A Polish restauranteur and entrepreneur, Christopher Przemyski (Chris) founded Bistro Concept Group in 2015. Thereafter, he created a portfolio of themed restaurants congregated around Sai Ying Pun and nearby Central district on Hong Kong Island. His restaurants are designed around a strategy of affordable good food in an artsy environment. He was eager to improve the restaurants turnover for both dine-in and takeaway. The Case provides an overview of the business model of online food delivery platforms, the competitive dynamics, and the industry's efforts in market development. It serves as a canvas for students to learn price setting and multichannel price management when designing integrated marketing programs.

Sincerity International Group is a Chinese company set up in 2003 by Dr. Zhang Lian, an alumnus of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), to tap Africa's demand for two-wheelers. The case provides an overview of the motorcycle market in Africa, its features and characteristics, and the threats and opportunities the region presented. It explains how Dr. Zhang Lian, the founder, crafts an uncontested market space by leveraging China's mature supply chain to create a branded line of motorcycles, accessories, and service, integrating product design, manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution and logistics, aftersales service, and maintenance. It aims to (1) understand how Sincerity uses "blue ocean" strategy for growth and achieves phenomenal success; (2) identify the key reasons for Sincerity's rapid development; (3) identify the major challenges thereafter, and (4) evaluate strategies for Sincerity to sustain growth.

Perfect Diary is the first Chinese beauty brand based on a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business model. Launched by Yixian E-Commerce in 2017, it is designed to be an affordable alternative to foreign cosmetics brands, targeting Gen Zs and millennials in China. It was the number one brand in China's online color cosmetics market in 2019. Its parent company Yixian went public under the name Yatsen Holding Limited (NYSE:YSG) in November 2020. The brand had achieved enviable growth from startup, with revenue reaching USD655.2mn in 2021. However, things soon took a downturn for Perfect Diary. Growth stalled, and eventually its sales started to decline in 2022. The case aims to (1) illustrate how Perfect Diary used a blue ocean strategy and internet strategy to grow and expand; (2) identify the key reasons of its rapid decline; and (3) explore strategic options for the brand to regain success.

The case is about Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), once Southeast Asia's most valuable listed company with a market capitalisation of over USD231 billion in October 2021. The company began as an online game distribution platform, and quickly evolved into a digital services ecosystem with an offering that included e-commerce and digital financial services. Being mobile-centric and focusing on emerging markets are at the core of Sea Limited's business model. In two post IPO fundraisings in December 2020 and in September 2021, it had amassed close to USD10 billion from the market. Investors were bullish towards Sea's prospects for growth. Yet, the global macro socio-economic conditions were challenging. Geopolitical tension between the US and China is increasing. Supply chains are disrupted. Interest rates are climbing, and the threat of global recession looms large. The case asks, under such conditions, how can Sea Limited address these challenges and realise its potential for further growth?

The case captures the experience of a customer in a service failure incident when ordering a Porsche Taycan, and the recovery process managed by the local dealer. It outlines in detail the customer's journey from first contact in a test-drive to placing the order, and finally, taking ownership of the new car. Descriptions include the negotiations and interactions between the customer and the salesperson in addressing the service failure and its recovery. The case unfolds with the head of Customer Relations at Porsche learning about the incident from a routine customer satisfaction report. Key decisions faced by the manager involve conducting a root cause analysis of the incident as well as finding recommendations to improve internal processes in handling customer complaint and in recovery. The case covers concepts of root cause analysis, double deviation in service failure, theories of justice in service recovery, customer satisfaction management, and on a secondary level, dealership management.

The case describes the development of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled recruitment automation software Talkpush and how it leveraged the technology of open application programming interface (API) to address changes in consumer's communication preferences, and create a software as a service (SaaS) business. In 2021, Talkpush was handling 12 million hiring conversations per annum, forming one of the largest conversational databases in recruitment. It applied speech recognition to convert audio to text, and recognized over 45,000 "intents" through natural language processing (NLP). Recognizing the vast amount of data-voice, text, and images-that could be mined for business insights or used as training data for machine learning, Talkpush's founder Max Ambruster was eager to look for a strategy to extract value from the company's growing data assets.

This case uses the experience of a professor at a prominent business school who is involved in a grade dispute with a number of students as an opportunity to introduce core business ethics concepts. After receiving low grades in a course, a number of students appeal their grades. Unbeknownst to the professor, the students' appeals are processed and their grades are adjusted without the professor being given an opportunity to defend her rationale for the original grades. Unhappy with the result, she unsuccessfully raises this issue internally both within her business school as well as with her parent university. Eventually, the professor even considers pursuing a legal remedy. Through the case, core ethical principles related to fairness, justice, and process can be explored by looking at the scenario from the students', instructor's, and the university's perspective. Additionally, there is an opportunity to reflect on what the professor should do next. Should she continue to speak-up and act based on her principles? This is an ideal case to use at the beginning of a semester because the university context will be familiar to all participants. Through the case, foundational ethical concepts can be introduced that will set the stage for the remainder of any course that contains an ethics component.

The case captures the high-profile takeover of KUKA, the German industrial robotics gem, by the world's consumer appliances leader, the Midea Group ("Midea") in 2016. Against China's national agenda of Made In China 2025 ("MIC 2025"), the acquisition plays well to the narrative in the country, but it raised scepticism across Europe and in North America. Discussion will focus on examining the value chain of the two companies to identify areas of new value creation. The objective is to provide a canvas for students to explore strategies for growth, for competitive advantage, and for market leadership. Through the discussion and analysis, students will come to grasp the set of complex challenges facing a Chinese company on a cross-border M&A. The case also exposes the cultural differences between China and the developed economies, particularly in management culture and the culture for innovation, and provides the context for discussions on these issues.

Set in 2018, the case highlights the latest developments in China's retail industry, with a specific focus on online retail. The growing penetration of smartphones, rising popularity of social media, prevalence of trusted digital payment systems, and government policy to integrate the internet into the country's future social and economic development have set China on the course to be the global leader in e-commerce. Mobile technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things (IoT) technology have transformed the process of value creation and supply chain management for brands and retailers in China. In July 2018, Pinduoduo (PDD), a social commerce platform backed by Tencent successfully raised USD1.63bn in an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, making it one of the biggest US listings by Chinese firms in the previous four years. Established for less than three years, PDD's phenomenal rise to the number-three position in China surprised many in the industry, including market leaders Alibaba and JD.com. It developed a new online group purchase model, teaming buyers via social media and focusing on consumer demands from rural regions. Its steep growth underscores PDD's success to investors. As the company enters its post-IPO era,what are the strategic options for PDD to sustain its growth?

The case recaps the development of a contemporary online furniture brand in China, and the path of development to ride on the wave of digital retail. From an art store in Beijing's 798 Art District to becoming an online furniture brand on Tmall, Uvanart has positioned itself as an "affordable and artistic" furniture brand and built quite a following in the last few years. But China's home furniture market is fiercely competitive. Traditional custom-furniture brands Oppein (欧派家居), Soufeiya (索菲亚), and Homekoo (尚品宅配) have all gone public. Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent have teamed up with retail mall operators Easy Home (居然之家) and Red Star Macalline (红星美凯龙), to gain a foothold in the growing market. Online furniture design brands like Zaozuo (造作) and Ziin (吱音) have won the hearts of China's millennial consumers as well as venture capitalists seeking high growth investment opportunities. Growth and scale are critical to Uvanart in the coming years. Was the "affordable and artistic" brand strategy a sustainable differentiation?

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and big data seem at odds with each other, but with the Healthy China 2030 blueprint and China's Internet Plus action plan announced in March 2015, the ambition of Gu Sheng Tang to integrate the two is not too far-fetched. GST's vision is to become a central intelligence unit for Chinese medicine, mining the extensive medical data it harvested toward building a big-data-driven TCM solution. Since inauguration in 2010, the Group has reinvented TCM's outpatient service with its Chinese Medicine Practitioner Partner Scheme, enabling experienced practitioners in the public sector to enter private practice. It has also developed an institutionalized supply chain integrating procurement, processing, testing, and prescription of herbal medicine. It operates an online platform for appointment scheduling and healthcare support services. In August 2017, the company successfully raised CNY1.1bn funding. How should the company use this cash injection to optimize its business strategy to take advantage of China's state mobilization of the Internet Plus strategy?

15fen (15分) was the name Henry He (贺鸿鸣) gave his first business venture - a neighborhood store (社区店) in Guangdong province, China, which promised home delivery of a grocer order within 15 minutes. His inaugural slogan was, "Staple Food & Seasoning, Everything At Your Doorstep in 15 Minutes". A first time entrepreneur, he was imbued with optimism towards internet retailing, and convinced that home delivery within 15 minutes was an unbeatable proposition. In no time, he learned the realities of the grocery business - low margin and hard labor - carrying bags of rice and tins of cooking oil from door to door. Back in 2012, China's internet retailing was dominated by Consumer Electronics, Apparel and Footwear and Consumer Appliances. Fresh Food was tipped to be the next big driver for e-commerce. Headlines such as "Fresh Food e-commerce will be the next blue ocean" were commonplace in the media, and they captured the imagination of aspiring entrepreneurs like Henry He. He was determined to ride this e-retailing wave to create his blue ocean in Fresh Food. But first, he must learn how to swim.

Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited (HKT) is a member firm of the PCCW conglomerate and Hong Kong's largest telecommunications company. With its core telecom business maturing, HKT has been exploring new business opportunities to sustain its growth momentum. In November 2011, HKT rolled out eSmartHealth; the first cloud-based health data management service in the territory. eSmartHealth aimed at providing integrated data on personal wellness and healthcare management. The business kicked off with a wellness management service targeting figure-conscious females, marathon lovers, and health-conscious urban dwellers. Over the next five years, eSmartHealth evolved its positioning from wellness to healthcare and explored new segments. HKT would typically give a new business venture a year's grace period to break even. But eSmartHealth was going into its sixth year and still looked like it was in the startup stage. Teresa Ng, the Head of marketing for HKT's consumer group, sensed the pressure to turn eSmartHealth around and make it a success was intensifying. She and her team realized that the generosity of top management would not persist if the business failed to make a decent profit.

It was October 2015, Charlie Wong, CEO of Zuji Hong Kong told the media at the launch of Zuji's new brand campaign "Search, Discover and Share" that he would like to see Zuji "become the Google for travel" in Hong Kong. Indeed, a deemed pioneer and leading online travel agent ("OTA") in Hong Kong, the aspiration did not seem far-fetched. Yet, the ambition was not without challenge. Since Zuji went online in 2002, the brand had been twice sold and its geographic coverage shrunk from six to three markets: Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Online travel booking had been slow picking up in Hong Kong. After more than 10 years, online sales remained at under 10% of the total market in Hong Kong, compared to the regional average of 25% in Asia Pacific. As momentum built up, Wong predicted the online travel agent ("OTA") market to quadruple, from 10% in 2014 to 40% in 2016. Meantime, competition from multiple fronts was flooding the market. Global leader Expedia had launched Expedia.com.hk in 2013, and was investing heavily in marketing to capture share. Traditional offline agents were busy expanding their online presence, building a hybrid model as competitive advantage. At the consumer end, mobile phones have become an indispensable travel companion and its implication went beyond the migration from one platform to another. Around the world, the industry was seeing the rise of the millennia travellers with new needs and expectations while on the road, and they were changing the rules of the game. Zuji is facing the biggest opportunity of its time to ride this wave of change and reinforced its market leadership.

The case is based on a situation faced by Hong Kong Television Network Limited (HKTV) in 2012, a leading player in Hong Kong's international direct dial (IDD) telephone and broadband Internet access industries. The protagonist is Ricky Wong Wai-kay (王維基), Chairman and Founder of HKTV who built his company by successfully challenging local oligopolies. Encouraged by the Hong Kong government's policy to promote more choices of quality programs in the free-to-air terrestrial television market (free TV), HKTV was one of three parties to apply for a license in 2009. At the time, two stations had free TV licenses; the dominant Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and troubled rival Asia Television Limited (ATV). To amass funds, Ricky sold the cash cow of his company, the broadband business, for around HKD5 billion. With the funds, HKTV started to hire staff and construct a large multimedia center. Ricky Wong's vision is that "together we can create TV miracles." How can he realize his vision? What will it take for him to compete successfully against TVB?

Georgie Yam arrived in Shanghai in the heat of summer in 2001. He was there on a mission: to develop the market and establish a distribution network for a German hair-care products manufacturer. Soon after he arrived in Shanghai, he discovered that this city, which had been described by an international guidebook as "a playground for foreign adventurers and socialites", fell short of hopes in meeting the demand for a modern indulgence: spa and massage services. Pondering a market that seemed chaotic but thriving, Yam wondered what would be his best bet to capture the opportunity.

Georgie Yam went to Shanghai in 2001 as consultant for a German hair-care product line. Being a massage enthusiast, he quickly spotted a gap in the city's spa market for a value-for-money relaxation product. One discussion with his colleague and soon-to-be business partner, Eve Zhou, cemented the decision to begin drafting plans for a Western-style spa with a mystical oriental touch. Dragonfly Therapeutic Retreats was launched in 2003. Within the first two years of operations, the partners had successfully opened three shops and had no plans of stopping there. By March 2009, Dragonfly operated a network of 20 local branches and three branches overseas. The question now was how to manage rapid expansion without compromising the brand and its high standards.

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, China's US$5.714 billion outdoor advertising market, like the city itself, underwent a major overhaul. With the advancement of communication technologies, China's outdoor media scene saw the arrival of more and more digital-driven media formats geared toward capturing a population that was increasingly on the move. The government initiative to overhaul the city landscape had facilitated significant consolidation of China's previously decentralized outdoor media market and redefined the competitive landscape, giving rise to a handful of major players. Tulip Mega Media was founded by retired Chinese Olympic swimming champion Zhuang Yong and partner Wang Min in 1998. By July 2008, Tulip Mega Media's footprint not only covered Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but stretched to a total of some 12 major cities in China. Its head-on competitor, Advision, another Shanghai-based outdoor digital media company, was racing against Tulip Mega Media in acquiring prime media sites and in attracting funding from the capital market. Could Tulip Mega Media rise to the challenge and replicate the success of some of its predecessors, such as Focus Media and AirMedia?

Hong Kong Disneyland was the Walt Disney Company's third theme park outside America, after Tokyo and Paris. From conception to opening, the government joint venture was subjected to the absolute scrutiny of the Hong Kong public. There was skepticism towards the equity of partnership and politicians accused the administration of selling Hong Kong's interest cheap. Negative publicity plagued the Hong Kong theme park leading up to the opening. Green groups asked the park to ban shark's fin soup from the resort's wedding banquet menu. District councilors accused Disney officials of discrimination for refusing to switch to the more environmentally friendly fireworks technology they used in California. Local unionists attacked the poor working conditions and long hours at the park. If those were only the tip of the iceberg, the ticketing fiasco during Chinese New Year hammered home the message--the Disney formula was not working. In September 2006, the Hong Kong theme park announced it had missed its first year attendance target of 5.6 million. Often criticized as the smallest Disneyland in the world, the Hong Kong theme park had been tipped as a "stepping stone" for the American company's entry into mainland China. If it was indeed to serve as a prototype for another Disneyland in China, it would be critical for the management of Hong Kong Disneyland to come up with a recovery plan and realign its strategy to improve its image, boost attendance, and deliver its revenue target. Explores what could be done to enhance the smooth delivery of the American fantasy in the alien culture of the Middle Kingdom.