Many executives in China - including those at the unicorns we surveyed for this report - will look back upon 2020 with a sense of achievement. Against the backdrop of economic uncertainty at home and abroad, Chinese unicorns showed extraordinary resilience to maintain growth momentum and carve out new opportunities in the rapidly changing environment.
The nine trends we observed from our latest China Unicorn CEO Survey coalesce into four distinct themes. As our research makes clear, the Chinese economy's V-shaped recovery last year helped unicorns blunt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the tailwind of a huge and fast-changing domestic market behind them, unicorn companies are generally optimistic of growth prospects in 2021. This is influencing their decision-making in myriad aspects, from where they prefer to tap capital markets for funding, to implement their business strategies for meeting new consumer dynamics in today's increasingly digital economy.
Unicorns also redefined their approaches on how to achieve sustainable profitable growths of business operations. Their strategic attention is now on profit, cost management and performance improvement, rather than traffic and valuations - representing a shift in focus towards managerial and financial health that reflects capital-intensive unicorns' need to create real commercial value.
Technological innovation is quickly becoming a core part of every unicorn's corporate strategy - as underscored by the rise in the number of companies investing heavily in R&D. Chinese unicorns are also adjusting their roles to embrace digital transformation opportunities but they need to do even more in this regard. But participation is not enough - unicorns will need to play a more active role in driving digitalisation in China.
For many enterprises, COVID-19 was an opportunity to define and demonstrate corporate purpose beyond maximising profit or growth. Businesses took advantage of the crisis to shape their corporate identity and tell a story that will leave traces long after the virus has been eradicated, China's unicorns unsurprisingly recognise the importance of corporate culture and principles, which are increasingly necessary for attracting and retaining skilled employees. They are also adopting a long-term perspective by factoring looming social and environmental risks such as climate change into their strategy and risk management.
Today's unicorns in China were already leaders of the digital economy, but they now have an opportunity in the post-pandemic era to lead and reshape the new economic and social landscape. The business challenge of a lifetime in 2020 burnished their track record in growth, innovation and digitalisation. Brimming with optimism and ambition, they are ready to grow into the global corporations of tomorrow and help the world turn the page on the pandemic.
Source: PwC
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