its lead in logistics and will their customers continue to favor that convenience? We will have to see.
The environmental impact is heading in the wrong direction. In my opinion, it would be incredibly unfair and inaccurate to place undue blame on Temu and Shein (or others like them) for the environmental impact this business model will have if it continues unchecked. Western thirst for cheap consumer goods and the offshore manufacturing surge of the 1980’s and 1990’s that led us here is the actual root cause. But 108 Boeing 777 cargo planes a day of cheap shit flown all over the world hardly seems like progress - let alone the plastic packaging and materials in the product’s themselves. (My estimates indicate that is a shit-ton of carbon.) But let’s face it, Amazon accelerated a model that began many decades ago (and which ironically led to my having the opportunity to spend much of my childhood in Hong Kong and the early career I had bumming around China and Asia product sourcing) - but now we are reaching the apex. Consumer preferences and thus a shift in demand and consumption may make a dent - but do we really expect that to happen in a significant way?
OK, so what should we do about it?
It is the supply chain innovation that is most disruptive, can western brands and retailers keep up? Let’s be honest, the issue here has less to do with Chinese-based ownership of these businesses, and more to do with the model both of these businesses utilize - reacting swiftly to demand signals, having a large, eager base of manufacturers concentrated in one region (Guangdong Province), shipping direct via air from manufacturers largely based in China. Only a few years ago everyone in the apparel industry was focused on how Zara had innovated to quickly adapt their assortment based on demand and use near-shore manufacturing (largely in North Africa) to quickly bring that product to market. Few have been able to replicate that. And of course, Amazon scaled out the Chinese manufacturer direct model through its marketplace. Retailers and brands need to close the gaps and process challenges in their supply-chains and dramatically shorten time to market for new products in a consumer culture that has only seemed to go faster and faster. Investments in supply-chain and order orchestration capabilities will be key aspects of that transformation, though also requiring many changes operationally and within merchandising and design for vertically integrated retailers or brands to respond.
Stick a finger in the (loop) hole. One obvious opportunity here is to close the de minimis value loop-hole that all these players are leveraging (including Amazon). There has to be a way to constrain this scaled-out model without impacting consumers' ability to order one-off from overseas (like cases of Amaro!) though I am not sure there is the political will, or that this will be given high-enough priority given the macro techno-military competition that has become so heightened between China and the west in recent years. Plus, powerful companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta may not really want that to happen - either for the feast of add dollars or their ability to exploit it. And of course, consumer’s would be impacted - and when inflation and consumer confidence remain very much a concern it may also make some hesitate to act. It could be natural to expect the European Union to act first, but their consumers may feel the pinch even more-so given the state of the economy across the EU.
Consumer tastes and preferences may also influence the long-term success of this model. I for one am a bit cynical about the ability for consumer attitudes to really change enough across the board for this alone to make a dent, but as concerns over climate impact and changes to consumerist attitudes continue to evolve, the educated consumer may shift their spend increasingly to products with lower environmental impact and longer life and use (and re-use). That is a good thing, arguably for many reasons, though the implications span the entire economy of the west and not just this trend - and will likely take many years before it has any impact - and that may be too late.
There are many aspects I did not have the space to cover in depth or at all here - such as Tic Tok’s nascent marketplace - but I already have kept you long enough. I hope I shared some things to think about. Thank you for reading.
If you are looking for Brian online, you can find him here, here, and here. And find Bill here and here.
Be well, be safe, and here is to good business! Cheers! - Brian
Cocktails & Commerce™ is a wholly owned subsidiary of StrategyēM, LLC.
Shien on, you crazy diamond. Brilliant. And Temu is a little crazy – I can attest to that. I've been using the app, only to find that most of the items I've seen advertising on Meta (FB, Insta) aren't even available when I link in - a sort of bait-and-switch tactic, buoyed by just-in-time inventory strategies? Pure speculation, but there's a rhythm to their model, and it might reveal some of the supply chain antics at play. I don't know enough yet, but your research was thorough (as usual) and the conclusions incredibly adept. Nothing old-fashioned about this business - except that China is always hard to read on some level. OK... enough from the peanut gallery. I'll be on the Dork Side of the Moon with a bottle of Baijiu.