China’s ecommerce giants to attend Vancouver conference
Metro Vancouver businesses will have the rare opportunity next month to come face-to-face with officials representing leading brands in China’s booming ecommerce sector, including giants Alibaba and Baidu.
The Canada China Trade Conference is the first gathering of its kind focusing on the opportunity for B.C. companies to sell their goods to the Chinese market through online platforms. It will be on Aug. 23 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Ryan Cordoni, marketing manager for organizer Richway New Media Technology, said the conference is already at 60 per cent capacity, reflecting an interest from Vancouver companies to meet officials from Alibaba and Baidu, who will be in attendance.
“At the very least, this conference will get you thinking about how you can do business in China,” Cordoni said.
“There will be opportunities to talk to key people in the world’s largest e-market, and you can also engage others who may be pursu-
ing the same market space you are — which can lead to some team-ups and other efficiencies.”
China overtook the United States as the largest ecommerce market in 2015, even as China’s overall economic growth fell below seven per cent for the first time in six years. Total online sales in China are estimated at US$500 billion in 2014, and KPMG expects it to surpass US$1 trillion by 2020.
Some 700 million people in China use the Internet, a figure that continues to grow.
Cordoni said he senses a reluctance from Canadian companies to jump into the rapidly growing Chinese online market because of gloomy financial news, including volatile Chinese stock markets and bumps in the country’s transition from an export economy to a consumer economy.
But that transition is exactly why Canadian companies must jump in now, Cordoni said, because the Chinese middle class are now looking for the same quality goods — such as cosmetics, baby products, clothing and consumables like wine that buyers seek in North America.
And these Chinese buyers are increasingly going online to established online stores such as Alibaba, JD.com and Suning.
“It’s the type of goods you see in a duty-free store,” Cordoni said, explaining the type of products that sell online in China. “I think it’s a misconception that, because you see cheaper products coming out of China, you expect consumers there to look for value when they buy. But Chinese consumers are not unlike consumers here — they want quality. And Canada is regarded very favourably in that light.”
One such brand is Canada Goose, the cold-weather-clothing maker whose revenue soared past US$300 million in 2015. The brand is highly popular among Chinese consumers — who are increasingly going online to buy items like parkas — because the name “Canada” is embedded into the brand, Cordoni said.
The retail situation on the ground is also changing in China. In many cases, convenience stores — ubiquitous in most East Asian neighbourhoods — have become convenient ordering and pickup points for online goods.
“I’d really like to dispel the concept that there’s nothing happening there,” Cordoni said. “There are many ecommerce conveniences that’s not even available here. In China, off the top of my head, I know at least seven sites dedi- cated to selling baby products online. What’s the North American equivalent? There is none.”
Cordoni’s company is aiming to position the Canada China Trade Conference as Metro Vancouver businesses’ prime access to the Chinese online market. Richway isseekingcommentfromCanadian businesses as much as they are providing a networking opportunity, since Richway would like the conference to evolve with the needs of Canada’s producers in reaching China.