Has the internet set industries back? Some thoughts on Zhong Shanshan's remarks

The internet is a tool and channel, which should be a neutral term. I don't think it's necessary to view e-commerce platforms and live streaming as monsters. Live streaming is a tool, live commerce is a new form of expression, and content e-commerce is a new channel. I believe these are all neutral.

Does the internet lower the price system? This statement requires reflection on causes and effects. Which product categories and brands can the internet reduce prices for? Why can it lower these prices? And which categories and prices cannot be reduced?

The competition in the bottled water category has a white-label trend. Nongfu Spring's red bottle costs 2 yuan, while the green bottle costs 1 yuan. Regardless of which tastes sweeter, Nongfu Spring's launch of the green bottle water is an offensive move rather than defensive. This reflects that the "water war" has intensified. Facing the price war in bottled water, the red bottle's competitive advantage and pricing power are not that strong. Currently, e-commerce and community group buying are flooded with various bottled water brands. Does this indicate that competition in the water category is shifting from brand wars to white-label competition?

Government intervention should focus on regulation and industry standards, not prices. Mr. Zhong mentioned that the government should intervene in the industry, but I believe the government should not interfere in price wars themselves. For example, if Nongfu's red bottle sells for 2 yuan and now introduces a 1 yuan green bottle, how can the government intervene? Should they dictate prices at 0.8 yuan or 1.5 yuan? The government does not have the ability to guide pricing; it should be left to enterprises and the market. As long as the bottled water sold by companies and brands meets industry standards and food safety regulations, the government should not intervene.

By the way, selling pirated books and selling 0.8 yuan bottled water are completely different matters. Selling pirated books is illegal.

Industry upgrades or regression are determined by each participant in the industry. Whether it's water, beverages, apparel, or digital products like mobile phones, industry progress or regression should be decided by each participating company and competition—that is, the "market." In the short term, there might be phenomena like bad money driving out good, but over time, excellent companies will prevail. For example, in the mobile phone industry, knockoff phones were once popular at a certain stage, but they disappeared over time. $NONGFU SPRING(9633.HK) $PDD(PDD.US)