Ecargo
| Public | |
| Traded as | ASX: ECG |
| Industry | B2C supply chain, e-commerce, middleware, mobile commerce, tech consulting, SaaS, software |
| Founded | April, 2014 |
| Founder | Christopher Lau |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong |
Key people |
John Lau Shek Yau (Founder and Executive Chairman) Christopher Lau (Founder and CEO) Rupert Myer (Director) Chris Ryan (Director) Heath Zarin (Director) Franc Renzi (Chief Operating Officer) Garnok Cheung (Chief Financial Officer) Justus Wilde (Chief Strategy Officer) Mike Mikkelborg (Business Development Director) John Muir (Sales Director) |
Number of employees | 100+ (2014)[1] |
| Website | www.ecargo.com |
eCargo is a China-based e-commerce solutions provider, providing on-demand e-commerce enabling and related services for retailers and fashion brands around the world. Ecargo acts as a “one-stop” enabler[2] for brand manufacturers and retailers seeking to sell their products online in China and gain exposure to China’s online consumers by providing integrated online and offline supply chain service and technology solutions.[3] Ecargo works "behind the scenes" to help international brands build or expand their presence in China on Alibaba Group’s Tmall, Tencent's Wechat and JD.com.[4]
History
WWE & Company
On July 26, 2016, ECG announced that it was forming WWE & Company, a new strategic business specialising in the development of mobile, cloud-based, O2O commerce enterprise technologies, targeting the mainland Chinese consumers’ growing demand for fashion, beauty and lifestyle. WWE & Company is a joint venture between The Wharf (Holdings) Limited (SEHK: 0004), Walton Brown Group (a company of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group), and ECG, initially capitalised at RMB 300 million.[5]
Commenting, John Lau Shek Yau, Executive Chairman, ECG, said: “China has already become one of the key luxury consumer markets and this growth is expected to continue, fuelled by the demand of China’s burgeoning middle class which is expected to reach 630 million by 2022 and consume more than 44% of the world's luxury goods. China is already the largest eCommerce market in the world, where we experienced more than RMB3 trillion in online transactions in 2015 with strong growth.”
“We are delighted to be working with Walton Brown and Wharf, who collectively, bring strong retail management, brand expertise, a remarkable reputation and rich heritage in Hong Kong and China. Our partners have collaborated closely with many top designers for a long time, and were the very first to introduce many world-renowned international fashion and beauty brands to China in the early nineties,”[6] he said.
According to Christopher Lau, Chief Executive Officer, ECG and Co-Chief Executive Officer of WWE & Company: “We have ambitions to bring the social mobile shopping experience in China to another level, by bringing Chinese consumers more choice to many wonderful international and designer brands, linking them directly through a frictionless online user experience.”
“We are very excited about this opportunity, which remains true to ECG’s mission of connecting Chinese consumers with international brands. We are assembling a fantastic team in technology, designer retail and marketing in China and Hong Kong. Although our journey will be filled with challenges, I could not be more pleased to lead this strategic, ground-breaking development with our Co-CEO Thomson.”
“Our time is now. The continued proliferation of smartphone and mobile devices in China, which has currently attracted more than 500 million mobile users, supports our mobile-first development philosophy and presents us with a unique window of opportunity to make a breakthrough,” [6] he said.
Post-IPO (November 2014-present)
On November 28, 2014, Ecargo Holdings Limited began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange,[7] raising $30 million in its initial public offering, with an initial share price of $0.40 and initial market capitalization of about $200 million.
According to Christopher Lau, chief executive and founder of ECG, the mission of the company is to help international brands develop and grow their online businesses in China.[8]
On June 9, 2015, ECG expanded its executive team with the appointment of Franc Renzi, Garnok Cheung and Justus Wilde respectively, as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. According to Christopher Lau, "Franc, Garnok and Justus bring an impressive track record of achievement in retail, finance and digital commerce. This further strengthens our ecosystem and positions eCargo well to deliver on the number of opportunities in the digital commerce and O2O landscape here in China and Australia."[9]
Products
Ecargo Enterprise Limited has developed the eCoreOS e-commerce platform,[1] which enables Ecargo to develop and manage multiple custom or marketplace digital commerce online storefronts for retailers and fashion brands.
Brands
As of 2014, Ecargo Enterprise Limited brands include international fashion brands, retailers and operators, including Esprit, Jeanswest, Karen Millen, La Perla, Myer and Super Retail Group.
References
- 1 2 IPO Prospectus, http://www.ecargo.com/prospectus/ , September 18, 2014.
- ↑ Bloomberg, "eCargo CEO: I'm not worried about market volatility" Bloomberg, October 16, 2014.
- ↑ Inside Retailing, “eCargo launches IPO” Inside Retailing, September 19, 2014.
- ↑ Australian Financial Review, “eCargo seeks to ride Alibaba wave with Aussie IPO” The Australian Financial Review, September 19, 2014.
- ↑ Asia One Business, “Walton Brown and eCargo sign joint venture to launch a social mobile shopping platform in China” Asia One Business, July 26, 2016.
- 1 2 ASX, “ECG ESTABLISHES NEW STRATEGIC BUSINESS TO LAUNCH CHINA SOCIAL SHOPPING MOBILE PLATFORM” ASX, July 26, 2016.
- ↑ Yahoo Finance, “Today eCargo (ASX:ECG) Started Trading on the Australian Stock Exchange” Yahoo Finance, November 28, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.chinadailyasia.com/business/2014-11/27/content_15196204.html China Daily, November 27, 2014.
- ↑ ASX, “Setting the Stage: eCargo Expands Executive Leadership Team” ASX, June 9, 2015.