Business, finances, forex

Is there a better way to do ecommerce? That’s what investors are asking as they seek out new ventures that could become the next billion-dollar Amazon or Overstock.com.

Many believe that it is too difficult to come up with a brand new ecommerce model. Let’s face it: it seems that all the potential avenues have been exhausted. There’s nothing else. But is that really true? Especially in today’s tech-savvy, highly globalized economy?

Every day, there seems to be a new incarnation of the ecommerce business model. Some platforms will concentrate on Business to Consumer (B2C), while others will hone in on Business to Business (B2B). Startups are looking to add social commerce into their plans as well.

What if you could integrate all of the above? What if you could combine B2B, B2C, and social media?

Such a concept would give merchants, startups, and entrepreneurs, a great opportunity to sell their products to a vast market base both domestically and globally.

Wansecheng: An Innovative Ecommerce Platform in China

The question is: how can such a business model exist and thrive? B2C is constantly evolving and shifting, while B2B is more intricate and multi-layered. Of course, social media is in an entirely different world. When you combine the three for an ecommerce platform, how can it work?

Well, that is what Hangzhou-based company Wansecheng is looking to accomplish. The website has the financial backing of some of the biggest investors in China today.

Wsmall.com, established in 2009, is a website that combines the elements of ecommerce, entrepreneurship, B2B, B2C and social media into one web portal. The ecommerce platform aggregates more than 100,000 small merchants and vendors and provides them with an array of customized services that include branding, digital marketing, and customer service.

There are three primary elements to Wsmall.com:

• Wansecheng Mall: A global boutique mall for medium- and high-end online clientele.
• Kale Mao: A membership supermarket with authentic global goods.
• Wansecheng Business College: An online interactive platform for studying the mix of social activity and entertainment with education for entrepreneurs who are registered members of the Wansecheng Mall.

It’s like one big shopping mall!

The Business Model

Utilizing a B2B2C business model, Wsmall specializes in selling daily consumer goods, foods, baby products, cosmetics and many other items that the consumer is willing to buy online. With the next generation technology in hand, the consumer products meet health and safety standards.

What sets this online venture apart from the rest is the fact that the users retain the rights to their web stores. In other words, they can benefit from maintaining, organizing and designing the digital store as they see fit. They can decide what will give their personal brands a boost.

This aggressive approach to ecommerce is attracting millions of dollars in investments. Wsmall has been raising funds over the last couple of years from some of the biggest investors.

It was reported that global investment giants Warburg Pincus and CICC-Qianhai have invested $100 million into the company. Analysts predict that the company will likely generate even more funds; especially with the company’s vision of the future which is described as “a dream city with the DNA of strong innovation.”

Delivering a speech to a conference on ecommerce, the chairman of the company said, “a wealthy city reshapes the model of B2B2C ecommerce.”

“The core competitiveness of Wansecheng lies in the creation of an online entrepreneurial university town which simplifies the business procedure for average entrepreneurs and enriches their lives, so as to establish an ecommerce platform ecological system that is open, coordinated, sharing, with win-win outcomes, thereby contributing to the mass entrepreneurship, and sustained development of China’s economy and social harmony,”

Pundits like to say that this is Amazon’s world and we’re just living in it. With this notion in the forefront of the consumer’s consciousness, it can be pretty daring and even overwhelming to attempt to compete with the online retail juggernaut.

However, if there is one thing that Amazon has taught businesses it’s this: the rules of commerce have been updated to reflect the 21st-century economy. Everything from products, sales channels, distribution centers and marketing are now morphing into something more consumer-friendly than we have ever witnessed.

B2C is a concept that modifies and adapts at a whim to satisfy the consumer. B2B is far more reserved, technical and, as previously mentioned, multi-layered. This is why some may argue that merging the two models is like mixing oil and water: they just don’t go well together.

Wsmall.com is an example of businesses taking an alternative approach. This is having both domestic and foreign investors along with entrepreneurs paying close attention to its development.

Looking Forward …

The latest data suggest that 40 percent of global Internet users have purchased a product online with a desktop or mobile device. This means that there are an estimated one billion online shoppers. It is easy to see that as technology becomes more ubiquitous, the numbers will only grow.

Simply put: it doesn’t matter where you are – South America, Africa or Asia – there will be an ecommerce base, especially with the prevalence of mobile technology. Wsmall has exciting things in store for online consumers in the years to come.

Image: wsmall.com

This article, “Hundreds Of Millions Being Invested In Brand New Ecommerce Platform” was first published on Small Business Trends

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If you’re heading to any Universal theme parks over the next few years, you might see a familiar face. Mario, the popular plumber from many Nintendo video games, is headed to Universal theme parks in Orlando, Osaka and Los Angeles.

Universal and Nintendo first announced their partnership over a year ago. But the two popular brands just released a teaser outlining plans for the new theme park attractions. Though the tealer didn’t reveal many specifics, it’s a safe bet that Mario will be a major centerpiece of the new park area. He’s a recognizable face that could draw in visitors and get people excited about the new attractions.

However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be other Nintendo characters or themes mixed in. This partnership also creates a unique opportunity for Nintendo to get more attention for some of its lesser known games. So if the two companies can come up with a way to draw people in using recognizable characters and themes, and then introduce exciting new themes as well, this could be a big win for both sides.

Benefits of Leveraging Brand Recognition

And while your small business likely isn’t partnering with any major theme parks in the near future, the same concept can apply. Using the brand recognition already earned by themes or characters can be a major draw for people. And sometimes, they can even help you introduce new items as well.

Salvation Army Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “A Recognizable Character Could Help Both Universal and Nintendo (Watch)” was first published on Small Business Trends

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An earthquake has just been felt in the southern city of Blagoevgrad. 

Earlier, at 19:46 hrs, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake hit Greece.

There are no reports of damages or victims.

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The government has approved EUR 601,617,133 from the budget surplus to be allocated as state assistance to the National Electric Company (NEK).

The funds must be used by the state venture to pay Russian Atomstroyexport for the equipment ordered for the Belene NPP.

Bulgaria was sentenced via international arbitration to pay the money, while Parliament adopted a law permitting the allocation of the assistance back in September.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria undertook the commitment to the Russian side to pay the principal by December 15 in exchange for which it will be remitted EUR 23 M in interest.

The assistance is lent by the Energy Ministry and NEK has undertaken the obligation to pay it back within 7 years.

The assistance is being allocated after receiving an opinion of the European Commission, reported the government press centre.

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The Croatian police have detained six Bulgarian citizens for migrant trafficking, reported the information portal Index, cited by BNT.

A truck with Bulgarian registration was stopped on November 24 at the town of Trastenik. 43 foreigners were discovered inside the lorry – 31 Afghanis, 11 Pakistani citizens and one Iranian.

Not much longer afterwards, two vehicles with 5 Bulgarians were also stopped. According to the authorities, they helped the illegal crossing of migrants through the Serbian-Croatian border.

The Bulgarian citizens remain in custody. An order has been issued for the return of the migrants.

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More than one-quarter of the residents of the European Union reckon that rape is justifiable, showed a survey of Eurobarometer.

27% of Europeans think that sexual abuse is acceptable under different circumstances, showed data processed by Statista, ordered by the Independent.

The survey focuses on questions like whether sexual abuse is acceptable when alcohol or drugs have been consumed, when the victim goes voluntarily to the home of their attacker and when provocative clothes are being worn.

The survey was carried out among 30,000 citizens of all EU member-states.

The data varies among respondents country-wise. For example, 60% of Romanians justify violence when at least one of the above-mentioned factors is present, while 22% of Englishmen accept the crime.

52% of Bulgarians think that constant criticism of one’s partner in order to make them feel inferior is unacceptable, while 40% believe that inappropriate sexual comments or “jokes” directed towards women are acceptable.

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Deputies in Parliament unexpectedly rejected the BGN 10 M increase in the budget of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) on Wednesday, reported BNR.

The larger subsidy was approved on Tuesday by the budget commission but was not reflected in its report. This is why deputies voted “against”.

“This is perhaps an intentional or perhaps an accidental change in the decision of the commission on a very small but very symbolic issue related to symbolic financial support for BAS,” stated Milen Mihov from the Patriotic Front.

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A majority (64 percent) of high-performing marketers send automated emails to their contacts at least once per week. And that’s how they generate the maximum number of leads.

The insight comes from the new 2016 State of Customer Journey Marketing Report.

Conducted by Cint.com, on behalf of San Francisco-based email marketing and marketing automation software company Autopilot, the study has revealed some more interesting insights.

A Look at Where Marketers are Investing In, and Succeeding With, Email Automation

Here’s are some key highlights:

• Seventy percent of marketers rank social media as their top performing channel outside of email.
• Eighty-one percent use data to personalize their marketing, and 54 percent say big data lets them deliver a better customer experience.
• Seventy-one percent of high-performing marketers have mapped their customer’s journey; 88 percent say it’s driving better customer acquisition, satisfaction and retention.

Why Email Automation Makes Sense for Your Business

A growing number of small businesses are using email automation to nurture leads, foster personalized communication and reach more customers.

It’s also worth noting that email marketing has shown a steady 7 percent year-on-year growth, highlighting its relevance for small business owners.

Luckily, there are some nimble email service providers such as Vero and Mailchimp that can give businesses everything they need to automate email marketing.

The 2016 State of Customer Journey Marketing Report was conducted in August 2016. U.S.-based marketing and advertising decision makers aged 25 and over were targeted in multiple industries.

Sixty-one percent of respondents who work in small to mid-sized businesses were interviewed for the study.

Typing Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “64 Percent of Top Performing Marketers Use Automated Email Weekly, New Report Says” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Deputies in Parliament unexpectedly rejected the BGN 10 M increase in the budget of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) on Wednesday, reported BNR.

The larger subsidy was approved on Tuesday by the budget commission but was not reflected in its report. This is why deputies voted “against”.

“This is perhaps an intentional or perhaps an accidental change in the decision of the commission on a very small but very symbolic issue related to symbolic financial support for BAS,” stated Milen Mihov from the Patriotic Front.

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No breakthrough has been reached at the meeting in Minsk attended by the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia.
The countries from the Normandy Four discussed the withdrawal of armed formations from the front line in Eastern Ukraine and the exchange of prisoners of war.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced that the International Red Cross may help prisoner exchange but the parties to the conflict are far from reaching an agreement.
The senior French diplomat Jean-Marc Ayrault stated after the meeting that the negotiations are aimed at achieving a permanent peace agreement in Ukraine and all elements of the Minsk Protocol must be fulfilled, but there is a lot left to be done.
Their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov announced that there has been no breakthrough in the peace negotiations on Donbas.
On his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that Russia does not agree to some of their key priorities. According to him, Ukraine and Russia have key differences with respect to the road map regulating the problem.

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