Brian A. Wong grew up in Silicon Valley, but it was in China where he helped shape the future of digital retail. In 1999, Wong was only the 52nd person—and the first American—whom Alibaba founder Jack Ma hired.

At the time, Alibaba was a fledgling B2B website that helped Chinese manufacturers reach an international market. But in the last 23 years, it has become a powerhouse, with businesses including Taobao, a C2C marketplace similar to eBay, and TMall, which is more like Amazon.

Wong, who lives in Shanghai, is the author of The Tao of Alibaba, which was published on November 1. We talked about Alibaba starting at a time when the Chinese government’s then-new economic reforms allowed it to revolutionize e-commerce, the enormity of Singles Day, and why he stopped thinking of the US as lighting the way for retail’s future.

When online shopping began in the US in the 1990s, there already were decades of malls, and Americans were pretty enthusiastic and sophisticated consumers. But you write that when you moved to China in 1999, retail there was pretty basic.

In America, e-commerce is the dessert, and in China, e-commerce is the main course. So you started in America with shopping malls and a very developed retail infrastructure. When e-commerce came along, it was a nice-to-have, something that enhanced your life, but it wasn’t the core of how you purchase. When I came [to China] from the US, there were shopping malls…in places like Shanghai that everyone would go to because they knew that they were the best places to get the really cool stuff, but everywhere else was boring—like dry, kind of generic products.

Keep reading here.—AAN

For those superlatives in the high school yearbook, you probably got Most Likely to Succeed. (We got Biggest Flirt.) We checked with the yearbook advisor, Ms. Pierce, and she said it would be OK if we did some superlatives for The SKU Retail Brew Summit we hosted recently.

Best crowdsourced request for a celebrity collab

After our own Erin Cabrey noted from the stage that Lizzo had made a salad that Baked by Melissa founder Melissa Ben-Ishay had shared on TikTok, Ben-Ishay let it rip: “If anybody knows Lizzo, I want to do Baked by Mel-Lizzo vegan cupcakes. I’m manifesting it, if anybody knows Lizzo.”

Best obscure fact about a brand that you’ll be telling people at cocktail parties

Some people wear Croc straps in the front, and some wear them in the back on their heels. From the stage, Heidi Cooley, SVP and CMO at Crocs, informed attendees that there’s a term for when you wear the strap in the back: sport mode.

Best “OK, Boomer” moment

“We’re not necessarily thinking about [Boomers] when it comes to marketing…We’re fascinated with the Gen X/Gen Z equation.”—Ruth Bernstein, co-founder and CEO at Yard NYC

Biggest laughs at a session

When Morning Brew’s B2B executive editor Josh Sternberg, who’s bearded, told Tyler Wilson, head of brand experience at Zappos who has epic, ZZ Top-worthy facial hair, that he had “a very luscious, lovely beard.” And when Sternberg asked Wilson how he styles it, there was this: “My wife wanted this thing called a Dyson Airwrap for Christmas, and when I looked at it, I said, ‘That’s absurd—that’s the most expensive hair dryer I’ve ever seen. So first, I was against it, but I gave in. And now I use the Dyson Airwrap almost every day on my beard. I use it more than she does, actually. So plug for Dyson.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

“It doesn’t matter if you are a sneaker manufacturer, trucking business, or fast food chain, digital products are now taking center stage. And for traditional brick-and-mortar companies, these new digital products—whether they’re mobile apps, virtual try-ons, inventory tracking systems, or voice-ordering systems—require new processes, KPIs, and accounting,” writes CFO Brew’s Drew Adamek:

That’s where the chief product officer (CPO) comes in. As digital-first business models become increasingly important, CPOs are helping organizations create new products and align strategies with a company’s value proposition.

As companies across a wide spectrum transition to a more digital-first business model, in which the products themselves create new sales, marketing, and customer retention opportunities, CPOs are starting to gain prominence at more traditional, non-tech companies.

Read the whole story here on CFO Brew.—DA

Today’s top retail reads.

Fruit to bear: When consumers think of underwear brands, Fruit of the Loom is one of the first names to pop up. But even with a storied history, the company has realized that it needs to bring younger shoppers into the fold with new marketing tactics and environmentally-friendly products. (Modern Retail)

Don’t greenwash me: Many of the largest companies in the world have made promises to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, but the science shows many of these promises are largely empty. (Bloomberg)

Winners and losers: Yes, inflation has drastically affected how consumers shop for the essentials, but grocery stores and restaurants are seeing record profits as shoppers have no other options. (the New York Times)

Can you beat the boss level? To show you how Smartsheet makes project management of any scale intuitive and frictionless, we designed this snazzy interactive so you can see just how easy it is to power up against the unexpected and build your best work yet. Try it here.*

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The retail and e-commerce industries are suffering from inflation, recession, supply-chain issues, and more. Our analysts revisit their 2022 industry predictions to inform you on the year’s end.

The numbers you need to know.

Just like fake news, fake reviews can get under people’s skin. It turns out that creating fake reviews hurts brands’ and retailers’ trust with their consumers—not to mention their bottom line.

More than half (52%) of consumers say fake reviews make them lose trust in a brand, according to a Bazaarvoice survey of 10,000 shoppers.

• Plus, 81% said they wouldn’t use a brand again after losing trust in it, while 48% would leave a negative review. 16% even said they would post about the company on social media.

“Brand trust is one of the most valuable assets on the balance sheet,” Bazaarvoice CMO Zarina Stanford said in a statement. “Harnessing the power of the voice of the customer is crucial for today’s always-on commerce.”

A majority of consumers (70%) believe industry standards around fake reviews need to change. About 59% believe that only verified customers should be able to post reviews, and 56% say that all products should be tested before going to market.

• “Authentically posted reviews—both positive and negative—is by far the most powerful way to utilize the voice of your customer to earn trust and purchase conversion,” Stanford said.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Lessons on discounting this holiday shopping season
• Where experts say the next warehouse hotspots will be
• Fashion retailers should push gift cards and discounts this holiday season