Phoenix: Facing the Disruptive Challenges of the Bike-Sharing Tide

This case mainly describes how Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle Co., Ltd. (abbreviation: Phoenix), with a history of over 100 years, was disrupted and changed after multiple impacts brought on by the Internet and e-commerce, especially the bike-sharing business model and related new technologies. Phoenix evolved over time not only by opening up e-commerce channels, but also by extending its product offering from a single bike to multiple ones through vertical and horizontal diversification. It also formed a strategic partnership with ofo, a bike-sharing company, to participate in the design and manufacture of shared bikes and acquired resources and capabilities that were beneficial to the Phoenix brand's development throughout the process. As the President of Phoenix presiding over its difficulties, Wang Chaoyang had come to realize more and more clearly that the changes brought by bike-sharing to the bike industry would be disruptive. This disruptive change would eventually lead to the redefinition of bike products. And this redefinition would lead to the failure of the traditional business model in the bike industry. As a result, Phoenix had undergone fundamental changes in marketing, products, and manufacturing. However, how should Phoenix respond effectively? What resources and capabilities should Phoenix prepare in order to respond successfully? In July 2019, Wang Chaoyang had been facing these problems for a while.