eBay Canada
releases SMB Optimism Index and announces 13th annual
Entrepreneur of the Year Award winners
TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2017 /CNW/ - Despite
political and economic disquiet around the globe, eBay Canada's second annual SMB Optimism
Index report reveals that 76 per cent of Canadian retail small
and medium business owners (SMBs) are optimistic about their future
business prospects, up 20 percentage points from last year.
Three-quarters also believe that Canada is a good country in which to run their
business. In fact, SMBs overall scored 75 out of a 100-point index
scale ranking their level of optimism from 0 (the most pessimistic)
to 100 (the most optimistic) – one full point higher than last
year, indicating an upward trend in optimism.
Like last year, results from the report reveal that increased
optimism correlates with exporting; however, optimism among SMBs
who export is waning this year, as this group dropped a point on
the Index scale. Further, more than 40 per cent of SMB owners
reported not having confidence in the Canadian government to
negotiate international trade deals, like NAFTA, that will benefit
their business.
"Exporting is a catalyst for Canadian SMBs looking to scale and
reach their full potential, so it's imperative that our country
remains steadfast in its global approach to trade," says
Andrea Stairs, managing director,
eBay Canada. "eBay is an enabling
technology, giving Canadian businesses of any size, from anywhere,
the ability to reach customers across the country and around the
world. When enabling technologies are combined with inclusive trade
measures, we create an environment of incredible opportunities for
Canadian SMBs, which benefits our overall economy."
Other factors that continue to contribute to the optimism
momentum include online and omni-channel sales strategies: SMB
owners leveraging these tactics are more likely than their
counterparts to be optimistic across all business performance
factors measured in the report. For example, these SMBs are more
likely to believe that there are sales growth opportunities for
their businesses both within and outside of Canada.
As for challenges, those most commonly reported by Canadian SMB
owners include tough domestic competition (37%), low margins (36%)
and a small customer base in Canada (34%), with more entrepreneurs
reporting these challenges this year versus last year.
Similar challenges were reported by Canadian eBay commercial
sellers, who were also surveyed for the report. This group of
entrepreneurs indexed two points higher than the average retail SMB
and reported greater participation in exporting and omni-channel
strategies. These findings are exemplified by the winners of eBay
Canada's 13th annual
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – a program that recognizes
e-commerce excellence in this country.
"We are thrilled to recognize and celebrate the great Canadian
entrepreneurial spirit that we see through our vibrant eBay seller
community," says Stairs. "Though this year's winners have uniquely
inspirational stories, they all share the common theme of
leveraging the power of e-commerce to build million-dollar
businesses."
This year's winners are:
Entrepreneur of the Year
Vasilios Sakellaropoulos (eBay
ID: UniversalDataSupplies) began selling computer printer ink and
toner cartridges out of his friend and business partner's parent's
basement. They sourced their inventory through traditional avenues
and acquired customers through cold calls and telemarketing, but
their low margins and customer base couldn't turn a profit. Getting
online for both sourcing and selling inventory was pivotal for
them. It allowed the pair to refine their inventory strategy and
leverage the secondary market while also facilitating their
expansion into the U.S. – a strategy that turned their business
around, quickly. Today, they run a multi-million-dollar Business
& Industrial retail operation that includes multiple sales
channels, a 3,500-square-foot retail and warehouse space, and six
full-time employees.
Micro-Multinational of the Year
Kalina Koleva (eBay ID:
RunwayCatalog) and her mother turned their passion for fashion into
a full-time online business that now employs all of the women in
their family. Leveraging their relationships with Canadian brands
and wholesalers, they began selling moderately priced shoes and
accessories to customers across Canada. However, their business took off when
they tapped into international trade opportunities facilitated by
online marketplaces. Today, 95 per cent of their sales are from
outside of the country; Kalina and her team regularly sell to
markets including the U.S., the Middle
East, and Europe, and their
inventory includes everything from Canadian products to high-end
global brands. The success of their multi-million-dollar online
business is just the beginning, as they are now leveraging some of
the profits to start their own Canadian fashion label.
Integrated Entrepreneur of the Year
Three years into working for a consumer electronics refurbisher
and retailer, Charles Chiu (eBay ID:
Refurbio) realized that the company's stagnant online consumer
business offered a tremendous opportunity for growth. By reviving
this channel, Charles understood he would be able to generate a
steady incremental sales stream to compliment the company's
existing B2B-focused, omni-channel business. Leveraging online
marketplaces, he tapped into key retail moments like back to school
and holiday, offering highly competitive pricing on refurbished,
"good-as-new" big-ticket tech items that came with full factory
warranties. He also participated in online deal programs, like eBay
Deals, for additional promotion and exposure of his
price-competitive inventory. With continued triple-digit online
sales growth in the domestic market, the online consumer channel
has now become one of the primary sources of growth for the overall
business, and Charles is starting to direct his efforts to
increasing export sales for further growth.
Further information about the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
winners can be found at eBay.ca/eoy.
Additional key findings from the eBay Canada SMB Optimism
Index include:
- Canadian SMBs' most common reasons for starting their own
business are not monetary or fueled by passion – being their own
boss and having flexible lifestyles were the top reasons for
becoming an entrepreneur.
- Optimism is on a considerable positive upswing in Atlantic Canada as SMBs from this region
scored a 77, moving them up 5 points from last year's bottom rank
to sharing the top spot this year with Quebec and the Saskatchewan/Manitoba region. Alberta is the least optimistic region.
- Female SMB entrepreneurs are more optimistic than male
equivalents, scoring 78 and 73 points on the Index scale,
respectively. This gap has widened 3 points since last year.
- Millennials are the most optimistic group of SMBs, scoring 83
pts on the Index scale. They are twice as likely to believe that
they can successfully compete internationally in sales than
entrepreneurs aged 65+ (79% vs. 36%).
- While only 63 per cent% of Canadian SMBs sell through online
channels, and only 49 per cent report selling through a company
website, there is an emphasis in prioritizing online channels for
2018.
- U.S. consumers are three times more likely to see Canadian
retail SMB exports than its nearest competitor, Continental Europe
(31% vs. 11 %). Further, 82 per cent of those SMBs who export, do
so to the U.S.
- SMBs located in urban and suburban areas (67% for both) are
more likely to leverage online channels than SMBs located in rural
areas (45%). However, rural SMB owners are the most likely to
invest in social commerce channels.
Further findings can be found at eBay.ca/SMBOptimismIndex.
Leger Methodology
A survey of 502 Canadian small retailers with $13,000 in 2016 sales and a maximum of 99
employees and 169 eBay sellers with $13,000 in 2016 sales was completed online
between July 18 to August 15, 2017
using Leger's online panel, LegerWeb. A probability sample
of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-4.4% for small
Canadian retailers, and +/-7.5 for eBay sellers (assuming 10,000
sellers), 19 times out of 20.
About eBay Inc.
eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the world's most vibrant marketplace for
discovering great value and unique selection. eBay connects
millions of buyers and sellers around the globe, empowering people
and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Our vision for
commerce is one that is enabled by people, powered by technology
and open to everyone. eBay is visited by more than 8 million unique
Canadians per month (comScore Media Metrix: August, 2017). For more
information, visit ebay.ca.
SOURCE eBay Canada