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Abstract: Seizing the opportunity and gaining market space through time advantage. In physics, time and space are interconnected; the conversion between speed and energy maintains balance. The faster the motion, the larger the space covered, and the less time spent. This principle also applies to business, especially the strategy of "leading the pace." By accelerating product or process timelines, companies can exchange compressed time for expanded market space, gaining a competitive edge.

According to Sandalwood’s China e-commerce market data, from January to August 2024, smartphone sales above 10,000 RMB increased by 187% Y/Y, accounting for 3.2% of the total market, up by 2 percentage points from last year. Among Android and HarmonyOS devices priced over 10,000 RMB, foldable phones accounted for 70%, becoming the dominant form factor.

"Black Myth: Wukong," a domestically produced AAA game, has garnered global attention for its outstanding graphics and rich cultural background, positively impacting the gaming laptop market. Despite an overall decline in laptop sales in the first half of 2024, gaming laptops have remained relatively stable, with an increased market share. The high-end gaming laptop market, dominated by RTX 40 series GPUs and Intel HX series processors, has seen strong performances from brands like Lenovo Legion, ASUS TUF, and MECHREVO Dragon. The success of "Black Myth: Wukong" has further fueled demand for high-performance gaming laptops.

Although the Paris Olympics have concluded, the wave of sports consumption it generated continues to surge. According to Sandalwood data, since Jul-24, there has been a significant increase in consumption of sports categories such as table tennis and badminton, which are dominated by China. With Zheng Qinwen winning the tennis championship, enthusiasm for tennis consumption has also been fully unleashed. Overall, the sales share of the "Three Small Balls" on Tmall has rapidly expanded, with +123% y/y in the first week of Aug.

In Q2 2024, Nestle, Luckin, Cat Four, and Starbucks showed significant growth. Black coffee has led the instant coffee market, with its share rising from 50% in Q1 2022 to 64% in Q2 2024.

According to Sandalwood's China e-commerce market data, the market share of in-ear-air conduction true wireless earphones dropped to 30.8% in the first half of 2024, down from 37.2% in the same period of 2023, with a sales growth rate of -8%.

The Chinese e-commerce market has been experiencing a positive growth cycle for a year; in the first half of 2024, both the volume and value of Android sales increased; HarmonyOS saw a leap in both volume and value; the mid-to-low and ultra-high-end segments showed definite growth. Driven by competition in the mid-to-high price range, Android and HarmonyOS accelerated their growth, while iOS implemented a more proactive pricing strategy compared to 2023.

During this round of 618 promotion, despite the overall weak performance of the air conditioning market, Xiaomi's air conditioning has risen against the trend, with sales growth of up to 31% year-on-year, closely following Gree

During the 2024 "618" promotion, the smartphone market experienced dual growth in both sales volume and revenue. The average selling price of smartphones saw a significant decline, reflecting intensified market competition and diversified pricing strategies among brands.

The 618 promotion is still ongoing, with some top companies maintaining strong performance, while some new brands have stood out and captured market share.  Key product, national sports movement and high cost-effectiveness are the keys to outperform.

In 1Q24, the Chinese e-commerce smartphone market saw a Y/Y increase of 4.7% in sales volume and 3.2% in revenue, maintaining steady growth. 

According to the e-commerce monitoring data of the Sandalwood platform, in 2023, drinking water remained the leader in Nongfu Spring's sales, while tea beverages as the second-largest category increased its share from 15% in 2022 to 26% in 2023. In March 2024, in the non-alcoholic beverage sales on the four major e-commerce platforms, Nongfu Spring's overall market share decreased by 40% compared to the previous year, with the main brand Nongfu Spring being particularly hard hit.

According to Sandalwood's China e-commerce market monitoring data, the sales of VR all-in-one headsets in the Chinese market experienced a y/y decline of 67% in 2023. The VR all-in-one headset market went through a roller-coaster-like change between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, the Apple Vision Pro started its sales in all Apple retail stores and the online Apple Store in the United States on February 2nd.

The penetration rate of China's e-commerce is steadily increasing, with the mobile phone category showing continuous growth for six consecutive months. Foldable screen phones have experienced triple-digit growth, and the momentum of HarmonyOS system phones continues to rise. Android phones are rebounding, while Apple's sales decrease as prices rise. Under the proactive strategies of manufacturers, new products in the mid-to-high-end market are effectively driving growth with a more focused approach. Not only is there a growing demand for high-end configurations, but consumers are also increasingly seeking balanced products. The competition among the six major brand camps has intensified, and the competitive landscape in the high-end market is changing, making it a critical battleground. With a strong stance, maintaining balance, taking proactive action, the brave emerge victorious!

Sandalwood Auto Insurance data showed in 2023 a total of 21.6m passenger cars were delivered in China, +10% y/y compared to 19.6m units in 2022.

Sandalwood e-commerce data shows that the sector is growing at a triple-digit y/y on Bytedance and Pinduoduo. On the other hand, Tmall still accounts for more than half of online sales. With the help of live streaming, it achieved a strong growth during this Double 11, hitting the highest level in past two years, becoming the main driver to the industry's acceleration.

The laptop market is reaching a point of revival, with AI technology driving a new cycle of productivity growth. Following the demand for remote work during the pandemic, the market is stabilizing as consumers return to offices and adopt more rational spending habits. The downward trend in sales volume seen in 2023 is slowing compared to 2022, with average prices starting to rise. Upstream supply strategies have introduced high-configuration gaming laptops with better cost-performance ratios into the market. The market is showing a polarizing trend, with increasing demand for entry-level notebooks and high-end flagship models. In 2024, the laptop market is expected to enter a growth cycle driven by technological upgrades, AI capabilities, and operating system support.

Summary: In recent years, people's demand for high-quality life has rapidly permeated into products related to food, clothing, and household items. As the overall sales volume of consumer goods approaches its limit, the industry increasingly focuses on product structure upgrades to seek breakthroughs. The mutual response of demand and supply sides drives sectors such as soy sauce, sanitary napkin, beer, yoghurt, and instant noodles to go against the trend of "consumption downgrading.

The Chinese smart wearable device market is experiencing a phase of diversified development: The smartwatch sector is witnessing rapid growth, particularly in the high-end market, while the bracelet market is on a downward trend. From a brand perspective, market concentration is intensifying, with major brands significantly increasing their market share in smart bracelets, children's watches, and smartwatches. Smartwatches are progressively becoming independent from smartphones in terms of both hardware and software, offering enhanced connectivity and convenience. In various scenarios such as sports, health, home, and automotive, smartwatches are demonstrating increasingly intelligent and personalized features.

The landscape of education underwent a seismic shift during the 2020 pandemic, giving rise to a remarkable surge in demand for learning machines. As we navigate the aftermath of unprecedented events and policy changes, this blog explores the factors contributing to the rapid growth of learning machines in 2022 and their sustained impact on the market.

According to Sandalwood Advisors data, as of the third quarter of 2023, Nongfu Spring and Suntory held a combined e-commerce market share of over 40%, the only two brands with continuously increasing shares since 2021. In contrast, traditional sugary tea brands like Vitasoy, Master Kong, and Uni-President,still holding a market share with their classic black tea products, are under significant pressure.

The peak of the big promotions in the mobile phone category on China's e-commerce platforms has significantly decreased, with both sales volume and revenue multipliers declining. While, new technology breakthourgh has been made in mobile high-end market . The product structures of Apple, Android, and HarmonyOS mobile phones are all upgrading, reshaping the high-end market landscape. Foldable screen phones are becoming the mainstream product form in the high-end market. Sales of phones with 512G/1TB storage are penetrating all price points. China's e-commerce market for mobile phones is shifting from quantitative growth to qualitative breakthrough.

In the first three quarters of 2023, the Chinese consumer electronics market has seen rapid evolution in integrated terminals, with manufacturers adopting increasingly clear multi-device collaborative strategies. Various devices, such as large-screen phones, folding screen phones, portable tablets, slim notebooks, and large-size TVs, have all achieved strong growth. The competitive and collaborative interactions between terminal products are intensifying. Smartphone manufacturers are displaying extensive market competitiveness through multi-scenario product layouts, and in the broader market, terminal manufacturers of various kinds will engage in more intense competition in the integrated market.

  First month sales of the iPhone 15 series, launching a week later than iPhone 14, set a new record average price driven by the iPhone Pro Max / Pro product lines. However, due to supply cycle constraints, the growth of the iPhone Pro Max/Pro line slowed during the National Day holiday. With increasing competition in the high-end product market, product lifecycle and tiered offerings are becoming key competitive factors, making the precise planning of high-end products by price range noteworthy.

live-streaming e-commerce has become an integral part of China online sales. According to Sandalwood data, the sales value share of Douyin E-commerce, which excels in live-streaming e-commerce, has been consistently growing rapidly over the past three years. In 2Q23, Douyin E-commerce increased its sales value share to 17%, further narrowing the gap with leading e-commerce platforms.

According to Sandalwood's supermarket data, the liquid milk market has been stable for the past three years. Sales of liquid milk through supermarket channels in 2020, 2021, and 2022 were 66.4 billion, 67.3 billion, and 64.1 billion yuan, respectively. Sales for the first half of 2023 remained roughly on par with the same period last year, around 32 billion yuan.

According to Sandalwood e-commerce monitoring data for China, in the first half of 2023, the Chinese online retail pharmaceutical market continued its rapid growth, reaching a scale of 32.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29%. Among them, traditional Chinese medicine grew by 34% year-on-year, while Western medicine grew by 26%.

According to Sandalwood's China e-commerce market monitoring, in the first half of 2023, cellphone sales in China's e-commerce market were 45.71 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 5%.

Sandalwood data show that Lululemon 2Q23 MTD China online data growth of +60% y/y, while the offline data growth of +173% y/y, both online and offline leads the sportswear sector.

According to Sandalwood data, in Aug 2020, J&T Express had a daily order volume of 5 million, which increased to 10 million in Oct 2020 and surpassed 20 million in Dec 2020. In comparison, it took the Tongda faction (i.e., STO, YTO, ZTO and Yunda) more than ten years to reach 20 million daily orders. In May 2022, J&T Express exceeded 40 million daily orders. 

Cosmetics 6.18 pre-sale peaked above 2022/2021 level in late May. Sandalwood data suggests positive low-teens y/y growth in May + Jun MTD across top Chinese e-commerce channels , despite growing shifts to offline sales channels as offline activities at department stores, malls, DFS stores normalize in 2023 post-pandemic. 

According to Sandalwood's monitoring data on the China e-commerce platform, smartphone sales in the market witnessed a 2% year-on-year decline in the first four months of 2023, indicating a slight contraction. Specifically, from January to February, the market size decreased by 7%. However, there was a positive development as the market achieved a moderate growth of 5% from March to April. Nevertheless, compared to the same period in 2021, the market size still experienced a significant year-on-year decline of 10%. Overall, signs of recovery have emerged, albeit in a weak state.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2023, the national online retail sales increased by 8.6% year-on-year to reach RMB 3.2863 trillion. Of this, the online retail sales of physical goods amounted to RMB 2.7835 trillion, up 73% year-on-year, accounting for 24.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. Against this backdrop, the Chinese pharmaceutical e-commerce market has experienced strong growth in the post-pandemic era.

Sandalwood China E-Commerce data points to positive effect of the launch - JD’s GMV growth y/y with the channel shows 5% increase compared to that excluding the channel. Its 10 Billion Subsidy Channel’s average weekly GMV of JD is ~60% of that of Pinduoduo as of March 23. The channel takes around 5% of JD’s total GMV, within a similar range of when Pinduoduo first launched its 10 Billion Subsidy Channel. 

Zoom in on Hong Kong, Thailand, and Macau — Sandalwood Real-Time Tourism Tracker shows the amount of retail transactions by Mainland Chinese consumers in Hong Kong rebounded to +49% y/y in Jan-23 from -5% y/y in Dec-22, -81% vs. Jan-19. Thailand is also looking positive, with the amount of retail transactions bouncing to +437% y/y in Jan-23 from +244% y/y in Dec-22. Meanwhile, Macau saw the figure rose to +55% y/y in Jan-23, -57% vs. Jan-19. The later-released government reporting points to the same directional trends.

One Plus Ace 2 officially launched on February 13th. According to Sandalwood's China E-Commerce data, Ace 2 e-commerce sales grew 332% YoY compared to the previous generation as of Feb 21, elevating ACE series sales to a new high. One Plus' e-commerce market share in turn grew to 6.4%. 

In 2022, the Chinese e-commerce market saw resilience and steady growth in consumer electronic consumption. The market experienced significant fluctuations under the impact of the pandemic and macro factors. Take Smartphone category as an example - 93 million smart phones were sold in 2022, representing a 6% YoY decrease as shown by Sandalwood China E-Commerce Data. During the months of March, April, August, September, November, and December which were heavily affected by the pandemic, the market experienced significant declines at around 15%. Coupling with major promotional events such as "618" and "Double Eleven", the e-commerce market sales surely went through a roller-coaster ride.

Sandalwood China Auto Insurance data indicates below-seasonal level car deliveries of Tesla in December at 37,723 as of Dec 25. Hangover effects from strong November delivery and weak consumer demand despite additional subsidies are likely the main culprits.

 Sandalwood e-commerce data shows Temu weekly GMV reached 34 million USD in the 2nd week of Dec-22 (average daily GMV ~4.7 million), +57 % m/m increase compared to Nov-22’s average daily GMV of 3 million. The average selling price on the platform gradually rose from 2.9 USD in early Nov-22 to 5 USD in mid Dec-22, while the discount ratio dropped from 60% to 50% during the same period. Both GMV and sales volume peaked in the week of Nov 21-30, likely due to Black Friday promotion. 

While many retail sectors are taking time to react, COVID-related medicine and medical equipment online sales have seen a strong surge following COVID measure easing in China. Share prices of Aliheath (0241.HK) and JD Health (6618.HK) soared 100+%, 45+% respectively since Nov 11 (date of announcement).

Overall offline sectors remain weak in Nov MTD (Nov 1-27), Housing sector continuing to underperform the most, as rising Covid cases and strict policies weigh on consumer spending. However, partial improvement is expected in Dec vs. Nov as key regions like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu started to ease policy in early Dec by no longer requiring negative test proof when going to venues such as shopping malls and restaurants.

Sandalwood China E-Commerce Data shows the cumulative sales volume of China online cellphone sales reached 76.49 million from January to October 2022, a 3% y/y decline compared to 2021. E-commerce channel has taken 1/3 of the overall market sales. Compared to the 12% y/y decline of the whole cellphone market (online+offline), e-commerce channel remains resilient.

Sandalwood E-Commerce data showed online cellphone sales reached 6.8 million units during Oct 20 – Nov 5 in China, 2.3 times the sales volume during regular period (Oct 1-19). JD accounts for 44% of the overall online sales, whereas Tmall, Pinduoduo, Douyin, Kuaishou account for 39%, 13%, 4%, 4% respectively. Sales on JD, Tmall, Pinduoduo, Douyin, Kuaishou were 2, 5, 1.4, 3.3, 4.6 times that of regular sales period (Oct 1-19).

The online marketplace is a subsidiary of Pinduoduo which successfully rose through fierce competition in the China e-commerce space. Just one month after it went live, Temu has ranked among the most downloaded shopping apps in the US.

According to Sandalwood China E-Commerce data, PICO4’s cumulative e-commerce sales volume reached 46,000 up till Oct 14 - among which JD, Tmall, Douyin respectively accounted for 65%, 17%, 17%. 

iPhone 14 series pre-order and preliminary sales showed: 1) similar performance as iPhone 13 series with slight year-over-year decline; 2) standard models have seen significant decline while Pro series achieved sizable year-over-year growth.

Tesla beat market expectation and finished 4Q21 strong with 116,236 delivery units in China, attaining +92% y/y growth. Xpeng and Li Auto also showed positive momentum with 41,751 and 35,221 delivery units respectively in 4Q21, while Nio had a mediocre 4Q21 performance with 25,034 units delivered.

The fast growing China cosmetics market has been increasingly gaining investors’ attention. The emergence and rise of domestic players widened choices for consumers and exerted fierce competition into the market, encouraging brands to adapt quickly and seek more effective strategies. 

In what many considered as a very bold move at the height of COVID-19 in 2020, Haidilao expanded massively — reaching a total of 1597 stores by June 2021. Unfortunately this delivered a disappointing blow to Haidilao’s bottomline. Stock price dropped continually at a staggering 74% from its peak on Feb 17 to Nov 8 this year. 

There has been an ongoing shake-up in China's e-commerce industry lately. While Pinduoduo has been taking share gradually from traditional e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD since late 2020 mainly in sportswear and apparel sector

China is one of the biggest markets for luxury worldwide. The luxury market in China has seen a healthy growth versus the same period two years ago for the first half of 2021(+107%YoY2). 

Ride-hailing giant Didi is at a critical crossroads--just a month into its June 30 blockbuster IPO in the US, only to be followed days later by a string of Chinese government regulatory-related problems. 

Logistics plays a substantial role in Chinese people's daily life, and the industry is fundamental to maintaining stable supply chains. Although the pandemic suppressed the overall domestic demand especially during the onset of the outbreak in 2020, 

Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past, Nike and Adidas were enjoying what seemed to be an unbreakable bond with their Chinese fans. Both brands have very popular flagship products with loyal followers, such as the Adidas Yeezy, Nike Air Max, Nike Air Jordan.

The food and beverage industry was the most impacted and devastated business during the COVID pandemic, costing hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue loss and millions of jobs shuttered across the globe. Haidilao (6862.HK), the most dominant hot pot chain in China with 1,298 stores globally and employing a workforce upwards of 15,000,

2020 was a great year for Xiaomi. As a starter, its solid online channels helped absorb the negative impact from Covid-19. Its new models (many featuring 5G at a steep discount vs. T1 players) outperformed the old ones which speaks volumes about the company's strength in innovation. 

Kuaishou’s meteoric rise to the top culminated during its February 5, 2021 Hong Kong debut that raised $5.4 billion from its initial public offering, raising its shares nearly 200%. The blockbuster deal placed Kuaishou at the top as the world’s biggest internet IPO since Uber Technologies Inc.’s $8.1 billion share sale in the US in May 2019. 

Casio's stock price is up more than 50% YTD in 2019, as the Japanese company’s Watch sector has surpassed people’s expectations as well as the industry as a whole, and China is the primary region driving the surprise recently. 

China raised its sales target for electrified cars to account for 25% of automobile sales by 2025, according to The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as the country tries to reduce air pollution as well as its reliance on oil import. Although its penetration rate is currently 5%, it remains on the growth trajectory incentivized by governments' stimulus policies. 

China is seeing a good recovery on a variety of its economy activities. This shows that if a country is effective in containing Covid-19, the economy can also go back on track. After checking with various big shopping malls in mainland China, we confirmed that offline shops are mostly closed in early Feb and started to reopen in the late Feb.

Yatsen Global (YSG US) stock price soared +75% on Nov 19th, 2020 on its trading debut on NYSE. Yatsen has successfully launched three brands: Perfect Diary, Abby’s Choice, and Little Ondine. The secret behind Yatsen’s success is its digitally-native approach to consumers. The company’s products target Gen Z customers who are generally more tech-savvy and price sensitive.

Community group buying, an e-commerce model of group purchases by residents within the same neighborhood, is becoming increasingly popular since second half of 2020. This industry sprang out in 2018, but reshuffled and depressed in 2019 due to hundreds of uneven players and poor regulations. However, after its re-entry into 2020 and especially impacted by the COVID situation

When iPhone X was launched in late 2017, it steer up excitement of OLED industry, as OLED was always regarded as future of display due to its advantage of crisper and easier on batteries than their liquid-crystal predecessors. 

Estee Lauder (EL) reported its full-year 2017 earnings on August 18th, 2017, showing strong results, with investors rewarding it with a pop in the stock price.  Total sales were up 5%. Driving that growth was China, with sales were up 40% for the year. 

Michael Kors (KORS) has won the bidding war for Jimmy Choo for $1.2bn, beating out Coach (COH) and a number of private investment firms.  At a 37% premium to Jimmy Choo's market cap before it put itself up for sale, the valuation is steep, especially considering the 17.5x adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months ending Dec 31

Danish jewelry company Pandora A/S has had a fairly good run in China over the last year. Year-over-year growth in China was well north of 100% for 2016, making China the a bright spot as sales in the US and UK slowed.

Tesla recently announced their intent to manufacture vehicles in Shanghai, riding China's potential as a huge market for electric vehicles. While still a relatively small portion of Tesla sales overall, it's worth noting that Tesla's China sales tripled from 2015 to 2016, to hit the $1 billion mark. But while Tesla's visibility as a brand has made its China ambitions well-publicized (and some would say well-hyped), China hasn't escaped the notice of traditional automakers.

China's New Oriental Education and Technology Group (or "New Oriental",NYSE:EDU) is the largest provider of private educational services in China. Along with TAL Education Group (NYSE:XRS), New Oriental has lead the way in China's fast-growing K-12 after-school tutoring services.

Sportswear brands in China are benefitting from a fitness boom, partially due to a government-backed fitness push. China's "athleisure" market is growing and both domestic and foreign sportswear brands are seeing increasing sales.

Due to the ongoing THAAD controversy, Chinese consumers have boycotted Korean businesses and curtailed tourism to Korea. While it's clear that the impact on Korean duty-free stores is quite negative, nobody quite knows just how bad. 

Yes, in a big way, according to this recent article on Consultancy.uk. Since their data stops at 2015, Sandalwood's research team decided to see what our own data was saying for 2016-2017.  Did these trends continue? Or did the trend slow? 

China's resurgent appetite for branded luxury goods has driven luxury stock prices through the roof.  Kering, Moncler, Burberry, LVMH are all trading at or near all-time highs, with the rest of the luxury retail sector up strong YTD as well.