Wei Jianguo: “New Retail” Leads the Global Commercial Consumption Revolution

Although human business activities have a history of thousand years, it has not been able to completely change the business model which is based on commodities.

Since the Ali Group proposed the concept of “new retail”, it has not only disrupted the traditional model of commercial consumption that had been applied for thousand years, but also miraculously succeeded in combining technology and business in the daily lives of ordinary consumers in just two years. What is more important is that with the rapid development of China’s economy, a powerful commercial force has changed the production and management methods of modern enterprises, transformed the fate of countless Chinese SMEs, and truly achieved the goal of promoting high-quality development through the supply-side structural reform, thereby solving the contradiction between the people’s growing needs for a better life and the unbalanced development.

On the morning of the 5th, Premier Li Keqiang delivered the government working report at the 13th National People’s Congress, pointing out that the rapid rise of new energy is reshaping the economic growth pattern and profoundly changing the production and lifestyle.

The Internet is undoubtedly playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese economy and has become a new symbol of China’s innovation and development. In the past five years, the “new economy” has brought “new momentum” and the “new retail” has created many “new opportunities”. “Internet +” has been widely applied in various industries and become a prominent highlight of China’s economy.

“New Retail” forms new consumption pattern

History has proven that a new invention can not only lead to the birth and development of a new industry, but also help the market restructuring of a country.

The two-year “New Retail” practice shows that the era of the pure e-commerce in China has passed and the dividends resulted from the numerous online consumer groups have gradually disappeared. In the next ten years, all the production factors will be combined through online, offline and production logistics. Individual consumption will become the goal of production, manufacturers will reduce logistics costs by offering fast and convenient services, and maximize efficiency and increase profits, ultimately the “New Retail” era for global commercial consumption will arrive.

We must be aware of that the key difference between the “new retail” and “old retail” lies in the disruptive reversal of the traditional order of commodity circulation. For thousand years, the business model always started with production, followed by sales and purchase. Nowadays, the individualized purchase will determine a company’s production, and such kind of point-to-point direct consumption not only save the intermediate costs, but also promote the development of the real economy. The birth of a large number of high-quality, personalized small and micro enterprises has prompted 33 million jobs in recent years. There are now more secondary and third-tier SMEs have the opportunity to start business and enjoy fair development, which helps to reduce rural poverty.

Undoubtedly, all of the above match with the proposals of the government working report, delivered by Li Keqiang, including enhancing employment services, conducting large-scale vocational training, and using Internet Plus to develop new employment.

We believe that the “new retail” will have great vitality and be a popular topic among the representatives and committee member of the “two sessions” this year.

“New Retail” is a bold innovation that promotes three major changes in

 China’s economy

At present, China’s economy has shifted from a high-growth phase to a phase of high-quality development. The key of transforming “Chinese Speed” to “Chinese Quality”, “Chinese Product” to “Chinese Brand” and promoting intelligent manufacturing is to understand the profound changes in the domestic and foreign markets and increase the total factor productivity with the dynamic change, so as to make significant improvement in quality and efficiency.

The two-year practice of the “new retail” has proved that this bold innovation has been very successful.

We should always put the interests of the people first and mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises to satisfy the growing needs of the people for a better life, to discover problems and resolve them. We should help the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises to unleash their vitality. If we consider these enterprises as the life cells of the Chinese economy, then the “new retail” will make tens of thousands of cells full of vitality and truly realize the three major changes in China’s economic transformation, so as to realize high-quality economic development, a goal set by the party at the 19th CPC National Congress.

“New Retail” is important for the Belt and Road Initiative

As the old saying says, the friendship of different countries depends on the friendship of the people, and the friendship of the people depends on if they have common interest, and the intersection of interest lies in the nearness of the people’s heart. I would like to add a modern saying, the closeness of people’s heart depends on the network connection.

Since the Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation was held in Beijing in 2017, more than 130 countries and regions have participated in the building of the Belt and Road. Mutual consultation, joint building and sharing have become a widely accepted consensus. In order to accelerate the building of the Belt and Road and the “five links”, we have to accelerate the connection of the Internet.

The “New Retail” has expanded to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions. It can be predicted that in the next five years, the “New Retail” will not only effectively support the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, but also become an indispensable platform for the people living along the Belt and Road. It will help China to invest, trade, build infrastructure and implement industrialization in these countries, make it easier for Chinese enterprises to integrate into local businesses, industries, education, and health, and make contribution to the building of a common community of shared future for mankind.