1. Global Coronavirus cases reach 10 million
Global cases of Covid-19 have reached 10 million and the US makes up for 25%. This is followed by Brazil, Russia and India as the pandemic continues to rage on across the world.
The US in particular has seen a steady increase of cases as states and economies re-open, especially in the South and West.
In Texas, bars are again being ordered to close as the state deals with a surge in cases, reporting over 5,000 on Saturday. On the same day, Florida reported more than 9,500 new cases as both states reverse their re-opening plans
Luckily, Many of the newer cases are among younger people, who tend to be less likely to suffer the worst outcomes from the virus.
In New York and other large states that saw the worst of America’s epidemic in the early weeks, numbers of new cases have dropped dramatically and stayed down for now.
2. The Facebook revolt is here
Brands are pushing hard against Facebook now as the social media giant begins to see controversy regarding political speech, racism and censorship.
The move is part of a boycott of Facebook and Instagram organized by the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and other organizations called the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign.
The Stop Hate For Profit campaign launched last week, starting with North Face and Patagonia.
Coca-Cola, Unilever, Diageo and Verizon are some of the global names that are pledging to pause all social media advertising starting July 1st, at least for one month.
“We will take this time to reassess our advertising standards and policies to determine whether revisions are needed internally, and what more we should expect of our social media partners to rid the platforms of hate, violence and inappropriate content,” wrote Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey.
3. Microsoft will permanently close all retail stores
The future of retail is here. The 4 Microsoft locations in NYC, London, Sydney, and Redmond will be turned into experience centers, but all the other stores beyond that will be permanently shut down.
This plan was originally in place for next year, but was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past decade, Microsoft began to expand its retail presence in an effort to create a shopping experience similar to Apple’s.
“Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,” wrote Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter.
This means more investment in digital stores, and a reimagined retail space and assistance for Microsoft customers.
4. Lazada appoints 3rd CEO in two years
Southeast Asia’s ecommerce giant Lazada has a new group CEO, Chun Li, Alibaba veteran and co-president of Lazada Indonesia, will take over from Pierre Poignan. This is the 3rd CEO within two years.
With 98% ownership, Alibaba has now invested more than $4 billion in total into the ecommerce empire, with Singapore as its HQ.
“Some people are great at driving growth and others better at consolidating the business. My sense is the company may now focus less on growth and be more mindful of the burn rate,” said Roshan Raj Behera, a partner at consulting firm RedSeer to the Financial Times.
Competition is fierce in Southeast Asia as Lazada competes with Sea Group’s Shopee, as well as other local players in each of its markets. Ecommerce is a money bleeding vertical where platforms have to be willing to spend billions in order to gain traction. Alibaba itself is also an investor in Indonesia’s ecommerce platform, Bukalapak.
A consolidation amongst Alibaba’s entities could very well steal the market share away from Shopee, who sped fast Lazada in markets like Vietnam and Malaysia in terms of monthly active users.
Why is Lazada potentially trailing after Shopee? One guess, Shopee is actually more skilled in localizing marketing efforts and tailoring its products to fit each domestic Southeast Asian market. Alibaba has always been used to a ‘one size fits all’ China strategy.