​Read online​

Dear Readers,

Firstly, thanks to everyone who got in touch after last week's relaunch. i am testing what the best way is to serve you on Sundays.

My weekly article on Wednesday was interrupted by unplanned tasks around the house. Hopefully, I will get to sending the first mid-week post on Wednesday.

The three stories on my mind this week:

1. Amazon goes deeper into AI and launches grocery in South Africa. Amazon is often viewed as an AI laggard. I tend to disagree as the company is in a prime position for the future. Amazon is one of the few incumbents that owns the trinity of compute, models, and applications, and has used them to make their operations more efficient. So when I read that Lab126, which researches and develops Amazon's hardware, will be getting an AI group, it feels like another sign that OpenAI's acquisition of Jonny Ive's startup is the start of another arms race. Amazon's marketplace business in Germany has potential anti-competitive challenges (here we go again), and the company has launched grocery in South Africa. Selling consumer packaged goods in a
2. Mercado Libre faces a growing battle in Brazil []in Portuguese]. I find Brazil a fascinating market, as it's the most significant digital market and has become highly competitive. Amazon was one of the first global businesses to enter the market, but over the last 18 months, we have seen Chinese cross-border marketplaces placing more importance on the market. AliExpress partnered with Magazine Luiza, but SHEIN, Temu, and TikTok Shop have had to contend with regulations, including changes in customs taxes and duties. The dark horse who continues to put pressure on the entire market is Shopee. I would also like to add that Meituan will soon be operating in Brazil through its international business, Keeta.
3. Tokopedia in Indonesia is struggling post-acquisition. I find acquisitions interesting - but even more so when you are able to view them years after. In Indonesia we have had a very unique situation that was created by a ride-hailing app (Gojek) and a horizontal marketplace (Tokopedia).. Tokopedia raised funds from Alibaba and other top tier investors amid Gojek battling Grab. These companies merged due to an inability to raise funds. Fast forward a few years and TikTok Shop mase Indonesia a prioirty but theur business model got regulators attention. TikTok Shop was then banned from using their original business model but then decided it would side-step regulators by buying Tokopedia for a reported value of $1.5 billion. Tokopedia has since had layoffs and aresupposedly struggling to integrate with ByteDance/TikTok. Tokopedia sellers have struggled to use promotions, utilize third-party logistics to deliver items to customers and are concerned that small to medium sized businesses will see the end of their initial success on Tokopedia due to business model changes.

From the Future: The Information broke the news that Amazon is testing humanoid delivery. Read more here.I think its increasingly obvious that Amazon will want to automate as much as possible related to logistics to robotics. How do this experience communicate trust to consumers? Asking for a friend.

​Episode Two of the Ostrich Report is OUT, and we discuss DTC businesses turning their backs on marketplaces.

Feel free to reply to this email - I respond to all comments from readers.

​Onwards,

Hendrik

The content here is for informational purposes only and should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice. It does NOT constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase any investment or a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The content is not directed to any investor or potential investor and may not be used to evaluate or make any investment.

This was edition number 315, sent on 8 June 2025.