In a year of economic adversity, annual awards
program recognizes Canadian small retailers for their exceptional
achievements in online entrepreneurship
Last quarter alone, Canadian SMBs saw more
than 40 per cent growth in sales on eBay
TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, eBay
Canada announced the winners of
its 16th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards,
honouring Canadian entrepreneurs using eBay's global marketplace to
build and scale their thriving businesses.
"eBay's purpose is to empower people and create economic
opportunity. Small businesses are at the heart of everything we do.
My team is constantly inspired by how Canadian entrepreneurs
leverage eBay's global marketplace to reach consumers near and
far," said Rob Bigler, General
Manager of eBay Canada. "And in
this year of unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic,
it is more important than ever to celebrate the achievements of
resourceful and resilient Canadian entrepreneurs."
The 2020 eBay Entrepreneur of the Year Award winners
include:
Entrepreneur of the Year – Ajay
Mirchandani of Bleacher Bum, Richmond Hill, ON. Ajay channeled his
life-long passion for sports memorabilia into a thriving family
business, complementing his storefront with rapidly growing online
sales, half from outside of Canada.
Micro-Multinational of the Year – Luc Dion & Claire Teasdale of Boutique
LUC.S, Montreal, QC. The
traditional consignment shop went online by tapping into eBay's
global marketplace for vintage luxury fashion. Online exports now
represent the majority of their overall sales.
Integrated Entrepreneur of the Year –
William Chong of Dolly's Toys &
Games, Toronto, ON. Building off
exponential sales growth from eBay, the sibling-owned and operated
toys and games business continues to expand their complementary
brick and mortar storefronts.
Full information on winners below.
"Every year, eBay's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards showcases
the spirit of resilience, innovation and drive of Canadian small
businesses – which is more true than ever right now amid COVID-19,"
said the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export
Promotion. "I'd like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to each
of the winners on their success during this very challenging year.
We'll continue to have your back every step of the way."
Ecommerce has seen rapid growth as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. A recent report from Statistics Canadai found that retail ecommerce
sales increased by a record breaking 99.3 per cent during the first
few months of the pandemic compared to the same period last year.
More recently, Canadian small businesses on eBay saw a more than 40
per cent increase in both sales and sold items in the last quarter
alone.
In response to the challenges the pandemic brought to local
retail, eBay Canada launched "Up & Running," an
accelerator program specifically designed to support offline
businesses transition to selling online. In addition to ecommerce
tools and supplies, eBay offers a hands-on onboarding service for
small businesses to help them navigate the online global
marketplace. This initiative – which
continues to be leveraged by Canadian SMBs throughout ongoing
pandemic lockdown measures – also helps existing
online businesses build their export sales. Canadian small
businesses are also a focus for eBay Canada's upcoming Cyber Week sales and
marketing efforts, which is in addition to the ongoing promotion of
a dedicated microsite established earlier this year to make it
easier for Canadians to shop from local businesses –
eBay.ca/together.
"This pandemic underscores the power of ecommerce particularly
for small retailers. Consumers around the world have shifted
online. More Canadian businesses than ever are using eBay's global
platform and seeing their domestic and international sales take off
as eBay gives them access to 183 million active buyers around the
world," added Bigler." "The winners of eBay Canada's 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
exemplify how impactful an online presence can be for small
businesses to grow and thrive – regardless and in spite of
COVID-19."
This year's award winners will receive a cash prize to reinvest
into their business, a free one-year eBay Store subscription
upgrade and quarterly consultation sessions with an eBay
Canada business development
expert.
More Information on the 2020 Winners
Entrepreneur of the Year:
Shortly after moving to Canada
as a child, Ajay Mirchandani was
invited to his first Blue Jays game. This sparked a lifelong
passion for sports, and the memory inspired the name of what would
later become his business: Bleacher Bum.
In 2002, Ajay owned a video game store and began selling on eBay
to test out ecommerce. Quickly he realized the potential of an
online business and began building his physical and digital
storefronts concurrently. Over time, he was in a position to shift
his focus to his lifelong passion: sports memorabilia. Today, he
and his wife Mansi, oversee a 2,800 square foot storefront in
Richmond Hill, ON, selling
exclusive and high-valued jerseys and sports collectibles both
online and through an appointment-based brick and mortar shop.
Since joining eBay, the family business has enjoyed consistent
year-over-year growth in online sales, and in 2020 alone – in the
middle of a pandemic – Bleacher Bum's sales on eBay have almost
doubled, with roughly half of those being from exports.
Micro-Multinational of the Year:
Luc Dion's passion for the
fashion industry guided him to his first job at 18, working for
Prada, and for over a decade he managed luxury fashion storefronts
while building relationships within the Montreal fashion scene. In 2016, a client
described her troubles reselling a number of luxury bags, and Dion
offered to help. From there, Boutique LUC.S was born – selling and
consigning luxury outerwear, shoes, sunglasses and more. From
vintage, to hype items. From pre-loved, to new with tags. He
quickly realized the importance of expanding beyond his storefront
in Old Montreal and invited his best friend Claire Teasdale to join the business and take it
online.
Teasdale began spearheading the boutique's online operations in
2017, focused on tapping into eBay's global marketplace for
international expansion. In three short years they were selling to
fashion enthusiasts in over 25 markets on six continents. Today,
online exports represent more than half of their overall sales.
Even as COVID-19 shuttered many Old Montreal storefronts, this
young business has continued growing – doubling the square footage
of their physical storefront this year to keep up with the needs of
their growing online operations and sales.
Integrated Entrepreneur of the Year:
Dolly's Toys & Games was born out of a childhood
passion for trading card games shared by William Chong and his two brothers. Growing up,
the Chong brothers became frequent visitors of a local toys and
games shop in Toronto,
specifically for its collection of Magic: The Gathering cards. When
the shop's owners retired, they approached the brothers to take
over.
The brothers complimented their storefront sales by tapping into
eBay's global marketplace, which quickly grew into a significant
sales channel for them. Leveraging the revenue generated from
ecommerce, they have been able to continue to reinvest and grow the
overall business to support three separate storefronts in the
Greater Toronto Area.
While their brick-and-mortar operations expanded, they also
enjoyed consistent annual growth on eBay. Despite COVID-19 forcing
their physical storefronts to temporarily close, so far this year
they have grown their online sales by over 500 per cent.
More information can be found here:
ebay.ca/eoy
About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that
connects millions of buyers and sellers in 190 markets around the
world. We exist to enable economic opportunity for individuals,
entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. The
ebay.com marketplace and its localized counterparts, as well as the
eBay mobile apps, are among the world's largest and most vibrant
marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection.
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i https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00064-eng.htm
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ii New
sellers who sign-up for the promotion, will pay no final value fees
for the first 500 sold items that were listed during the promotion
listing period. PayPal fees and other fees/charges may be
applicable. See terms & conditions at
www.ebay.ca/upandrunning.
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SOURCE eBay Canada