In a year of continued economic impacts from COVID-19,
eBay Canada celebrates small
business success and announces a new partnership with the Canadian
Federation of Independent Business
The first half of this year saw a 50 per cent increase in
the number of Canadian SMBs selling on eBay's platform than the
same period in 2019, pre-pandemic
TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Despite persistent
headwinds against small businesses brought on by the COVID-19
pandemic, eBay Canada is
celebrating the strong entrepreneurial spirit of its marketplace by
announcing the winners of its 17th annual
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards -- honouring Canadian small
retailers who are achieving great success on eBay's global
marketplace.
"eBay enables Canadian small businesses to instantly connect to
more than 150 million active buyers around the world, giving them
opportunities to build thriving global businesses within local
communities. Our marketplace was built to create economic
opportunity for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and our
Canadian team's mission is to help our sellers succeed," said
Rob Bigler, General Manager of eBay
Canada. "eBay's long-standing
small business recognition awards shine a spotlight on the
unwavering Canadian entrepreneurial spirit that lives on our global
marketplace, with this year's winners -- despite persistent
pandemic challenges -- being no exception."
The 2021 eBay Canada Entrepreneur of the Year Award winners
include:
- Entrepreneur of the Year – Dave Turgreon of Dragon
Spinz, Levis, QC. Pivoting
from Legal & Finance to online entrepreneurship was the right
career move for Dave, as he continues to see double and
triple-digit growth in his bike parts business, selling to cyclists
across the world all year round.
- Micro-Multinational of the Year – Jehan Zeb of Mahin 888, Vancouver, BC. After immigrating from
Pakistan to Canada, Jehan found a passion for Canadian
coins and banknotes, and now runs a successful online business that
helps buyers around the world bolster their collections.
- Emerging Ecommerce Entrepreneur of the Year –
Karina Bogle of K Bogle 05,
Stratford, ON. Purchasing the
mainstreet shoe store she worked at as a teenager was a major
career moment for Karina, but pivoting to ecommerce to keep her
business alive and thriving through the pandemic has become an even
greater career accomplishment.
Full information on winners
below.
"This year's eBay Entrepreneur of the Year Awards showcases the
commitment, creativity, and resilience of small and midsize
businesses across Canada. The
realities of COVID-19 have expedited our transition to the economy
of the future, and this year's winners prove that going digital is
a reliable and prosperous direction for Canadian entrepreneurs,"
said the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export
Promotion, and International Trade. "Congratulations to each of the
winners and all finalists for your innovative approaches to the
unprecedented challenges of this pandemic."
With Canadian small businesses facing relentless challenges from
the global pandemic, eBay Canada
has continued "Up & Running" -- an accelerator program
launched at the beginning of the pandemic and designed to
transition offline businesses online to eBay. Since its
initial launch, hundreds of thousands of businesses across
North America have gone through
the program to get online quickly and effectively with eBay.
In addition, today eBay Canada
announced a new partnership with the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business (CFIB) to provide Canadian small businesses
with eBay store subscriptions an annual CFIB membership at no extra
charge, as further support to help grow their business. eBay store
subscribers will receive access to exclusive CFIB savings programs,
benefits, and educational support, including hotlines designed to
support business owners with HR, compliance, operational questions,
and more.
"Over the last year, CFIB has been working closely with eBay
Canada on initiatives like
#SmallBusinessEveryDay and Small Business Saturday, rallying
Canadians to support small businesses. We've also been working
together to get more information to CFIB members on how they can
expand their businesses internationally," said Laura Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief
Strategic Officer of CFIB. "As we continue our mission to help all
independent businesses in Canada
succeed, we are excited to launch this partnership where eBay
sellers with store subscriptions will be able to get the full CFIB
member services and support we offer, particularly as they continue
to navigate through the pandemic."
It's anticipated that by the end of this year, Canadian retail
ecommerce sales will reach CA$86.52 billion, almost doubling 2019's
total and accounting for more than 13 per cent of all retail sales
in 2021.1 A similar growth trend is reflected
for Canadian SMB sales on eBay, seeing double-digit growth compared
to pre-pandemic days. And more SMBs are using eBay's marketplace:
the first half of this year saw a 50 per cent increase in the
number of Canadian SMBs selling on eBay than the same period in
2019.
"The Canadian retail landscape has shifted online as a result of
the global pandemic, with small businesses, in particular,
realizing the power of ecommerce and seeing new growth
opportunities," added Bigler. "The winners of this year's
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards illustrate how effective eBay's
global marketplace can be for small businesses, helping them
succeed despite yet another challenging year from the COVID-19
pandemic."
This year's award winners will receive cash prizes ranging from
$10,000 to $15,000 CAD to reinvest into their business, in
addition to a free one-year eBay Store subscription upgrade and
quarterly consultation sessions with an eBay Canada business development expert. See full
information on winners below.
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1 Insider Intelligence's
Canada Ecommerce Forecast 2021
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Entrepreneur of the Year:
While working as a paralegal in the finance industry,
Dave Turgeon of Levis, QC, began collecting and selling rare
CDs on eBay as a hobby. During the 2008 financial crisis, Dave
decided to make a big change by becoming a full-time entrepreneur
on eBay.
When Dave wanted to grow his business by breaking into a new
product category, he approached one of North America's largest bike component
distributors and offered to help them sell online with his eBay
business. The distributor agreed, and Dragon Spinz was born.
Impressed with Dave's online sales performance (the first few items
were sold within one hour of being listed on eBay) the supplier
quickly increased the list of authorized products for Dragon
Spinz.
Dave continued to grow his reputation in the industry and now
works with 7 different global suppliers. His eBay sales are on
track to more than double this year, after already hitting 120 per
cent growth in 2020. Exporting has been a key contributor to Dave's
exponential growth in terms of reaching new customers, as well as
keeping sales steady throughout the winter season in Canada -- a critical advantage for a seasonal
industry like cycling.
Micro-Multinational of the Year
In 1994, Jehan Zeb moved to
Vancouver from Pakistan to continue his studies. Shortly
after, he began working as a sales associate at a corner store in
Vancouver where a new and
unexpected passion for coins developed - sparked by the
commemorative Canadian coins that he crossed paths with every day
at the till.
Jehan cultivated this hobby beyond commemorative coins and
started attending trade shows and joining local collectors' groups,
until one day he took his passion to a new level by starting to
sell commemorative Canadian coins on eBay under the name Mahin
888.
Accessing a global market of buyers was integral in Jehan's
growth, with nearly half of his total sales from outside of
Canada, including Israel, Russia, and the U.S. (which, alone, accounts
for 20 per cent of his sales). In 2018, he retired from his store
manager position to operate his eBay coin business full time,
selling over 10,000 items annually and amassing over 28,000
positive reviews. Keeping an international customer base in mind
when sourcing his inventory keeps his business competitive
globally, and this year he is trending at 150 per cent
year-over-year growth in gross sales.
Emerging Ecommerce Entrepreneur of the Year:
Karina began working at White-Balmer Shoes while she was in high
school. Working at the local storefront in Stratford, Ontario fueled her passion for
footwear, which led her to Toronto
where she managed a North American shoe distributor.
A decade later, she returned to her hometown and purchased
White-Balmer. Not long after, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Karina
to temporarily shut her doors. This major challenge was the impetus
that expedited her plan to take a traditional local
brick-and-mortar storefront online. Designing a website and linking
her inventory to eBay's global marketplace was her first step into
ecommerce.
eBay quickly became the majority source of online sales for
White-Balmer, as well as roughly a third of total sales, at times.
Karina credits the sales from her eBay store as allowing her to not
only keep her current sales staff employed, but also expand by
adding additional staff to help with the online demand. eBay is now
White-Balmer's primary online global marketplace as Karina looks to
expand her product offerings and access new international
markets.
More information on the eBay Canada Entrepreneur of the Year
Awards can be found here: ebay.ca/eoy
More information on eBay's Up and Running program can be
found here: eBay.ca/upandrunning
About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global
commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers in
entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. Founded
in 1995 in San Jose, California,
eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces
for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2020, eBay
enabled over $85 billion of gross
merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its
global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com
SOURCE eBay Canada