Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

When brands are preparing to enter Chinese markets, Ashley Dudarenok tells them to “assume nothing.”

Ashley, the founder of China-based social media marketing firms Alarice and ChoZan, reminds companies to not underestimate the complexity of the nation’s market. When it comes to reaching consumers in China, she suggests that foreign KPI’s, benchmarks and even best-selling product lines are left behind.

In this episode of The Voice of Retail podcast, I sit down with fellow RETHINK Retail Top 100 Global Influencer Ashley Dudarenok to talk about the vast and digitally-centred niches within China’s retail market.

Ashley sheds light on how the pandemic has shaped the retail marketing space, from ageing populations to revenge consumption. We explore digital marketing calendars that are oriented around multi-day festivals, livestreaming in retail and insights on trends that might cross over to North American markets.

Ashley notes that large markets like that of China’s, can be a double-edged sword. As the potential to reach new customers increases, so does the opportunity for failure - especially if your marketing strategy is out of touch.

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Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of The Voice of Retail. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on the latest episodes, industry news, and insights. If you enjoyed this episode please consider leaving a rating and review, as it really helps us grow so that we can continue getting amazing guests on the show.

I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co!

Until next time, stay safe and have a great week!

Ashley Dudarenok 艾熙丽

🇨🇳 I'm a China watcher, 3-time Amazon bestselling author, global keynote speaker, vlogger, podcaster, media contributor and female leadership spokesperson. 👇👇👇

I'm the founder of:
🇨🇳 Chinese social media agency Alarice (alarice.com.hk)
🇨🇳 China digital academy ChoZan (chozan.co)
🔥FIRE self-development and mentorship program for professionals and entrepreneurs (firebyashley.com)

I've been named
🚀 LinkedIn Top Voice in Marketing
🚀 “Guru on Digital Marketing and Fast-evolving Trends in China” by Thinkers50
🚀 Young Business Leader Of The Year 2021 by IPWS, Women Leadership Award
🚀 Asia's Top 25 Innovator by the Holmes Report
🚀 Top 20 Visionaries of the Media & Technology by Adello Magazine
🚀 World’s Top 100 Retail Influencers by RETHINK Retail
🚀 100 B2B Thought Leaders To Follow in 2021 by Thinkers360

I am a member of:
✌️Alibaba's Global Influencer Entourage 2017-2021
✌️JD's Global China Experts Group 2018-2021
✌️I also worked directly with a Tencent co-founder to conquer Western social media from 2017 to 2019.

I'm an Amazon bestselling author of three books:
📖 Unlocking the World’s Largest E-Market: A Guide to Selling on Chinese Social Media
📖 Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs, and
📖 New Retail: Born in China, Going Global

I’m a global keynote speaker and masterclass facilitator. My topics include:
🚀 Modern Chinese Consumers
🚀 China’s Digital Marketing
🚀 China's New Retail and Technology

Since 2016, I've spoken at over 150 events across the globe for companies such as BMW, Disney, Shangri-La, Deutsche Bundesbank, Richemont, Li & Fung, Hang Lung Properties, Manulife, TEDx and many others.

🎥 I run the world’s #1 YouTube business vlog about the China market, consumers and social media at www.youtube.com/c/AshleyTalksChina.

🤓 I’m a regularly contributing to media such as TechNode, Jing Daily, The Next Web and the SCMP. I was featured on the BBC, Forbes, Bloomberg, CGTN, the WSJ, CNBC, WIRED, Huffington Post, Asia Times, HKET, Ming Pao and many others.

🎙 I’m the host of the AshleyTalks Podcast, where I interview top thought leaders from across Asia about entrepreneurship, marketing, women in business, China, tech and more.

📚 I’ve given lectures at HKU Space and done talks at the China Business Centre of Hong Kong PolyU and the National University of Singapore Business School.

#ashleytalks #china #digitalmarketing #socialmedia

The Voice of Retail podcast is presented by Hale, a performance marketing partner trusted by brands like ASICS, Saje, and Orangetheory to scale with focus and impact.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Ep.758 - La pizza Margherit*

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