Why China Is Ready For ECommerce

Ecommerce in China is ready to take off and, more important, it’s ready to reach great heights on its own terms. Lu Dong of La Mui, Haifeng Ye of Mbaobao, and Fangfang Wu of Greenbox are three ecommerce pioneers who are, as we speak, redefining online sales in China.

“China is ready for ecommerce,” said Lu Dong. “People are moving to buying almost anything online.”

Haifeng Ye agreed. “We have a greater opportunity here in the Chinese market to make something new. In america the ecommerce market is quite established,” he said. “We can use ecommerce to build a new retail format.” He calls online sales a huge opportunity.

The three agreed that the biggest fish in the China ecommerce sea was Taobao and the importance of Taobao as a sales platform in China cannot be ignored. The company helps with settlement, logistics, and service and all three agreed that Taobao is “great.”

These entrepreneurs see things improving over the next few years and noted that ad rates have risen 30-50% while outside investment is down slightly but not enough to make these panelists worry.

Lu Dong said it best: “It’s important to raise money but it’s more important to make money.”