Editors note: This is an abridged version of an article that ran in Nicholas Hall’s CHC Insight North America, a bimonthly publication that covers consumer health care. When Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the American Revolution, he directed his musicians to play a popular tune called
In the second of two episodes about the drug store market in China, Video Forum examines the impact of e-commerce. Ed Rowland, principal of Rowland Global LLC, and Alice Wang, a Shanghai-based consultant and instructor at Alibaba’s Taobao University, share insights about younger consumers’ embrace of online-to-offline services, the growing presence of Alibaba and JD.com
In the first of two episodes, Ed Rowland, principal of Rowland Global LLC, and Alice Wang, a Shanghai-based consultant and instructor at Alibaba’s Taobao University, share insights about the brick-and-mortar pharmacy business in China. Among the topics they discuss are the Chinese consumer’s expectations of a drug store, the role of the pharmacist, and the
Editors note: This is an abridged version of an article that ran in Nicholas Hall’s CHC Insight North America, a bimonthly publication that covers consumer health care. When Bob Dylan released “The Times, They Are A-Changin” in October 1963 he could have been talking about the 2020 consumer health world in North America. The velocity
Editor’s note: In the ninth installment of their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland, joined by longtime colleague and advisor Alf Luo, examine the impact of COVID on the Chinese pet care world accelerating trends already in place before the Pandemic. Part one is available here. Part two is available here. Part three is
Editor’s note: In the eighth installment of their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland, now joined by longtime colleague and advisor Alf Luo, will examine the central cultural role of the mouth and how that continues to impact COVID-19 consumer healthcare purchasing patterns in sometimes surprising ways. Part one is available here. Part two
Editor’s note: In the seventh installment of their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland examine the strategic use of digital coupons and how that system is enabling China to recover from the COVID-19 economic challenges. Did China use lessons from the past to solve a modern problem? China has been using a unique and
Editor’s note: In the sixth part of their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland look at the the carefully orchestrated process Alibaba Health used in returning to the workplace. It included numerous protocols and a lottery deciding the first returnees. Strict rules are in place and a new “normal” now exists. Part one is
Editor’s Note: In the fifth part of their series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland look at the way surprising rumors can lead to hoarding. As in the United States, eggs seem to be one of the products involved. Part one is available here. Part two is available here. Part three is available here. Part four
Editor’s Note: In the fourth and final part of their series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland examine how China has identified healthy people and allowed some mobility. What could have been an administrative nightmare has been solved with digital simplicity: the QR code backed by large data analysis. Part one is available here. Part two
Editor’s note: In the third part in their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland examine the coronavirus’ impact on China’s educational system and the 100 million Chinese students from pre-school through university now exclusively attending online classes. They examine how all the stakeholders– teachers, students, teaching Apps (DingTalk, the government-chosen teaching App provided by Alibaba) have adjusted. Part one
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about how the COVID-19 epidemic is impacting people’s lives and business operations in China, the world’s second-largest economy. Future articles, which will be coauthored by Ed Rowland and Alice Wang, will bring to life the challenges of coping with this epidemic. It’s one thing