Rishi Taparia - Issue #16
This week saw Williams-Sonoma go shopping, large banks attempt to make working with fintechs less scary, Australia going all in on face recognition, Elon Musk doing his thing and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Williams-Sonoma is buying a 3-D imaging and augmented reality startup for $112 million
It’s not too often you see Williams-Sonoma make headlines for technology acquisitions. This week they paid $112 million for 3D imaging company Outward, specializing in furniture visualization technology. An interesting deal to say the least, underscoring the need for better tech in the customer experience and suggesting that in the build v buy debate, it may be easier to buy.
Amazon May Not Kill Big-Box Retail After All
Major retailers posted huge quarterly numbers this week, suggesting not all of the sector’s worries about e-commerce have come true. The key takeaway - if legacy retailers move quickly and invest resources wisely, Amazonian overlords taking over the world is not a foregone conclusion.
FinTech
In Japan, the move from cash to plastic goes slowly - A yen for plastic
Cash is still king in a lot of markets, most surprisingly Japan. Last year cash accounted for 62% of consumer transactions by value, compared with just 22% in Britain, 34% in America, 10% in South Korea and 50% in China. A combination of ease of access to cash and wariness about being monitored contributes to this unusual trend (McDonalds doesn’t even accept credit cards!)
Bank Collective Vets FIs' FinTech Pairings
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and American Express are creating a new collaborative effort to vet FinTech partnerships and enhance fraud prevention. Not sure exactly how they will do so, as details were sparse to say the least, but hopefully this means less, not more oversight.
Why Chinese vendors, large and small, are rushing to embrace cashless payments
Among the benefits of digital payments are security and safety - it reduces risk of being robbed, with customers no longer have to worry about fake banknotes. As previously discussed however, the increasing popularity of cashless payments has threatened to make China’s state-dominated banking system and its traditional payment system irrelevant. This has led to Beijing launching a wide variety of regulatory measures to rein in the big players Alibaba and Tencent.
Technology
Australia's facial recognition database will now include driver's licence photos
Move over Face ID, the Australian government has one upped you, and is making it easier for law enforcement agencies to identify people in real-time.
Backing Big Brother: Investors are pouring into Chinese facial recognition firms
Buoyed by China’s plans to build a ubiquitous CCTV surveillance network, investors are pouring money into face ID start-ups.
An Evening With The Tesla Faithful As Elon Musk Unveils A New Truck And Car
It was supposed to be an electric semi truck launch. Then Elon Musk too a queue from Steve Jobs’ “One more thing” and ran it over with a car. Tesla unveiled a new Roadster, the new version of its original sports car, fully electric and the fastest production car ever made. This piece summarizes it well. And hilariously.
Decoding the Chinese Internet
An interesting deck by BCG on the state of the Chinese internet economy. Worth the time if you’re interested in the evolving market!