Another Shenzhen big seller impacts A-share listing

After Anker Innovations' successful independent listing, many cross-border e-commerce giants were inspired and embarked on their own independent listing journeys. In recent years, home furnishing giant Zhiou Technology, clothing giant Saiwei Times, and 3C giant UGREEN Technology have successfully listed on the A-share market. Recently, news came out in the industry that another cross-border e-commerce company in Shenzhen is striving to be listed on the A-share market.

AIMSI starts listing guidance

According to the news, Shenzhen Aimshi E-commerce Co., Ltd. started the listing guidance in October last year, and now the second phase of guidance has been completed. The institution responsible for the guidance this time is Orient Securities.

Many people may not be familiar with Shenzhen AIMSI E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

In fact, AIMSI was founded as early as 2007, which means it is already a veteran in the cross-border e-commerce industry. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, with branches and subsidiaries in Huizhou, Chongqing, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Yiwu and other places, and has established overseas warehouses in the United States and the United Kingdom to realize local delivery services for goods.

Its business mainly involves four sectors: large boutique, small boutique, semi-boutique, and small packages. The business categories include consumer electronics, computer office, household goods, home appliances, gardening supplies, sports and outdoor, auto parts, industrial crafts, beauty and personal care, clothing and jewelry, and tens of thousands of other commodities.

From the perspective of the cross-border e-commerce platforms that have been deployed, most of the current mainstream platforms have been involved, including Lazada and Shopee, which focus on Southeast Asia, Wish, which is aimed at the sinking market, Aliexpress, known as the "international version of Taobao", and eBay, which was once the "king" of the cross-border e-commerce industry. Of course, there is also the e-commerce giant Amazon.

Since the prospectus has not yet been disclosed, the revenue of each platform and the profit data over the years are unknown. However, judging from some side information, its business situation should be pretty good.

To date, AIMSI has obtained many qualifications and honors: national-level "National High-tech Enterprise", provincial-level "Guangdong Province Industrial and Information Technology E-commerce Demonstration Base", municipal-level "Shenzhen Science and Technology-based Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" and "Shenzhen Advanced Technology Service Enterprise".

It has also won numerous awards and recognitions in the industry: the "Best Shopee Philippine Market Award" for three consecutive years; the "eBay Five-Star Award" and "My Mall Best Seller Award" for two consecutive years; Lazada's annual "Like" Merchant Award, etc.

All these achievements are inseparable from its huge investment. It is reported that AIM has independently developed its internal office automation management IT system since 2012. So far, it has invested more than 200 million yuan in automation systems, data decision-making and intelligent research.

We have now realized automation and cloud management platforms for product research and development, supply chain, warehousing, orders, logistics, sales, finance, customer service, big data middle platform, as well as intelligent product selection, automatic publication and operation, big data stocking, automatic procurement and payment, intelligent matching of logistics channels, and automatic waybill printing. Through chatgpt, we have enhanced AI customer service and sales operations, automatic financial write-offs and other intelligent functions.

"General Product + Brand" Strategy

Aimeshi adopts a combination strategy of general products and brands, which can be simply described as distribution + high-quality goods. This is a common business model in the cross-border e-commerce industry.

The general product model usually refers to the sale of a wide variety of relatively low-priced goods. It usually does not focus on brand building and is characterized by "general and comprehensive", low customer unit price and multiple SKUs. The core driving force of this model lies in product selection and digital link capabilities. The overall business strategy is more flexible, but the brand recognition is weak and the customer unit price increases slowly.

The brand model focuses on building and promoting brand image and attracting consumers through brand value. It is usually characterized by "precision and beauty". The core driving force lies in brand power and supply chain management capabilities. A stronger brand effect can drive a rapid increase in customer unit price. A multi-brand, few product line layout can also reduce inventory turnover pressure, but it requires higher team capabilities.

The advantage of this combination strategy is that it can meet the needs of different consumers, increase market share and competitiveness; at the same time, through brand building and promotion, it can enhance brand image and product added value and achieve long-term and stable development.

However, this strategy also requires the company to have strong supply chain management, brand building and marketing capabilities to ensure product quality and supply efficiency and enhance brand awareness and reputation.

This model easily reminds people of Huakai Yibai, which has been successfully listed on the A-share market.

Under the strategy of "general products + high-quality products + cross-border e-commerce comprehensive services", Huakai Yibai's general product business is deployed in high-cost-effective blue ocean categories with strong demand, such as auto parts, industrial and commercial supplies, home gardening, health and beauty, outdoor sports, etc. These categories have stable demand and a dispersed competition landscape. The unit price of products is usually between US$10 and US$20. They have a long life cycle and slow updates. There is a large market demand in the subdivided fields, but the degree of market competition is lower than that of 3C electronic products, clothing and other categories.

Therefore, in Huakai Yibai's performance, the pan-product business plays the role of a "ballast stone", and its revenue accounts for nearly 80% of the total revenue (in 2023, the company's total revenue was 6.517 billion yuan, and the revenue from the pan-product business was approximately 5.2 billion yuan).

However, in the long run, brand is the solid foundation for enterprises to achieve sustainable development. Today's cross-border e-commerce industry is increasingly competitive, and product homogeneity is serious. Having a strong brand can make a company stand out from many competitors and make it easier for consumers to identify and choose.

This is also why popular brands such as Youkeshu have all transformed into a boutique model.

At present, AIM is also vigorously moving in this direction. Judging from the job recruitment information posted on a certain recruitment website, most of its operation and product development positions are aimed at the "high-quality" direction.

TikTok

Under the trend of social e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce giants such as Anker Innovations and Zhiou Technology have successively deployed on TikTok. In addition to deploying on platforms such as Amazon, Ames also followed the trend and actively participated in TikTok.

According to a recruitment website, Emshi has a "tiktok operation" position in its recruitment, with an office address in Shenzhen and a high salary (9-13K). It requires one year or more of TikTok platform operation experience, successful operation experience in TikTok in the US and Southeast Asia, and home products are preferred.

Job responsibilities include:

1. Responsible for the incubation and operation of overseas Tik Tok accounts in the US and Southeast Asia from 0 to 1;

2. Market research, provide reference and basis for the company's product selection, pay attention to the trend of platform rules, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and operation plans in a timely manner;

3. Continue to monitor and analyze operational data, analyze market and account data, and optimize related advertising;

4. Plan online activities based on hot topics and user interests, and promote their implementation to increase the activity and stickiness of TikTok users;

5. Conduct data and user analysis on the promotion platform you are responsible for, and continuously optimize the promotion methods and effects.