China Paradigms

Matthieu David interviews Matthieu Rochette-Schneider, Greater China General Manager at centdegrés. Building a brand in China might look like a very different process than the way brands are built in the West. But there are many businesses in China that were very fortunate to have the veteran brand builders from centdegrés on their side. They've been in China for more than a decade and if you ask anybody from centdegrés if they are a French agency or a Chinese agency you will get the inevitable response: "centdegrés is centdegrés". Let's find out why in this new China Paradigm interview. 0:15 Guest introduction 2:11 centdegrés - a company history 3:15 centdegrés - current company size in China 5:48 7 years in China - how many brands trust centdegrés their business? 7:47 An adventurous mind - branding came early to China thanks to centdegrés 9:19 China - a reasonable size of centdegrés 12:00 The centdegrés approach to branding 14:37 Managing the core of the business - Creativity 18:58 The centdegrés work pro

Matthieu David interviews Guillaume Rué de Bernadac, Founder & CEO at Académie de Bernadac. Etiquette is a tool that any person should possess whether they use it in professional interactions or social ones. In China, royal etiquette is a subject of interest and more and more people are enrolling for courses. How does Académie de Bernadac service the need for royal etiquette on the Chinese market? How do they market their service and how are the courses structured? Find out the answers to these questions and many more by listening to the interview. 0:15 Guest introduction 2:30 Académie de Bernadac - a brief company presentation 5:10 What prices and services does Académie de Bernadac offer? 8:03 More details about the size of the company 10:28 Royal Etiquette classes - why clients may enjoy them for different reasons 13:54 Why is Tier 1 of royal etiquette the most popular set of classes? 15:33 Adapting to the Chinese market - how have the lessons changed to accommodate Chinese culture? 19:00 Selling luxury -

Matthieu David interviews Lucas Englehardt, founder & CEO at xixilab. Hard work pays off. At least this was the case for Lucas’s first business which was food delivery. Using flyer marketing he’s managed to grow it into a sizable business and then eventually sell it to a German company for a great deal. Now Lucas Englehardt is focusing on the dental care market and has been successful in building xixilab into a profitable business in China, in a country that has a powerful public healthcare system. But what products does xixilab sell and what marketing strategies does it employ to generate revenue? Let’s find out in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:15 Guest introduction 3:13 Story Time: Why xixilab? 7:21 Customizing and Remixing - how xixilab develop their product 11:03 How to maintain product quality while going through the approval process 13:00 Supply and Demand - how xixilab keeps its prices low 16:19 The state of the market - how privatized is teeth care in China 18:16 How does xixilab market direc

Matthieu David interviews Philippe Ricard, Founder of La Creperie in Asia. The restaurant business in Asia and all around the world took a big hit with the coronavirus outbreak. But there are some places that can survive anything. La Creperie is a well-established brand in China, Vietnam, and Hong Kong because of its longevity on the market and its originality when it comes to creating an atmosphere. Find out how La Creperie came to be and why it is succeeding in this China Paradigm interview. 0:15 Guest introduction 2:23 La Creperie - a brief history and current situation 4:32 The La Creperie locations throughout Asia 7:07 The coronavirus outbreak impact - advice on re-opening restaurants 8:57 First actions taken when closing the restaurants 11:31 Will adding a delivery service affect the La Creperie brand? 14:12 The New Normal - how to make a comeback after the outbreak 20:08 La Creperie - how it all started 22:52 Before La Creperie - ideas that did not make the cut 26:24 From 2007 to the present day - an

Matthieu David interviews Yoann DELWARDE, CEO & co-founder at Infinity Growth. If your company is struggling with Sales, do not fire your sales team. It’s probably way more efficient to hire a Sales coach. Infinity Growth can be helpful when it comes to teaching Sales tactics and knowledge to Chinese B2B businesses. But just how good are they? And what principles do they apply when approaching a sales pitch? Let’s find out in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:15 Guest introduction 1:33 Infinity Growth - what they do to help their clients 5:17 Success is not random - why ChinaAccelerator plays an important part for Infinity Growth 8:20 The Tools of Trade - what are the means which Infinity Growth employ to help clients 11:09 Focus, Fun and Follow-up - how Infinity Growth coach their clients 12:56 How deep does Infinity Growth do research for their clients? 15:19 Are sales an art, a science or a practice? 18:06 What mistakes or difficulties can be encounter in Sales? 20:49 Why is selling with integrity impor

Matthieu David interviews Renata Thiébaut, Head of Research & Business Intelligence at Web2Asia. The most important foreign online selling brands in China are so successful probably because they had Web2Asia as their ally when they were first starting out on the Chinese market. It takes a lot of strategizing, data accumulation and re-strategizing to be successful on the different Chinese product selling platforms and this will be broken down into details in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:15 Guest introduction 1:51 Company history and field of work 4:10 Size of business and details on revenue 6:38 Initial vision for Web2Asia 10:57 Case Study: How well was Web2Asia able to sell Jellycat on Alibaba? 16:36 Changing brand strategy was the key to success 24:16 Focusing on the market place - How to drive traffic to your online store 26:14 100% data-driven - re-marketing and re-strategizing 30:12 Strategizing for success - bringing a European brand to China 34:16 The coronavirus outbreak can also have a positiv

Matthieu David interviews Liang Sun, CEO at Generate and Board Member at Benelux Chamber in Shanghai. Selling anything on the Chinese market as a foreigner isn’t an easy endeavor since the language and cultural barriers make it difficult to understand how your product fits on that market. Luckily for European companies, the solution to this problem is Generate. But how does Generate help their clients sell their products on the Chinese market? How hard is it to recruit experienced Sales Associates and how does Generate define a successful business relationship? Let’s find out in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:15 Guest introduction 1:43 Company size and the services Generate provides 5:39 The key is to be flexible - Generate's a business model 7:17 Sales Navigation - Generate's incentive for new clients 9:18 The 3-month plan to generate success 12:28 Exhibitions - are they efficient? 17:02 Sales Associates - recruiting and dealing with conflict of interests 20:32 How does Generate make money? 25:06 Succ

Matthieu David interviews Cotton Ding, Owner at Cottons restaurant and bar. The restaurant business is a tough business. That’s especially true in China and more so if we are talking about the last few months when people were under strict restrictions to socialize due to the coronavirus outbreak. How has Cotton Ding managed to stay in the industry for 17 years, what threats did her business face and what type of management does she promote? Let’s find out in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:15 Guest introduction 2:58 Cottons - a brief history 4:28 Cotton Ding’s professional history 9:13 Size and scope of business 11:08 The cost of doing business – managing rent and business hours 16:20 Cottons team cost structure 19:26 Managing the everyday inventory needs and inspiring people 27:12 How has the coronavirus outbreak affected Cottons and what measures were taken to stay afloat? 31:52 How has the delivery strategy changed due to the outbreak? 34:19 What is it like to work with food delivery platforms? 37:04

Matthieu David interviews Gordon Dumoulin, founder and CEO at Dumoco Natural Ingredients. When it comes to eating healthy everyone knows that “natural” is the way to go. But where does Gordon’s company fit on the Chinese F&B market? Is there a need for an intermediary between a customer and Chinese farmers, processing companies, etc.? Find out the answer to these questions and more in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:14 Guest introduction 2:50 The business of natural ingredients – how does it work? 8:35 Doing business in China vs the West - the win-win scenario 12:30 How do natural ingredients fit on the Chinese medicine market? 18:24 How does Dumoco Natural Ingredients collect their product? 20:39 Who are Dumoco Natural Ingredients' clients in the West? 22:33 Transparency and pricing - how does one affect the other? 25:12 Managing the exports - a necessity for both small and large companies 27:40 Instant Bridge Education - another success story in China 31:53 Who are Instant Bridge Education's clients?

Matthieu David interviews David Beutin, Sales Manager – HORECA Food Service at Lactalis International. HORECA was and is one of the most impacted business industries by the Coronavirus outbreak. How does a food service company manage to recover from such a crisis in China and how different is the business model of such a company compared to the West? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:10 Guest introduction 02:53 State of the HORECA industry right now 08:48 How has the outbreak affect distribution? 13:29 What advice does David Beutin have for the HORECA companies in the west that are going through the outbreak? 18:38 China is back in business - how should foreign companies react? 21:31 Back in business after the outbreak - what challenges does that pose? 24:01 Hygiene can mare or break a HORECA business 26:29 How does business look like for Lactalis in China compared to the West? 30:47 A China Paradigm for Lactalis - does the business model need to be

Matthieu David interviews Guillaume Sergent, founder and CEO at Ailion Golf, a company that offers fashion solutions to golf enthusiasts in China. How did Guillaume get his company off the ground and what are Ailion’s marketing and brand strategies? Find out the answers to these questions and others in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:10 Guest introduction 3:36 Ailion Golf - company history and size of business 11:03 What is Ailion's product development process? 14:32 Collaboration is key to success - how was the first prototype built? 20:52 It takes the right software to build the right product 24:31 First prototype - financial commitment and other requirements 26:56 Ailion's marketing strategy in China? 30:45 Brand building strategy - payoffs vs giveaways 35:24 Brand recognition - what brand ambassador did Ailion acquire? 39:19 How did Ailion partner with Ctrip? 41:01 Being present makes a difference 43:17 Is being a foreigner in China an advantage when it comes to doing business? 45:15 Ailion's online

Matthieu David interviews Sophie Sun, a founder at TravelRight. If you're a traveler and flying to your destinations is your choice of transportation then you've definitely dealt with flight delays before. For people flying from China the answer to their flight delay related issues seems to be TravelRight, which is not an insurance company but it is a valuable resource to OTAs and travel insurance companies across China. Let's find out why in this China Paradigm podcast! 0:10 Guest introduction 2:38 What does TravelRight do? 4:53 What is TravelRight's business model? 5:59 Who are TravelRight's customers and is the company meeting their needs? 9:56 Why do OTAs like to work with TravelRight? 15:20 TravelRight - a short company history 18:44 The delayed customer market - how big is it? 21:19 How did Sophie Sun come up with the idea for TravelRight? 26:33 The value of an Alibaba education 31:10 The funding behind Travel Right 36:17 The Coronavirus outbreak - how does it affect TravelRight? 37:44 The Pandemic Pa

Matthieu David interviews Yuan Yingzi, Executive Director at Europe China Foundation and Strategic Innovation Lab Strategic Analyst at Ubisoft. China’s business ecosystem is attracting interesting resources which fuel Chinese innovation. European start-ups are starting to look to Chinese investors and VCs for partnerships and funding. How does the Europe China Foundation function to help build these business relationships and how do these relationships affect innovation? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this new China Paradigm podcast. 0:10 Guest introduction 00:49 What is Europe China Foundation and what do they focus on? 05:35 How is the strength of innovation different for China compared to Europe? 09:43 Makerspace - a deeper understanding of this Chinese notion 12:31 What other specificities are there for China regarding innovation? 13:42 What is Europe China Foundation's purpose? 16:20 How are China-based VCs different than foreign VCs? 18:00 From production to market - China's blo

Matthieu David interviews Augustin Missoffe, a managing director of Greater China, Korea & ASEAN at HOPSCOTCH Groupe. How is event marketing progressing in China’s digital world? Is e-commerce marketing strictly digital now? And how different is running event-based marketing campaigns in China opposed to the West? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this new China Paradigm podcast! 0:09 Guest introduction 2:53 HOPSCOTCH - current size and company history 7:20 How does HOPSCOTCH operate? 9:57 HOPSCOTCH - managing an extensive network 12:29 Event-native - case studies 20:13 The process of working with a KOL or a KOC – a milk-powder anecdote 25:03 Product awareness vs personal brand strength 26:56 Reaching out to KOLs - what is that process like? 29:15 What differences are there between working on China-based campaigns vs western campaigns? 35:44 Opinions on New-Retail – why it is a philosophy 42:06 Event-based marketing vs the digital media 44:55 Why are some companies not going the even

China Paradigms interviews Hammer Guan founder and CEO of Youbangxin an online platform and a powerful tool for freelancers to showcase their skills. What is the sharing economy and why is Youbangxin functioning in this type of economic sector? How important is transparency for Youbangxin and what makes this platform different from any other platforms on the market? We find out the answers to these questions and many others in this new China Paradigm podcast! Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction 1:14 What is Youbangxin? 2:25 Understanding Hammer Guan's business - company size and other information 4:16 How does it work? - Youbangxin's business model 5:25 The limitations of B2C business model in China 9:21 Life as an entrepreneur – a journey from employee to CEO 12:40 Youbangxin's marketing strategy – not just a platform but a powerful tool for freelancers 15:19 How does Youbangxin attract professionals to use the platform? 16:41 How can freelancers find Youbangxin? 19:00 What makes Youbangxin di

Matthieu David interviews David Ammerschlaeger, a psychotherapist and executive & corporate coach at Excellence for Professionals and PsiCare blog author. Practicing psychotherapy in China is truly a paradigm. The economical layout, the way healthcare is provided there and may other factors come into play when trying to develop a proper framework for psychoanalysis. How much of an issue of mental healthcare in China and how easy it is to have access to a professional therapist? Let’s find out in this new China Paradigm podcast! Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction and company history 5:15 EforP’s business model 7:43 EforP’s partners – who are they and what do they handle? 10:53 Practicing psychotherapy in China – what is required to be a psychologist compared to the West? 21:54 Are there any studies that can help a psychotherapist develop patterns of approach to therapy in China? 26:06 The China Paradigm of Psychotherapy - how different is practicing psychotherapy in China? 30:32 Can the same fram

Matthieu David interviews Eloi Gerard, CEO & Co-Founder at CrowsNest. Virtual Reality has become a phenomenon in the past decade. But is China a proper ecosystem for this type of entertainment? How far has virtual reality come and what are it’s limitations in China vs the West? What is CrowsNest’s experience in the XR market and what are the differences between VR, AR, MR, and AV? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this new China Paradigm podcast! Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction and company history 7:07 Telling a story – is VR capable or is it still in an experimental phase? 9:33 Entertainment or mass market - at what stage is VR right now? 16:13 Pushing VR entertainment in China – the Thomas Cook case study 19:33 CrowsNest's experience working with Logitech 25:27 What do XR and AV mean for the virtual reality space? What is MR? 31:38 The limitations of the VR industry in China 36:19 The tools of the trade - the type of devices that can be used to experience VR? 39:

Matthieu David interviews Carlotta Godio, General Manager at FLATMIND Video Productions. How has video marketing grown in China in the past few years? What future trends in video marketing can we expect to see in China? Is censorship an issue when it comes to shooting thematic videos? These questions and more in this new China Paradigm podcast! Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction and company history 7:37 Flatmind’s work process – steps towards creating great media 19:53 Criteria for hiring the services of a video production agency – China vs The West 28:03 Flatmind’s approach to video production in China – “Video is a must for every brand.” 34:44 Bypassing censorship – how hard is it to shoot documentaries in China? 38:58 Getting aerial footage in China – drone piloting regulations 42:04 The future trends of video formats – a comparison to the present 48:04 Testing before publishing – is it a requirement? 49:02 How do you stay up to date with business in China? 50:41 Book suggestions for gaining

Matthieu David interviews TechNode.com’s editor in chief John Artman. In this China paradigm’s podcast, we get an insight into the Chinese tech scene as we discuss what makes great tech news and what makes TechNode the best resource for staying up to date with the Chinese tech market. How is the tech scene different in China compared to the West? What is TechNode’s business model and how influential are they in promoting new technology in China? Let’s find out! Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction and work history 7:34 Handling the Chinese tech info – TechNode’s editorial line management 9:51 Picking out the best topics – what is newsworthy for TechNode? 12:25 TechNode and TechCrunch – what unites them and what makes them different? 19:21 TechNode’s business model – much more than media 23:52 TechNode’s business philosophy – the customer is the end-user 27:44 Podcasting in China vs podcasting in The West – “Conversations are just fun!” 37:55 Complying with censorship in China 41:46 TechNode’s p

Matthieu David interviews Sandrine Delabrière, Innovation & Strategic marketing consultant, Food expert - certified Chef, instructor & author. Is innovation something that can be taught? In this episode, we learn about teaching innovation through cooking and how Sandrine has managed to build her company by helping other companies think strategically and creatively. Her workshops are full of flavor! Let’s find out what the recipe for success is in this China Paradigm podcast. Skip to the highlights: 0:10 Guest introduction and company history 7:18 Cooking means innovation – building and improving the recipe 14:15 Strategic and creative thinking - where is learning crystalized? 17:38 Disruptive – an example of creative thinking 20:16 The Retail Safari – an alternative to jumpstart innovation 22:30 Ingredients, textures and aromas – how else can we learn innovation? 24:48 The key success factor for innovation 28:18 Is there a framework to help stimulate innovation? 32:07 The broader view - putting consumers at