Tag: temu

Another Trip up The Amazon …….

Posted on by markybrett

Yep, second time.

Those who know me will think ‘…who does he think he is, Bear Grylls? and most readers who don’t know me probably couldn’t give a toss, or I am making it up.

Well, my first time (Post May 2021) was in the Amazon, all dancing, all singing Hi Tec, no checkout store in East London. Very impressive but now closed down. Clearly it may have worked but was not making any money.

My second was a much bigger adventure. I had a tour of an Amazon warehouse.

I will have to start with the positives. Albeit not a difficult task as there were many pleasant surprises in store.

For those who have seen their social media posts, they have, for some time, been offering free tours at specific branches.

The first and probably the one factor that had the most impact on me was the quality of the Amazon Colleagues that led us around on the tour. The young female (early twenties- and yes it is relevant ), who was the spokesperson, had only worked there for four months. Yet she spoke, unscripted, without hesitation, and in an enthusiastic and entertaining manner. The only time she deferred to the two older women ( who had worked at this site since it first opened 10 years ago) to query something she did not know (which could only been three max four times) during the 90 minutes of the tour.

Part of the talk was about working for Amazon. Often being described in the past to being paid the bare minimum and under prison camp style management, it would either be much has changed or it was never thus.

Good starting wage rate, very flexible working options, private health care (including dentistry), excellent training possibilities, free Prime membership, 5 on-site canteens plus a video games room, plus continuos work place rotations (you could be your guide leader one month and then for the next month working in a different operational job within the site) in order that boredom does not set in and the development of diffrent skills within the business are only part of the package. I think what is on offer would put many major UK companies to shame. Proof (or at very least evidence) of the pudding was the two colleagues who had worked there for 10 years appeared very happy in their work

Technically, I was less surprised as I expected it to be high-tech and super efficient. And it was. What I didn’t realise was that nothing was shipped to the consumer directly; it all went to a hub and was shipped from there. Another extraordinary feature is that if a customer says they ordered 5 of an item and there are only 2 in this warehouse, then those 2 would be shipped to another warehouse that could complete their order, assuming they did not have the 5.

Robotics were, of course, prevalent, yet in some instances, they had been removed where human intervention was found to be more efficient. It is nice to know that occassionally us mere mortals still have some uses. I don’t think for one moment it is the company being ultra altruistic about the working population, especially as they are in the process of laying off 16,000 globally following 14,000 in October. Primary causation being AI (and yes the top cartoon image was AI-produced but I would not have employed anyone to create such an image. So I was not nicking anyone’s job.

The negatives are perhaps less well known to the consumer (apart from the paragraph above) as they relate more towards the Market Place Sellers. These are some the ‘feel good ‘ Amazon Stories (from Amazon, of course)…

But for every success story, there is a bucketload of failures. Which is, of course, the same with any business opportunity. In general, they don’t treat their sellers especially well. They are very inflexible, and there is no internal communication, even between Amazon colleagues. I am aware of 2 sellers who very recently had tens of thousands of products in Amazon warehouse blocked for several days during a critical seasonal period, and Amazon could not tell them why except ‘it was some sort of error’.

They constantly pursue genuine regular sellers of long standing with issues concerning conformity, descriptions, brand ownership issues, and at the same time ignoring flagrant breaches from random sellers in the depths of the likes of China. For a long time some sellers were using false VAT numbers, although that seems to have been sorted (but not entirely). As to why it took so long is anybody’s guess, as I have thought a very simple VAT number checker, within their software, would have sorted that overnight, instead of taking four to five years. They vigorously pursue bona fide sellers fro issues of product conformity yet ignore distant sellers flogging dubious prodcut from are from far flung sources which are quite clearly imitations of genuine product.

Yet they remain, virtually, unchallenged. There is, of course, Temu and Shein and there is a new boy, watch out for jd.com (joybuy.com). They are, for the most part, just nibbling at edges.

Under the partnership, CBBC will partner with JINGDONG Cross-border, JD.com, Inc.’s cross-border import business to support engagement with UK businesses. JINGDONG Cross-border will provide brands with market insights, operational support and access to JD.com’s comprehensive e-commerce and logistics capabilities, helping them reach Chinese consumers more efficiently and effectively.

During the forum, JD.com also confirmed its plan to officially launch Joybuy in March. The company is developing its online retail business, Joybuy, in the UK, to offer consumers a broad range of high-quality branded products, with fast delivery across the UK. The company is also investing to expand its UK warehousing network and delivery network, JoyExpress.

JD.com is ranked 44th on the Fortune Global 500 list and is China’s largest retailer by revenue. The company has been listed on NASDAQ since 2014, and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2020. Committed to the principles of customer first, innovation, dedication, ownership, gratitude, and integrity, the company’s mission is to make lives better through technology, striving to be the most trusted company in the world.

Leicester, UK – December 22, 2025 – JINGDONG Property, a leading infrastructure investment and asset management company and a part of JD.com, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a logistics property outside Leicester. The portfolio includes two ‘big-box’ warehouses with an area of over 231,000 sq ft (~21,500 sqm) and an adjacent ‘oven-ready’ greenfield site that can be developed into modern industrial and logistics space of up to 678,000 sq ft (~63,000 sqm).

JINGDONG Property’s entry into UK began in 2022 with the acquisition of a 361,000 sq ft (~33,500 sqm) warehouse in Milton Keynes. With this new acquisition, the total warehouse footprint in the UK of JINGDONG Property will be expanded to nearly ~340,000 sqm.

I think the reason Amazon remains head and shoulders above the rest is that they have nearly thirty years of traction and ensuring that the customer comes first. Until a serious competitor builds that same relationship with the consumer, Amazon will remain King of the Jungle. But nothing is forever.

Whatever, your involvement with Amazon, treat yourself to the Trip (if not a lifetime ) of a Daytime

So There’s a New Kid on the Block …..

Posted on by markybrett

Ever since the human species started selling stuff, there has always been a New Kid. Today we would call them disruptors.

  • A bloke on a horse (they would, invariably, have been male) would have replaced the bloke on foot walking from camp to camp flogging stuff to the camp dwellers. For horse insert donkey, cow, camel, goat or whatever was the local form of four legged transport
  • Carts were added to help carry more stuff
  • When the camps got bigger no doubt the local entrepreneurs would have built some sort of semi permanent stall
  • Eventually permanent buildings ( A shop) would have been erected
  • The next step ( I think) would have been a group of shops, selling the same stuff , owned by the same entrepreneurs having them located in different towns. Thinking about it this could have been the first disruptor in the retail market place. A shop liked by the consumer because they did not have to travel to other towns to buy these products and bought them at better prices because the entrepreneur paid less for them as they bought in bulk . The very same reasons other retailers would have hated them. Thereby disrupting the market as opposed to purely developing the market
  • Department stores
  • Mail order
  • Chains of Department stores
  • Supermarkets (disruptor)
  • Huge supermarkets (disruptor)
  • Discount stores (not sure about this one)
  • Convenience stores
  • Online shopping
  • The market places eg eBay & Amazon etc (big disruptors) but very different animals
  • Social media platforms ie Facebook, Instagram & Tik Tok, combined with the use of Influencers(disruptors)

For sometime now, Mr Bezos and his garage start up has been the scourge of many a retailer worldwide. At the same time it has also created many multi million dollar sellers .

Getida

Is there any other retail operator that make this claim? Apart from some of the world food franchises eg McDonalds and KFC et al, I doubt it . What is more, the majority of Amazon’s profits are made from its cloud computing operations. Such as hosting a big chunk of the U.K. government’s operations including that of HMRC . Yes that’s what you’re thinking, all my tax returns? It amazes that me that many still don’t realise this including a number of accountants I know. Yes, next time you post your Vat returns you will see them fly off to AWS cloud .

But this is not about Amazon, there is a new kid on the block . I believe this one is much more insidious.

I posted about this particular beast in 2023, detailing its extraordinary growth. Temu is it’s name, disruption is it’s game.

Below is a chart, which represents its parent company Pinduoduo, rapid growth in the US.

It isn’t that by buying from Temu , you can seemingly refurbish a four bedroom house for £13.50. It isn’t what may actually turn up in your door step a few weeks later may not be quite exactly as the image you bought from. Neither is it that the quality of said goods might mean you have to refurbish your house again a month later . Nor is that the likelihood that any of these products meet any quality or safety standards. I see none of this as a problem as I feel the consumer worldwide is more canny than that. They will get over the novelty and quite literally use it as a giant novelty gift shop .

Most of us would think it would only be the Gen Z generation who were hooked by it . The stats below ( once again from the US) show the complete opposite.

This alternative Perfidious Albion goes much deeper. Before I go any further , I have waited a long time to use that phrase and I am not completely sure , I have got it right this time but look it up and hopefully you can see if I have.

1. They are amassing a huge amount of data

2. They are scraping the ocean floor of keywords relating to their product areas creating havoc on many online stores specialising in those products .

Amassing a load of data is no new thing. Amazon have been doing it for nearly thirty years. Temu have been doing it less than thirty months. We, sort of, let Amazon do it as they provide products the Consumer likes and wants and if the product is not right Amazon sorts it. Their focus has always been on the consumer . Consequently the consumer is very confident buying from Amazon. As far as the Temu’s of this world are concerned they just provide very cheap product and I don’t see that as a long term business model .So what is their plan….

I am none the wiser.

The keywords issue is having a big impact on online web shops. Within my own industry , I have stories where they have hijacked over 40% of the relevant key words. This has had an immediate impact on their business. If I type in google Party shops in Leicester (or any other town in the UK ) Temu will come up first or second. This, in itself, is not usual . But this has happened very quickly and is very disruptive.

There have been other disruptors in recent years such as Alibaba & Shein. Shein employs approximately fifteen people in the UK as of last September. They have also opened various pop up shops and acquired some brands such as Misguided. Yes they are very cheap but from subjective sources the quality is poor. In the US there is an 88% awareness of the brand but only just over 20% satisfaction rate (Statista.com) . But it is very clear as to what their mojo is. Cheap, throw away fashion. I am not sure we know what Temu’s is ?

In a slight aside Shein is looking for a listing either in New York or London, with a current valuation of approximately $60 Billion (down from $100 billion). Some financial journalists believe they are looking for a listing as soon as possible , whilst the valuation remains relatively high as they are being constantly being scrutinised for manipulation of EU & UK tax laws concerned with import duties, in addition to age old agreements on very favourable local shipping rates.

If a company fills a container with items, they can say they are all individual consignments and escape the duty — but in reality, it’s a container load of goods. It’s an abuse of the system,” Richard Allen, a campaigner with Retailers Against VAT Abuse Schemes (RAVAS).

Yet some observers wonder whether this also betrays a fear that stiff competition from its rival Temu, which has quickly aped aspects of Shein’s tax-lite model — as well as the prospect of regulatory crackdowns on fast fashion — will mean Shein’s stratospheric rise could soon level off. Sunday Times May 5th 2024

The tax laws referred to, refer to Temu as well . Low value single items (£135 in the UK) are treated as gifts with import duty .In many cases these single items are bundled together in a container still avoiding import duties but benefiting from lower courier rates and the benefiting from much lower local postal services.

This is a bit of an oversimplification but it illustrates of the nature of the beast we are all dealing with.

How we deal with it ? I don’t know. The French have decided to have a go

Brands that churn out cheap clothes and constantly change their styles face penalties of up to 50 per cent of the retail price in a move to offset their environmental impact.

Advertising is to be banned for fast fashion retailers, whose clothes are usually binned within months and end up in landfill. Unlike traditional brands which renew their collections four times a year, politicians claim that fast fashion brands offer thousands of new products every few days, causing pollution and encouraging their customers to keep spending. Sunday Times May 5th 2024.

As to how they can decide what are Cheap Clothes and how many new products are too many remains to be seen. However, going back to the start of the blog, there have always been disruptors and they will continue to appear and disrupt.

i suspect many thought about six years ago Jeff Bezos would be untouchable , or at least the retail version. Then came along 2 disruptors capturing billions of dollars of consumer spend from nowhere . Very soon there will be another. The extra ordinary thing is we don’t have any idea what format that new kid will take and who they will disrupt.