Creative Idea Powerhouse

China e-Commerce market place been a very challenging market ever. There are currently more than 56Million online merchants in China, according to a recent report published by AliResearch-the leading C2C e-Commerce platform in China. The total market size for Online Retailing in China for Y2009 also topping RMB200Billion (Aprox US$30Billion), growth from RMB128Billion in Y2008; a huge growth of market since Year 2002 when C2C market start to get into mainstream.

Base on the research published in Mandarin from AliResearch, what interested to me more is the data showed that there is total 13.2% of the online retailers are fresh graduates from universities. It shows that more and more graduates students are directly enter into online entrepreneurship since their graduation. Just have this data in your brain, there are 7million students graduates from universities directly enter into setup their own webstore and sell online in China! With 87million online consumer buying and consuming basically everything sell online, this is a market that cant be neglect.

There is no reason why we get to know today from the Techcrunch that Baidu and Rakuten is forming a new alliance to tap into the China Online retailing industry. Both of the company will invest a total of US$50mil into this new JV and Rakuten will control majority stake in this new formation JV. This is not the first time for Rakuten to handle the new JV for oversea expansion. In early Y2008, Rakuten has setup their first e-Commerce expansion in Taiwan, follow by Europe. In Y2009, Rakuten form  a new JV in Thailand with a local e-Commerce partner. The company continue to expand their foot print in oversea expansion into Malaysia in late Y2009 – according to some source, they worked with local Internet Tycoon – Malaysia Online (MOL.COM) in Malaysia e-Commerce development roadmap. In early Y2010, they have new plan, and they are now put their focus on the Asia soon to be largest e-Commerce marketplace. 100Million of online consumers, over US$50bil of market in Y2012; and what else, a fast growing of income level in all level of workforces in China that making them consume basically all the ‘import branded products’ from ‘Out of China’.

The strategic move, from my point of view, is pretty interesting as we can see in Y2010, another new high for e-Commerce development in Asia, particulary for China e-Marketplace. For instance, majority of these mid-income level netizens would like to consume and purchase ‘oversea’ branded products that rather than cheap and ‘look-alike’ products that are ‘made in China, brand by oversea’. Rakuten will employ the same strategies as they did for Taiwan market, to continue to ‘export’ Japanese products into neighbouring countries.

As I always believe, the Year 2010 will be a very exciting year for E-Commerce. The development of Internet has enter a new era where everything is going to be so realistic about turning CPM or your adveritising dollar into sales profit. Forget about a million of click through, or billion of impression if nothing convert into placement of orders. Show me the money, will be the most concern for business during this recovering period. More and more traditional retailers are seeking for ‘reasonable’ expansion to oversea. Rakuten model of exporting Jap products through B2C model into countries like Taiwan or China, are the model we are having the cross-selling model you can find in SMilDS.COM. As I said, the Y2010 is a rising year for e-Commerce! Fun and excitement!~

Philippines is a very interesting country when come to everything related to Internet and Digital. Filipino is one of the top 3 countries for reading blog online, texting SMS, posting photo, and top countries with Friendster usage, and growth from below 50th country for Facebook usage to top 8th in just a 12 months period, with more than 2000% growth, topping to more than 8million users. 24million internet users in Philippines right now, aproximately 34% of them are in Facebook now.

While we seeing everything is green in Filipino digital and internet development, there is one single sector that are not been fully develop; or perhaps we should say, has been in ground ZERO since it start. That is the e-Commerce sector. The Philippines e-Commerce has merely reach Peso 5billion (US$ 100M) transaction in Year 2009. Lack of secure payment option, high risk control been installed from Banking Sector to ‘Prevent’ online transaction fraud by impose higher % of transaction, pay the money to merchant after 30 days of transaction, and impose a strict 10% witholding for 90 days period. In short; if you sell something online through VISA or MASTER, you will recieve your payment after 30 days (only 90%) and the balance 10% will pay to you after 90 days. Is this impressive in fraud control? Yes! And think what, which merchant is willing to use your online payment services in this way?

On the other end, integration with Philippines logistic company is time consuming and challenging, and huge fees been imposed for integration charges. So what is the end result. We see some creative merchants who eager to do e-Commerce setting some creative pricing in their product. It set a different price tag for different zoning of customers in term of location. If you from Manila, Cebu or Davao, you all have different price tag of 1 single same product. What else, if you are from USA, you have a new price tag because the merchant need to cost in not only the shipment, but also the additional currencies conversion fees into the price.  

As result, we see a very huge potential for e-Commerce in Philippines. Only 4% of Internet users or less than 1 million internet users in Philippines buy online; where 96% more does not buy online due to payment or logistic challenge. Just imagine, can you accept the concept of meeting up face to face and trade product called as e-Commerce?

Starting from Year 2010, we think we should have a new vision for e-Commerce, where we called it ‘Bridging the e-Commerce Divide for Filipino’. In next 5 years, we wish to close the e-Commerce adoption rate of Philippines as par as in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. On top of that, we also aims to let Filipino exports their local products to the world through the B2C model. Every merchant should easily setup their own e-Commerce webstore, having complete payment gateway that pay them in less than a week, not a month, and not to say a QUARTER! Every e-Commerce webstore should have integrated with e-Logistic calculator to calculate the shipping fees automatically, regardless then consumer is from Philippines, or other part of the world.

In early Year 2010, we make our first announcement during 2 days ago. SMilDS.COM, is now making a call for action. A call for Action for all SME/SMIs to deeply considering to expand their business to Internet. The consumer market is mature, the payment is ready, and the logistic is here to support you.

In conclusion, we have sum up 3 key points to share with you why we believe that in Year 2010, the e-Commerce in Philippines will rise, of course, with SMilDS.com presence and the efforts of our big group of partners to awake this market and make it reborn. It is not 10 years ago in Year 2000 where Internet bubble is booming; not 5 years ago where friendster is making every Filipino crazy about ‘sharing their life stories and photo’; but it is now, this year, where the consumer are seeking for a change, a transformation will rise.  

1. Internet consumer is reaching the point where it is enough to create a strong demand to consume any product sell online. More over, we are introducing our SMilDS VISA card in this coming months, where it will allow any of the consumers to access to a common and easy online payment method.

2. The merchants are more prepared compare to Y2000 or Y2005. Further more, the availability of internet marketing experts and digital experts are widely available in the market. Courses and training can easily find to asssit and develop the merchant into a competence e-Retailer.

3. SMilDS.COM will facilitate a complete e-Commerce platform for Filipino merchants and retailers who looking to expand their business into e-Commerce era with limited budget. If you seek for a simple to use and easy to manage; yet complete e-Commerce solution; SMilDS.COM can offer you a complete solution with only at the price of 1 Starbucks Frap Coffee a day only; which is easily 90% cheaper than any of your daily outlet operating expenses.

To find out more about how SMilDS.COM offers the Filipino merchants a new way to expand their business with very effective costing structure, feel free to contact us at sales@platform2u.com.ph or follow our slide below to understand more!

Currently, there are total of 24million Netizens in Philippines as per statistic shown in Year 2009. These number will grow to 28M by end of this year. 83% of the netizens are below 29 years old, or nearly 20M of them, or as big as total population in entire Great Manila.

If you were one of the retailer in Philippines, you must get aware on this. 20M of the consumer in a single marketplace; 20M of young Internet savy that will join the middle or high income group when they go into their career path; 20M of power consumers that can basically consume anything, any products, that they get close to. They are the new Generation Y consumers, and they are slowly overtake the 40+ consumers to become the strongest buying power in the entire Philippines retailing industry. Is your business ready to serve them and earn their big bucks? Is your past 20 years of old retailing experiences work with these Gen Y consumers? Do your traditional ads campaign reach them effectively?

SMilDS.COM is one the best crafted solution for the Philippines e-Commerce industry with the breakthrough in e-Payment and e-Logistic solution. It is aims to briedge the e-Commerce divide of the entire Philippines as overall compare to the neighbouring countries, and as well as USA and China. With the price of a cup of Starbucks Coffee a day, we allow the traditional retailers to expand their global e-Commerce into Internet.

The entire platform is design in so that even the current young graduates students or office clerk who know basic Microsoft Words can manage the e-Store without any hassel or trouble. It is now so easy for the merchant to have their products sell in Internet and ship to oversea from Philippines in a complete e-Commerce cycle.

To find out more, feel free to check out the slide below

I share a new term of Heropreneurs to a group of Internet evangelists in Philippines tonight, and I am excited by the passion of these groups of Internet veteran in Philippines, and thanks to all of them for taking out the time from their busy schedule to rush for our event in Intercon Hotel, Makati.

When I asked about how many of them (there are around 40 over Internet experts attending our SMilDS Connect event) are NOT Entrepreneur right now, only less than 3% raise their hand, which means majority of the Filipino internet evangelists are Entrepreneurs. Recent report of global entrepreneurship index, Philippines ranked at top 40th in term of growing entrepreneurship index out of 104 countries been survey.

I think by nature, the Filipino are entrepreneurs (base on what I get responses from the group). And true enough, every year, there are millions of people who fired their boss and be their own boss by pursuing into the entrepreneurship journey. As proved the Pareto rules are correct, 80% failed during the first years, and the balance, another 80% failed to survive. Only handful number of entrepreneurs survive the top and enjoy the fruit of glory, enjoy the respect and title to be a long term successful entrepreneurs, and we call them as Heropreneurs! The deserved the respect from all of us to be a hero, a hero in the business world. We learn their success stories, we learn their experiences so we do no mistake in our entrepreneurship path.

 It is always easy to motivate 1000 graduates’ students to jump into pursuing their dream like Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates, or even Larry and Brin from Google, by sharing some of their speeches delivering during Stamford U. Like once Steve Jobs said to the students, Do what you like, like what you do. You will able to have many students to jump into the entrepreneurship journey, and to have successful one who can last for more than 5 years, very little. They are the HERO of business, they are the HERO of entrepreneurs, and they are what we are looking up to, believing and respecting in as our role model, as our idol, they are our HEROPRENEURS!

Today, we are making a commitment to raise the Heropreneurs together with the group of Internet evangelists in Philippines. This is a long journey, and it is going to be a fruitful journey. As I love what quote from HEROES TV show, we are all connected. What we do it past determine our present. What we decide for our present, and commit to it, and putting 100% into making it happen, will be our results for future. Raising future HEROPRENEURS, starting from TODAY, NOW!

Raising the Philippines Entrepreneurship Competitiveness Index in Global Outlook

I’ve been on and off fly into Philippines for business trip since May last year when we kick start our Philippines operation in May 09. Recently, when I checked back my passport (due to some reason I have to carefully look into my passport, my team mates in SMilDS will know why..) I’ve been entering this country for a total of 12 times (counting the airport custom stamps …) since May last year, practically more than 1 time a month on average. Good enough and thank god, our Philippines operations has started from 2 persons in June 09 to approximately 20 people right now, and have our own operation office in the heart of Makati City. It is never an easy job and thanks to our be loving Platform2u.com Philippines CEO, Mr. Edward’s support, everything come into pictures in less than 6 months.

 The more I get to know this country – Philippines, the more I get to appreciate the setup, support and structure I have enjoyed back in my country – Malaysia. Fellow Malaysian, we have government grant to support and grow entrepreneurs, we have facilities that given to the entrepreneurs for free to use, and we have many programs prepared to groom local entrepreneurs to be competitive in APEC. We have MDeC that keep engaging regional top trainers to train the local entrepreneurs to think out of the box, be innovative, and yet, we heard complaints from everywhere that money is not enough, government is not supportive and so forth. Until now, after I step out from Malaysia and explore the regional opportunities, I will really need to say this truly from my heart, I’m fortunately and proud to be Malaysian. Thank you! When times come, I will for sure contribute back to the country J

This year, SMilDS is planning to launch a massive and large scale program to help raise the local entrepreneurs in Philippines, where we called it SMilDS Connect Program. The program is designed with the objectives to raise the awareness of Filipino towards ‘Run Your Global Business – RYGB’ initiative; groom local entrepreneurs into become social e-Entrepreneurs; and ultimately, create jobs opportunities for the country. There will be training, sharing, workshops, and one after another events to introduce the SMilDS Connect into the community starting from Q2 this year. Anyway, our first SMilDS Connect event falls on this coming Tuesday in the one of the high class hotel in Makati City.  It is a by-invitation function to a group of selective future entrepreneurs in Philippines.  To ensure the future events’ success rate, we will need to be selective on our BETA program participants and keep the ball rolling effects. It is not an easy task to groom and raise the local entrepreneurship in a country, but I know I have a team of experts behind supporting our efforts. What’s more, it is always fun to work with young, energetic, and visionary entrepreneurs, and when we can visionalize the ‘end results’, hundreds over thousands of young entrepreneurs celebrating their achievements!

It all starts from one step at a time. Our first milestone, 19^th Jan 2010 – First SMilDS Connect Program – Your passport to Social Commerce will be live in Inter Continental Hotel, Makati City, 6:00pm sharp (no matter what, we aim to start sharp at 6:00pm Philippines time). Lets the journey begin…