Ebay’s Attempt to Dominate China

Most global businesses today are online businesses. It's a no brainer considering how digital the world has become. For example, Amazon, Facebook (and most social networking sites), Google, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc are online brands that have been widely accepted by almost everyone on the planet and their popularity just keeps on growing. The demand for their products and services is so big that they have managed to wipe out most competitions without a sweat at all. While most of these brands are success stories, it is not always the case.

Take for instance eBay’s attempt to penetrate the Chinese market. We all know how big of a company eBay is in the Western Hemisphere and just how big and powerful a country China is. Unfortunately, this US-based multinational e-commerce corporation failed to establish their business in “The Land of the Red Dragon” as early as 2002 because they have little understanding of how the Chinese deals with business. It’s also worth pointing out that the government is pretty much involved in all the affairs of its people even if it is a private company or corporation and perhaps was also a factor to the company's failure. Jobs weren't an issue.

He points to eBay’s unsuccessful 2002 bid to make it in China. The internet giant ran up the white flag after being beaten by a then much smaller home-grown company, Alibaba. It’s what can happen when a multinational doesn’t give its China office enough autonomy, says Tse. 

“eBay didn’t understand the complexities of the China market. They required everything to be done almost exactly as they they did it in the US,” he says. 

“Alibaba was smaller but its team was flexible and adapted quickly. They understood what the consumer wanted and they developed a locally accepted version of the business model. 

“If it would take a week before eBay [with its head office overseas] could make a decision and come back to China with it, during that one week Alibaba could have made five decisions. This is how Alibaba beat eBay.” 

(Via: https://www.intheblack.com/articles/2017/09/01/edward-tse-consulting-china)

What entrepreneurs need to remember when crossing borders and bringing their brands to foreign markets is to have someone oversee everything that is familiar with the market and has a good grasp of the culture and practices in that place so that their efforts do not go to waste. At times, entrepreneurs must learn to adapt and be flexible, something that eBay wasn’t able to do when the opportunity to expand there presented itself.

About a decade ago, EBay Inc. made a legendary retreat from the Chinese auction business in the face of growing local competition. It was a defeat so humiliating that it became a business school case study. Since then, however, the Chinese e-commerce market has changed drastically -- and so has EBay. As the company makes its return to the mainland, it may be at the forefront of an important trend in online trade.

EBay recently announced that it's partnering with Ningbo, a major port and manufacturing hub, to help boost the city's e-commerce with the rest of the world. That's a farsighted move. In 2016, Chinese shoppers made a whopping $86 billion in online purchases from vendors in other countries. Globally, such trade was just as healthy, adding up to $300 billion in 2015 and growing at nearly 25 percent a year -- faster than domestic e-commerce. At a time when globalization otherwise seems to be in retreat, companies taking advantage of this kind of trade are looking like the future of retail.

(Via: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-02-22/why-is-ebay-returning-to-china)

However, it seems that more than a decade is enough time for eBay to innovate and rethink their strategy because they’re once again considering a China expansion. They sure have learned from their mistakes and the Chinese market is pretty big and profitable for them to keep ignoring it any longer. This time, they are partnering with Ningbo to help them realize their dream of enjoying a slice of China’s pie. It may actually work this time as Chinese consumers are constantly anxious about the dangers of many fake local products and there is a growing middle and upper class that can afford more expensive (even luxury) Western brands.

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source https://popego.com/ebays-attempt-to-dominate-china/

Snoring Is No Joke

We all look forward to a good night’s sleep after a long day at work or school. Our body craves the comfort of our bed where we can just lie down and simply not do anything until we eventually fall asleep. For many, this is the definition of pure bliss. However, not everyone gets to enjoy sleep the way some people do. There are actually two people that come to mind: those who snore and then there’s their partners/spouses. The loud snoring in itself is so annoying that it even triggers a break-up or for couples to even for them to consider having separate sleeping arrangements.

While we may laugh at someone who snores loudly, we fail to realize just how dangerous it truly is. Although not all snorers are diagnosed with sleep apnea, everyone who has sleep apnea actually snores. People with this condition stop breathing many times in their sleep aside from just snoring and that it itself is a very dangerous symptom. Your brain is basically choosing between sleep and breathing and that should not be the case as breathing is essential to life.

Snoring is no laughing matter. Besides sleep deprivation - for the snorer, and especially for anyone within earshot - snoring is linked to more serious consequences.

It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks or a stroke, and can even result in premature death.

Earlier research has shown that a tendency to snore can be established early in life.

To find out why, researchers led by Karl Franklin of University Hospital in Umea, Sweden asked more than 15 500 randomly selected people in Nordic countries about their early childhood, and their snoring habits.

(Via: https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/snoring-is-no-laughing-matter-413556)

If you are a habitual snorer, you probably know it by now because it is not something that just pops up out of the blue. So what are you waiting for? Isn’t your partner nagging you enough for you to go get yourself checked? Do not just turn a blind eye to your condition simply because you are deep in slumber when it manifests. The danger is still there. There are numerous sleep clinics you can visit for a consultation and many people do it now. It is just proof that snoring is a common predicament experienced by the majority of the world’s population today.

You’ve probably heard of sleep apnea, and if you haven’t already, chances are you will. Sleep apnea is a common disorder that affects one in five adults, afflicting more men than women. What many don’t realize is that sleep apnea can lead to serious health issues, even death, if left undiagnosed and untreated.

The experts have spoken. Sleep apnea requires medical attention. Before trying any treatments or solutions, get yourself diagnosed first to receive the best treatment for whatever you are suffering from, which is most likely sleep apnea if you are a heavy snorer. You can even ask your doctor if an anti-snoring mouthpiece is good for you just so you don’t lose more sleep than you already did.

Sleep apnea is a condition to take very seriously. Not only can it be life threatening, but the sleep deprivation, daily fatigue and other symptoms will make your life miserable if not properly treated.

With insurance coverage readily available for diagnosis and treatment, there’s every reason to see your doctor and start to sleep soundly and wake up healthy, happy and refreshed!

(Via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obstructive-sleep-apnea-a-common-disorder-to-treat_us_59972074e4b02eb2fda31f8f)

It was probably alright to just laugh about issues like snoring if we were back in the 80s or 90s but not today. We all know by now the many dangers posed by sleep apnea and we just can’t afford to be negligent with our health when there are many health risk factors around us waiting for our immunity levels to go down. And that is bound to happen when you can't sleep soundly at night Get that much-deserved sleep because that is all that your body needs and wants after toiling hard for the day. Give it some rest and you might even be able to live until you are 100.

The following article Snoring Is No Joke was originally seen on The PopEgo.com Blog

source https://popego.com/snoring-is-no-joke/