Canadian small businesses recognized for
achievements in online entrepreneurship
TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2019 /CNW/ - Today, eBay Canada announced the winners of its
15th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, recognizing
exceptional Canadian small businesses who are harnessing the
opportunities of eBay's marketplace to reach new customers across
the country and around the world.
"As an enabler of and champion for small businesses, we're proud
to be celebrating and supporting the very best in Canadian
entrepreneurialism on eBay," said Andrea
Stairs, General Manager of eBay Canada & Latin
America. "Every day we see businesses using eBay to
diversify and expand into new markets, grow sales, and contribute
to their local economies – the award selection process is always
difficult and this year was no exception!"
The 2019 eBay Entrepreneur of the Year Award winners
include:
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Nan
Xu of IHL Canada, based in Woodbridge, Ontario;
- Micro-Multinational of the Year: Jessica Oman of Storage Warriors, based in
Vancouver, B.C.;
- Integrated Entrepreneur of the Year: Simon Duguay of Newxon, based in Saguenay,
Quebec.
A recent BDC study found that only 4 out of 10 Canadian SMEs
with an online presence sell, receive and take orders online,
demonstrating huge opportunity remaining for Canadian entrepreneurs
to engage online platforms to expand customer bases beyond their
physical reach.
"Selling online can be a critical growth driver for Canadian
small retailers; and leveraging online platforms -- particularly
global marketplaces like eBay -- can be transformative for local
businesses," adds Stairs." The power of ecommerce to help grow and
scale local businesses is perfectly exemplified by the winners of
this year's eBay Canada Entrepreneur of the Year Awards."
Two of the winning businesses, Storage Warriors and Newxon, have
seen such staggering increases in sales, they've grown from small
home-based operations into full-fledged, brick-and-mortar
enterprises, creating new local jobs along the way. Meanwhile the
third winner, IHL Canada, attributes the growth of their online
business in supporting their local brick and mortar store as well
as enabling them to expand product offerings and develop their own
private-label brands.
This year's award winners will receive a cash prize to reinvest
into their business, a one-year eBay Store subscription upgrade and
quarterly consultation sessions with an eBay Canada business development expert.
More Information on the 2019 Winners
Entrepreneur of the Year
In 2014, Nan Xu (toolioking) joined Investments Hardware
Limited (IHL Canada), a family-owned and -operated business
established in 1985 in Woodbridge,
Ontario, and specializing in power tools and building
materials. Overseeing the business' e-commerce department, Nan
immediately saw an untapped opportunity for IHL Canada to stimulate
global export growth using eBay. He redesigned the company's eBay
store, which today includes more than 500 listings. To handle the
growth in demand on eBay, Nan began using machine learning
technology to transform order management, fulfillment, and customer
services. IHL Canada also established a partnership with UPS Canada
to more efficiently ship products. This partnership was especially
important in 2017, when IHL Canada offered free-expedited shipping
to aid the efforts of workers helping to rebuild Puerto Rico after Hurricane Irma. Over the
last five years, eBay has enabled IHL to exponentially grow their
exports to over 50 countries across the globe. This growth has
created opportunities for them to introduce new product offerings
and even develop their own private-labelled brands including
DuraDrive and BOSSA which they offer both online and in their
Woodbridge store. Today, IHL
operates in a 160,000 sq ft. warehouse complemented by a 4,000 sq
ft. showroom for local clientele. The eBay business is on track to
triple in size this year and now offers the largest selection of
tools and workshop equipment in Canada.
Micro-Multinational of the Year
Jessica Oman (storage_warriors) was working in
consulting in Vancouver, British
Columbia when she and her husband Johann decided to pursue a
new hobby, buying and selling the contents of storage units. The
couple's entrepreneurial roots led them to open an eBay store to
sell their storage unit treasures, and Jessica and Johann quickly
found they were making as much money through eBay as they were
through their day jobs. Over a span of three years, the couple took
the leap to pursue their side-hustle full-time. Jessica and Johann
used eBay as a way to sell to global buyers from countries
including United States, UK,
France, Australia and Malaysia and they adapted their inventory
sourcing strategy to feed into global trends and demands based on
learnings from their eBay international sales. Today, 90 per cent
of Storage Warrior's sales come from exports. Their business
started in their home, but quickly moved to a local garage rental,
and is now housed in a 2,000 square foot warehouse. They will
likely need to expand their operation again as they have already
doubled their 2018 sales. With three employees currently, and plans
to hire additional staff to keep up with business growth, the
pair's business is growing on all fronts!
Integrated Entrepreneur of the Year
Simon Duguay (newxon) began his e-commerce
journey after graduating university when he set up shop in his
basement and began selling clothing to make some extra money. In
2015, Simon decided to list some of his collectible figurines on
eBay and quickly found that they were high in demand, and offered
an even higher profit margin. A new business was born! Simon's
collectibles business is on track to hit $1
million in sales this year, with the majority coming from
eBay. His consistently strong year-over-year online sales growth
over the past four years has generated enough revenue for him to
open a brick-and-mortar location in his community of Saguenay,
Quebec. The 3,000 square foot
facility includes a warehouse and retail store and is staffed by
six employees ranging from tech and operations experts to sales
managers, all focused on supporting and integrating his physical
and online sales channels. Simon credits online sales has having
played a pivotal role in his business expansion and having invested
$250,000 into his company in the past
year, Simon is laser-focused on accelerating his business'
growth.
More information can be found here:
ebay.ca/eoy
About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global
commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds
platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers
around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity
through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's
largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value
and unique selection. In 2018, eBay enabled $95 billion of gross merchandise volume. eBay is
visited by more than 8 million unique Canadians per month (comScore
Media Metrix: August, 2019). For more information about the company
and its global portfolio of online brands, visit
www.ebayinc.com.
SOURCE eBay Canada