The Candy Store of the Future

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada - March 19, 2008)

In February 2001, a Toronto landmark supermarket chain closed and locked its front doors, for the final time, after over 50 years in business.

A Canadian businessman by the name of Steve Stavro, perhaps best known as the former Chairman of Toronto's gigantic Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors sports franchises), had started a successful grocery business called Knob Hill Farms in 1953. By the late 1950's, Knob Hill Farms had grown from a single, somewhat revolutionary "outdoor market" concept (especially for a Canadian city) to nine larger locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area. In the 1960's, Mr. Stavro was at the forefront of re-inventing the food distribution business by opening the first "food terminal" in Canada's largest city, and by 1981, Knob Hill Farms was considered one of the most successful grocery chains in all of North America. At one time, Knob Hill Farms even had what was billed as the "Largest Food Store in the World" operating to customer overflow capacity in suburban Mississauga, Ontario.

The 1990's witnessed continued and constant expansion and success for Mr. Stavro's "little grocery store that could." By August 2000, however, the journey for Knob Hill Farms was over.

At first, competition from large "one stop bulk shops" cut into the overall grocery business, especially in North America. Then, some of the other prolific supermarket chains started capitalizing on the internal boutique business model - but in greater numbers and with more locations than the much, much larger bulk superstores.

Thus, an Ontario institution quietly slipped into the annals of Canadian business history. The gargantuan superstores appeared to be unstoppable in their quest to lure more customers away from the older, more specialized food chains.

Then, almost as quietly, something unusual happened.

A trend started to develop, almost as a defiant response to the giant supermarkets' unflinching expansion. People started shopping for their groceries and other foodstuffs using online order and delivery services. Within a very short time period, "cottage" industries that sold everything from candies and cookies to packaged meats and specialty foods started receiving higher and higher demands for their products - and from all corners of the globe.

One American online seller, Jeff Weidman of Beulah's Candyland, was one of the myriad of successful businessmen who managed to move their "cottage" business into a full-fledged corporate venture - and thereby contribute to the grinding halt in the expansion plans of the various brick-and-mortar megastores.

Jeff started professional life as a Certified Public Accountant, and in his own words, "got interested in the confectionary business because one of my own clients was doing so well." Jeff had, like many business professionals before him, began selling "knicks and knacks" on eBay, mostly "for fun". One day, he had a chance to invest in an entire case of a certain Life Savers product, the chocolate and caramel Creme Savers. He bought the case at a greatly reduced price and "on a whim" and to "satisfy his curiosity," he offered the candies for sale using his eBay account.

"Really, all I wanted to do was to test it and see what the response was going to be," Jeff said. "We sold the entire case within minutes. We were onto something here."

After the Creme Savers "experiment", Jeff made some discreet inquiries at the world-famous Hershey Chocolate Factory in nearby Hershey, Pennsylvania, and managed to arrange a deal which allowed him to purchase some limited edition Hershey candy products (such as the wildly popular Inside-Out Peanut Butter Cups).

"There was an immediate, and somewhat surprising, world-wide demand for American chocolate," Jeff said. "International customers were willing to sit in the comfort of their own homes and pay premium prices - plus shipping fees - just to get their hands on the candy."

From there, selling online quickly became a full-time business. "To this day, I just simply offer a product and if people want it, they buy it," Jeff said.

The new entity, Beulah's Candyland, has quickly acquired a reputation among the "perishable goods" eBay seller community as being a model example of the kind of company that could, in concert with similar online sellers, revolutionize the entire food sales industry. May their success lead to the eventual decline in the near-monopoly currently enjoyed by the superstore chains?

"Look at how far this industry has come in such a short time," Jeff said. "The products we sell, for instance, are fresh. Supermarket store products sit on a shelf, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. People are willing to shop online and pay a little more to get new, fresh product."

Beulah's Candyland has grown to the point where they can also offer other entire product lines, including dried fruit and nuts. One of the most popular new lines in their inventory is the range of sugar free candies currently being manufactured in the United States. "(Sugar free) jelly beans are especially popular," said Jeff. "The candy manufacturers have come a long way in making sugar free products taste very good."

The company was even featured in Marsha Collier's 2006 book, "Santa Shops on eBay," as an example of a superior perishable goods seller. "We love what we do," Jeff said. "It can get overwhelming at times, of course, because of the amount of product available. It's one of the reasons we're so glad to have partnerships with companies like eBay and Kyozou that can really help us manage our business - and keep our overhead down."

"Because most of our inventory is recurring items, using Kyozou's inventory management system is a godsend to us. Once the inventory is entered and set up in Kyozou, it's very easy for us to effectively run our business."

The success of Beulah's Candyland is, to be sure, a micro-example of how a smaller corporation could contribute to halting the momentum of the suburban superstores. More and more businesses, specializing in other kinds of perishable goods, begin their ventures every day. "We live in an inflationary environment," Jeff concluded. "People do expect increased prices. It's been our experience that people will pay a little more for our products, just because of the ease of shopping from home. More people are factoring in the cost of gas and auto insurance as a part of their overall daily bills, now, so for some products, it's actually less expensive to buy in bulk online from the comfort of your home."

It has been said that the only thing that is constant and consistent is "change." The advent of ease tends to shape how the world conducts business: right down to the purchase of both basic and luxury food items. Fifty years ago, wanting to purchase penny candy meant a walk to the neighbourhood corner candy shop. Twenty years ago, the big bulk stores looked to be the wave of the future. Today's reality, however, is remarkably different.

You don't need to go to the store, or the "MegaMart", at all anymore. All you have to do is sit comfortably at home, lift a single finger, and sweet treats in any desired quantity are merely just a mouse click away.

Babies, We Can Sell Your Car

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada - February 12, 2008)

There were many new and exciting things unveiled at the annual SEMA Auto Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are always new concept cars to gape open-mouth at, new eye-popping car parts and accessories to covet, and there are many ears to whisper new secrets into behind many showfloor curtains.

As everyone knows, it's impossible to keep a secret “under wraps” for long; or more appropriately perhaps, "under a tarpaulin".

For the first time since their inception in 2003, Kyozou Inc., the Toronto-based multi-channel sales automation experts, had a presence at the SEMA Auto Show in Las Vegas. The SEMA Show was held from October 30th to November 2nd, 2007. While it wasn't a secret within the online seller industry that Kyozou planned to attend the event, the purpose of having representation was somewhat shrouded in secrecy.

In an unprecedented move towards servicing the needs of a specific multi-channel marketplace, Kyozou has announced the formation of a new website, devoted to the online automotive industry. Kyozou Motors was unveiled by Mark Neustadt, Sales Director of Kyozou Inc., while visiting with existing and potential new business partners alike in Las Vegas during the autumn SEMA event.

"We've always taken the time to listen to our customers," Mark said. "Kyozou has an excellent track record of taking suggestions directly from our customers and if practicable, implementing their requests for new features and modules. Kyozou Motors is a direct result of many of those suggestions."

Mark pointed out "once we started asking questions about what we could do for auto parts sellers that would actually help make their businesses more profitable, the concept of a separate Motors website started to take shape pretty quickly. We had a team of dedicated people - from Account Managers all the way up to the CEO of Kyozou - have a hand in the design and implementation process."

Mark previewed and demonstrated Kyozou Motors to a select group of executives and representatives from large online businesses (including eBay), and was encouraged by the positive feedback he received. He knew from the enthusiastic recommendations and comments made on the SEMA showfloor that Kyozou was definitely on the right track.

Kyozou Motors has quietly been available and live in a BETA format since Hallowe'en 2007, but rather than rush into a premature global release, Mark and the other members of the Kyozou management team decided it would be best to have all the "bugs and blemishes" worked out beforehand.

Attempts have previously been made by Kyozou competitors and compatriots to focus on specific online sales areas. Some corporations have dedicated entire new groups and divisions to aftermarket auto parts sellers in particular. This is the first time, however, that an entirely separate multi-channel automated website, dedicated to the particular needs of a distinct market, has truly been developed and "spun off" as a separate website from the parent company (eBay Motors recently was branched off as a separate entity, it should be noted).

What makes Kyozou Motors unique, apart from the auto-centric and eye-catching graphic design element, is that Kyozou has undertaken the design of automotive-specific sales automation management tools - again mostly at the behest of their automotive market customers. Kyozou has even hired new staff members, with extensive knowledge of the auto industry itself, to add to their already well-known and respected team of experienced sales and support agents.

"Some good people gave us many great ideas and our team put in a lot of hard work in development hours," Mark said. "We think the automotive market sellers will be very excited and satisfied with our efforts."

"Of course, they're always welcome to continue to give us fresh ideas and recommendations - that's what led to the inception of Kyozou Motors in the first place."

Congratulations to PnP Games of Winnipeg, Manitoba for being awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from eBay!

Nov 21, 2007 9:26:12 GMT

Congratulations are in order for Kyozou partner PnP Games of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Jade Pearce, owner of PnP Games, was awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from eBay Canada. PnP Games was chosen from hundreds of online merchants, each asked to submit an essay describing their various philosophies, innovations and challenges to their online businesses. PnP Games has grown from a one-man operation - headquartered from a basement bedroom - to an eBay Power Seller complete with five full and part-time employees. In September 2007, PnP Games opened their first retail location in Winnipeg and hosted a highly-successful Nintendo 64 Goldeneye Tournament. Kyozou is proud to have been a contributor to Jade’s success story, and we wish PnP Games even greater success heading into 2008!

October 18, 2007 08:31:44 GMT

(Toronto, Ontario, CDN October 18, 2007) - Everyone should be familiar with the Biblical story of David taking on a much larger, and apparantly much stronger, Philistine named Goliath. Such stories abound of the "little guy" over-coming seemingly insurmountable odds, and emerging victorious, almost every day in our mainstream news media.

It isn't very often, though, in the high-tech world of e-commerce that the story holds true: usually, in fact, it is exactly the opposite. The Internet is littered with the ghostly electronic signatures of long-swallowed, once promising corporations. Yes, sometimes "Goliath" does win.

In the multi-channel seller's world, there wasn't necessarily a single giant, per se. It could be argued that two companies battled and scraped with each other relentlessly for every step of virtual ground, striking toe-to-toe while some of the smaller warriors carefully went about their own business and waited for one of the giants to fall. It was only a matter of time, they collectively thought, before one of them had to perish.

However, it wasn't a fall as much as it was a 'swallowing'. ChannelAdvisor merged with Marketworks, and turned and prepared for a response from the smaller, solid warriors. Seemingly, it never came - except from one camp.

Kyozou Inc., the colorful Toronto-based automation software company with the equally colorful Samurai mascot, has stepped into the fray and has crafted an aggressive response to the recent merger.

There are two things Kyozou plans to announce, in a bold step to assert themselves as a real alternative for those online merchants who may not be too pleased with recent developments within the marketplace. The first one is purely a crafted response to the Marketworks takeover: for a limited time, Kyozou is offering a program exclusively to Marketworks customers who may be contemplating a change of platform due to the uncertainty of their union with ChannelAdvisor.

According to Kyozou's Business Development and Marketing Director, "we've learned from simple observation that companies taken over by others don't tend to keep their own identity very long. They tend to get phased out, and in most cases, customers are literally forced to accept having to learn new systems and new procedures - they aren't really given much of a choice in the matter." In addition to having to cope with the potential aggravation of being pressured into doing business in an unfamiliar and perhaps unwanted platform, "it's entirely probable that some of the people those sellers have come to count on for support and guidance - won't be in their positions long, as downsizing is sure to happen and customer service/tech support is absorbed into the larger, parent corporation."

Kyozou simply wants to provide those sellers another option - while they still have the choice. Until November 30th, 2007, Kyozou is issuing an invitation to all current Marketworks customers the chance to cross-over to the Kyozou system - and virtually for free. "We would really like to keep the decision of how sellers best run their auction and e-commerce business squarely in their own hands", Kyozou said. "Realistically, Marketworks customers are going to be forced to accept the fact that they're going to have to adapt anyway: why not switch to Kyozou? They'll have immediate access to all our management tools, and they'll get an entire team of professionals with their growth and development firmly and clearly in mind."

Interested Marketworks customers can contact Kyozou for details about just how easy it is to migrate their existing inventory and templates over to Kyozou's system. "We've done this before," Kyozou said. "It's not like we're venturing into uncharted territory here: a number of our current customers had become disenchanted with a previous partnership, far before this merger even took place, and we were able to make the transition for them seamlessly."

As for the second announcement, all Kyozou will (cryptically) say at this time is that "something big is happening, and it's happening right at Hallowe'en." Early rumor has it that Kyozou is going to announce at least one separate division dedicated to a distinct marketplace. "Let's just say that, in addition to hearing the pain of customers effected by the recent merger, we were hearing from more and more customers who suggested they'd really like to see a multi-channel automation company cater specifically to their distinct needs," Kyozou said. "We listened. We listened HARD."

So, is Kyozou taking aim at the Goliaths still out there? "I don't think we're 'the next big thing'. I think we're already there. David did become a King after all, didn't he?

Fees & Fraud Remain Ebay Sellers Main Concerns

Mar 19, 2007 07:24:41 GMT

AuctionBytes Polls eBay Sellers on Online-Auction Issues Last summer, there was a seismic shift in the online-auction industry when eBay significantly increased fees for Store inventory and urged sellers to move items from Stores to the core auction platform. These moves came after eBay had heavily promoted Stores and had given Store listings more exposure on core early in the year, leaving many sellers confused and angry. There was a massive outcry with seller protests and strikes, and mainstream media picked up the story. (Auctionbytes) more.. link to news article

EBay Still the Leader in Online Shopping Sites

Mar 14, 2007 04:11:47 GMT

EBay's still king of the online shopping ring, and then some, according to numbers released by Hitwise. Amazon, Wal-Mart, Craigslist, and Target combined can't match the grip the incumbent online auction powerhouse holds on the online shopping public. In February, eBay.com attracted 18.5 percent of all visits in Hitwise's Shopping and Classifieds categories, followed by eBayMotors, racking up another 3.5 percent. The shellacking would be dramatic enough if it stopped there. But it doesn't. Number nine on the list is eBay's Half.com with 0.64 percent. (Auctionwire) more.. link to news article

FBI: Auction Fraud No. 1 Online Complaint

Mar 20, 2007 09:30:00 GMT

Internet auction fraud accounts for close to half of all the complaints made to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, according to a report released Friday. Of the 207,492 complaint submissions made to the Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2006, Internet auction fraud accounted for 45 percent, the Internet Fraud Crime Report found. That figure is down from about 63 percent of complaints in the IC3's report in 2005. The IC3 is a joint project of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. (Ecommercetimes)
more.. link to news article