When Jack Ma launched Alibaba, he wanted to rid the world of Middleman. His vision seemed admirable. To get rid of the the elusive sweet talker that fools the average consumer into overpaying for something just by using the skills of his vocals.
Take a look at the world today. 2 decades later and who still dares to "buys in bulk". Buying in bulk as a business owner is considered a high risk activity where the downsides probably outweigh the upsides. If you are still buying in bulk, you are probably part of those ignorant, the ones who still believes that the retail industry exists for some reason and will continue to. Those who continue to pump money into real-estate developers deep pockets to fund their enthusiasm promoting the "opening of covid".
Well, while some of you might argue that wholesale purchase is still cheaper than the cheapest of online prices you can find. Business can still be run with profitable gains and margins on hand. But, trust me, perceptions have shifted. Consumer mindsets have moved towards online. Younger minds have now believed that "for everything that you see on shelves, you can get it cheaper online." With that much procrastination in mind, its no longer "as easy" to make retail sales. Consumers now have so much more options and its no longer that easy to make money today than it is just 2 decades ago.
Pricing is just 1 issue. Another issue is the availability of products. Why do I even bother buying from my local community seller when i could have gone through the internet to shop directly in China? I could easily be getting prices 3-4x lower pricing than my local retail! MOQ? Nope. There's no need to. You get to purchase the exact same item for just having to maybe wait 1-2 weeks longer. No MOQ to prevent some kid from buying directly from China Marketplaces. Well, that to the consumer, shouldn't be too much for huge savings and discounts, isn't it?
China have even done it so well that, hey, did you know how easily you can search for the same item, that's selling on Shopee, on Taobao? 2 mins. directly on your phone.
Well, guess what comes around goes around. China has snapped out the global market share for sales, but unknowingly, destroyed their own rice bowls running on a structured business ecosystem. Now, manufacturers have to not only manage their business production and product development, but has also have to manage their own marketing and distributions on marketplaces. Business owners are a much more descerning lot today as compared to 20 years ago because, China has made it so difficult for wholesalers and business, a lot who've alot of value to provide on the value chain of supply, to survive.
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