Page 59 - How China Is Winning the Tech Race

CHAPTER THREE

Peggy YuYu, a cofounder of the Chinese online bookseller Dangdang.com, has shown how to
copy and then outsmart Amazon.com in China. She's also created the largest Chinese online
retailer. In the process, she’s revolutionized the Chinese book market and probably is
headed for an initial public offering.

Dangdang.com—
The Amazon-Plus of
China

hina’s largest bookstore, the
Cfive-story Beijing Book Store,
houses some 230,000 titles and makes
a Wal-Mart look small. On row after
row of shelves, there are investment
books, kids’ books, art books, and
miles of textbooks. There are best
sellers by John Grisham and Stephen
King in Mandarin, along with Jack
Welch’s Winning and The Warren
Buffett Way. On the lower level, I find
a small English-language section complete with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci
Code.
Although the familiar titles make me feel at home, the state-owned store
falls short on customer service, convenience, and selection. The aisles are
narrow, and the crowds are thick, with students sitting cross-legged on the
floor, poring over books. Security guards hover at the escalators. Where’s a
comfy chair to lounge in and read a book? Where’s the coffee shop to pick up
a cappuccino and a pastry?

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Copyright © 2008 by Rebecca A. Fannin. Click here for terms of use.