Amazon vs.

China: How the World's Biggest Store Lost the World's Biggest Market

(Video opens with a high-energy, fast-paced montage. Epic, confident corporate music plays.)

VISUALS:

 Quick cuts of a massive, automated Amazon fulfillment center with Kiva robots zipping
around.

 An Amazon Prime delivery van speeding through a suburban American street.

 A shot of Jeff Bezos laughing triumphantly on a stage.

 Amazon delivery drones flying over a European city.

NARRATOR (Hinglish, energetic and authoritative):

Yeh hai Amazon. Duniya ki sabse badi online dukaan. America se Europe tak, inka raaj chalta hai.

(Abrupt cut to silence. The music stops. The visual style changes dramatically.)

VISUALS:

 A static, slightly dated screenshot of the Amazon China (amazon.cn) homepage. It looks clean
but empty.

 Hard cut to a vibrant, chaotic Taobao live stream on a phone. A host is energetically
showcasing a product, with comments and animated gifts flying across the screen.

 A sleek JD.com delivery drone landing on a balcony in a futuristic Chinese city.

 A point-of-view shot of someone paying for street food using a QR code on their phone.

 The music returns, but it's now a dynamic, modern, slightly electronic track with an Asian
influence.

NARRATOR:

Lekin ek jagah... ek market aisi thi jahan yeh 'everything store' sab kuch haar gaya.

(Text overlay appears on screen as the narrator speaks.)

TEXT OVERLAY:

Amazon's Market Share in China (2019): < 1% 1

NARRATOR:

Yeh kahani hai Amazon ke Cheen mein haarne ki. Aur is haar ke peeche chhupe hain chaar bade
kaaran, jo har global company ke liye ek sabak hai.

(Title card appears with cinematic flair.)

TITLE CARD:

AMAZON vs. CHINA

How the World's Biggest Store Lost the World's Biggest Market
Chapter 1: The $75 Million Gamble

VISUALS:

 Transition to archival footage of Beijing and Shanghai in the early 2000s. Streets filled with
bicycles, early model cars, and less modern skyscrapers. The sound of a dial-up modem
briefly plays.

 Show screenshots of very basic, early Chinese websites.

NARRATOR:

Saal 2004. China mein internet ek nayi cheez thi. E-commerce ka matlab tha kitaabein aur CD's. Aur is
market ka Badshah tha Joyo.com. 2

(A screenshot of the old Joyo.com homepage appears. A photo of a young, ambitious-looking Lei
Jun fades in beside it.)

VISUALS:

 An animated timeline shows Joyo.com founded in 2000.

TEXT OVERLAY:

Founder: Lei Jun (Later founded Xiaomi) 4

NARRATOR:

Jeff Bezos ki nazar China par thi, jahan 80 million log online aa chuke the. 6 Market mein zero se start
karne ke bajaye, unhone market leader ko hi khareed liya. $75 million mein. Ek smart move, hai na? 1

VISUALS:

 An animated world map shows Amazon's global empire in 2004. An arrow dramatically
points from the US to China.

 A briefcase icon with "$75 Million" lands on China.

 Show an actual press release headline from August 2004 about the acquisition.

 The old Joyo.com logo is shown, and then the iconic Amazon "grin" animates underneath it,
just as it appeared in reality. 8

NARRATOR:

Amazon ko laga unhone China ka darwaza khol liya hai. Unhone Joyo ki local team ko rakha, Cash on
Delivery jaise "unique challenges" ko acknowledge kiya, aur socha ki woh apna global template
yahan bhi fit kar denge. 9

(The tone of the music becomes slightly ominous, foreshadowing what's to come.)

NARRATOR:
Lekin asal mein, woh ek aise kamre mein ghuse the jiske rules woh jaante hi nahi the. Kyunki usi
waqt, do local dragons apni aag taiyar kar rahe the.

Chapter 2: The Rise of the Local Dragons

VISUALS:

 The scene shifts to more serious archival news footage of the 2003 SARS epidemic in China.
Empty streets, people in masks, a sense of crisis. Somber music plays.

NARRATOR:

2003 mein China par SARS epidemic ka saaya tha. Log gharon mein band the. Aur isi majboori se
janm hua do e-commerce krantiyon ka. Yeh sirf online dukaan kholna nahi tha, yeh crisis mein society
ki do sabse badi problems solve karna tha: Trust aur Delivery. 10

(The music shifts, becoming more determined and innovative.)

Alibaba: The Digital Bazaar

VISUALS:

 A picture of a young Jack Ma.

 An animated graphic clearly explains the Taobao model: millions of small, individual sellers
connecting directly with buyers in a vibrant marketplace.

 This is contrasted with a graphic of the eBay model, where a fee is taken for listings, turning
some sellers away.

NARRATOR:

Ek taraf the Jack Ma. Unhone banaya Taobao - ek online mela. Yahan koi bhi apni dukaan khol sakta
tha, free mein. 11 Aur payment ki tension? Uske liye 2004 mein banaya Alipay - ek digital locker jo
paise tabhi release karta jab customer samaan milne par satisfied ho. Isne online shopping ka sabse
bada dar, trust deficit, khatam kar diya. 10

(Visuals shift to the spectacle of Singles' Day.)

VISUALS:

 A fast-paced montage of the 11.11 Singles' Day festival. Countdown clocks, celebrities on
stage, massive crowds, and rapidly increasing sales numbers flashing on giant screens.

NARRATOR:

Aur phir 2009 mein, unhone 11/11, yaani Singles' Day, ko duniya ke sabse bade shopping festival
mein badal diya. Ek din mein billion dollars ki sales! 14
JD.com: The Delivery Machine

VISUALS:

 A picture of Liu Qiangdong.

 An animation shows a delicate electronic product (like a camera) being handled roughly by a
generic third-party courier and breaking.

 The animation then transitions to show JD.com building its own massive, high-tech
warehouses and deploying its own fleet of delivery personnel in their distinct red uniforms.

NARRATOR:

Doosri taraf the Liu Qiangdong. Unki company, JD.com, bechti thi original electronics. Lekin delivery
mein samaan toot jaata tha. 10 Solution? 2007 se, JD ne apni khud ki delivery army bana di.
Warehouse se lekar aapke darwaze tak, sab kuch JD ke control mein. 16

TEXT OVERLAY:

JD.com's Promise: 100% Authentic Products & Same-Day Delivery 18

(An animated graphic appears, summarizing the competitive landscape.)

VISUALS:

 A dynamic table animates on screen, comparing the three giants side-by-side with icons and
bold text.

Player Business Model Key Strength Logistics Secret Weapon

Amazon B2C Direct Retail Global Brand, Own Fulfillment Prime (Global)
Selection Centers (Slow)

Alibaba C2C/B2C Community, Low Asset-Light (3rd Alipay & Social

Marketplace Prices Party) Commerce

JD.com B2C Direct Retail Authenticity, Self-Owned (Ultra- In-house Delivery

Logistics Fast) Network

NARRATOR:

Ek taraf Alibaba ka 'sab kuch milega' wala bazaar, doosri taraf JD ka 'asli milega, jaldi milega' wala
promise. Aur inke beech mein phans gaya tha Amazon ka global, one-size-fits-all model.

Chapter 3: Lost in Translation: The Four Fatal Flaws

Flaw 1: The Culture Code

VISUALS:

 A split-screen shows the Amazon.cn website on the left and the Taobao mobile app on the
right. The Amazon site is minimalist and clean. The Taobao app is bustling with icons,
banners, live stream windows, and interactive elements.

NARRATOR:

Amazon ki pehli galti thi unka user experience. Unki website saaf-suthri, simple, global standard ki
thi. Lekin Chinese consumers ko yeh boring lagi. Unhe Taobao jaisi 'colorful' aur 'chaotic' site pasand
thi, jahan shopping ek discovery, ek entertainment tha. 19

VISUALS:

 An animation shows a user on Taobao clicking a button to pay instantly with Alipay (a single
tap).

 The same user on Amazon is shown fumbling to enter credit card details, a much slower and
more cumbersome process.

NARRATOR:

Amazon ne Alipay jaise local payment systems ko integrate nahi kiya. Aur Singles' Day jaise shopping
festivals ko ignore kiya, jabki unke competitors sales ke saare records tod rahe the. Woh ek mobile-
first desh mein desktop-first soch ke saath kaam kar rahe the. 19

Flaw 2: The Ivory Tower

VISUALS:

 An animated graphic depicts a long, convoluted line of communication. A suggestion bubble

emerges from an office in China, travels slowly across a world map to Amazon's HQ in
Seattle, gets stuck in a series of spinning bureaucratic gears labeled "Meetings" and
"Approvals," and finally returns to China months later, faded and irrelevant.

 Meanwhile, on the China side of the map, the logos of Alibaba and JD.com grow larger and
more dominant.

NARRATOR:

Doosri galti: Centralized Control. Amazon ki sabse badi global taakat - unka standardized, centrally
controlled system - China mein unki sabse badi kamzori ban gayi. 22 China ke saare bade faisle
Seattle mein hote the. Local managers, jo aksar non-Chinese hote the, unke paas power hi nahi thi ki
woh market ke hisaab se tezi se decision le sakein. 20 Jab tak Seattle se approval aata, tab tak game
hi badal chuka hota tha.

Flaw 3: The Last Mile Problem

VISUALS:

 A split-screen race. On the right, a JD.com courier on an electric scooter skillfully navigates
through traffic. A timer shows "Delivery in: 57 minutes."

 On the left, an Amazon package is shown moving slowly through a large fulfillment center.
The timer shows "Delivery in: 2 Days."

 Show headlines and stats about China's "instant retail" boom.

NARRATOR:

Teesri aur shayad sabse badi galti: Delivery speed. China mein customers ko same-day, hatta ki 30-
minute delivery ki aadat ho chuki thi. 24 Yeh koi luxury nahi, basic expectation thi. Amazon apne 15
fulfillment centers ke bawajood, abhi bhi 2 din ya usse zyada ki delivery de raha tha. 20 Unke liye fast
delivery ek premium service thi; Chinese customers ke liye, yeh default standard tha.

Flaw 4: The Social Disconnect

VISUALS:

 A screen recording of a user on the Taobao app. They click on a product, then open a chat
window (AliWangWang) and have a real-time text conversation with the seller, asking about
size and material. 26

 Cut to a screen recording of a Taobao Live session. An influencer (KOL) is demonstrating a

lipstick. Thousands of viewers are commenting, asking questions, and a "Buy Now" button is
pulsing on the screen. Sales numbers are ticking up live. 27

 Cut to a static Amazon product page. There is only a product image, a bullet-point
description, and an "Add to Cart" button. It feels silent and isolated.

NARRATOR:

Aur chauthi galti: Social Connection ki kami. China mein e-commerce ek social activity hai. Log seller
se direct baat karna chahte hain, aapse mein bargain karna chahte hain, trust build karna chahte
hain. 11 Taobao ne live chat aur live streaming se shopping ko ek community event bana diya tha.
Amazon ka platform transactional tha, anonymous tha. Yahan koi baat-cheet nahi, koi community
nahi, sirf 'Add to Cart'. Yeh Chinese culture se ekdum disconnected tha.

Chapter 4: The Great Retreat

VISUALS:

 A dramatic, full-screen animated line graph tracks market share from 2008 to 2019.

 Amazon's line starts at a peak of 15.4% in 2008 and then plummets downwards over the
years. 28
  The lines for Tmall (Alibaba) and JD.com start lower but then soar upwards, crossing
Amazon's line and dominating the graph.

 Key years and market share figures are highlighted. (2016: <1%, 2018: 0.6%) 20

NARRATOR:

Numbers jhoot nahi bolte. 2008 mein, Amazon ka China mein market share 15% se zyada tha. Ek
decade baad, yeh 1% se bhi kam ho gaya. Game over ho chuka tha.

(A timeline appears on screen, marking the key dates of Amazon's withdrawal.)

VISUALS:

 2019: A news headline: "Amazon to shut down domestic marketplace in China." 1

 2023: An image of a Kindle e-reader with a closing notification on the screen. "Kindle Store
to close in China." 30

 2025: A blurred-out internal memo or news article about the AI lab. "Amazon dissolves
Shanghai AI Lab." 31

NARRATOR:

2019 mein, Amazon ne officially haar maan li. Unhone apna online marketplace band kar diya. Phir
Kindle store, phir App store... ek-ek karke, Amazon China se vida leta gaya. 32

(The music becomes more reflective.)

NARRATOR:

Official reason kabhi 'strategy shift' toh kabhi 'political tensions' bataya gaya. Lekin asli sach yeh tha ki
Amazon race haar chuka tha, saalon pehle. Regulatory problems bhi the, lekin woh sirf ek chhota
hissa the. Asli haar unki strategy ki thi. 34

Conclusion: Lessons from the Great Wall

VISUALS:

 Slow, cinematic shots summarizing the entire story: an old Joyo.com screenshot, a vibrant
Taobao live stream, a JD.com delivery drone in flight, and finally, the desolate Amazon.cn
homepage.

NARRATOR:

Toh Amazon China mein fail kyun hua? Iska jawab ek line mein hai: Unhone China ko badalne ki
koshish ki, bajaye iske ki woh khud China ke liye badalte. Woh apna global rulebook ek aise game
mein le aaye jiske rules har din badal rahe the. 36

(The camera pulls back from a map of China to reveal a full world map. A glowing pin drops on
India.)

NARRATOR:
Amazon ki yeh kahani sirf China ki nahi hai. Yeh ek sabak hai. Ki aap duniya ke sabse bade ho sakte
hain, lekin agar aap local customer ki nabz nahi pakadte, toh aapki haar tay hai. Culture yahan koi
soft factor nahi, ek hard, strategic reality hai. Chahe woh China ho... ya India.

(Final shot: The Amazon logo is superimposed over the world map, then slowly fades to black.)

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