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☆ Chinese investors await more stimulus, major earnings for clarity: Portfolio Specialist
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChinese investors await more stimulus, major earnings for clarity: Portfolio SpecialistKen Wong, Asia Equity Portfolio Specialist of Eastspring Investments, says Chinese markets are closely watching government policies and major company earnings for a gauge on China’s economic sentiment.

Persons: Ken Wong Organizations: Eastspring Investments Locations: Asia

☆ Shopify embraced a 'new shape' after a post-pandemic slump and has charted an 18-month comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewIn October 2022, Shopify's once high-flying stock hit its lowest price since before the Covid pandemic. AdvertisementNow, after two rounds of layoffs and a divestment of its fulfillment and logistics business, the picture looks a bit different for Shopify. Shedding a "money-losing logistics business"Dropping logistics and fulfillment is a major part of Shopify's stock comeback story. In May 2023, Shopify announced it would be selling the logistics business entirely to Flexport. In May 2023, Shopify cut another 20% of its workforce as it sold its logistics business to Flexport.

Persons: —, Shopify's, Shopify, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Wong, D.A, Davidson, Gil Luria, Tobi Lütke, Lütke, Luria, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Hoffmeister, Bhavin Shah, GMV, We've, Shah Organizations: Service, Business, Systems, Investors, SEC, Deutsche Bank Locations: Salesforce, mstone@businessinsider.com

☆ Shopify has poached at least two dozen employees from Salesforce as it pushes into enterprise e-commerce
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Holly Dresden joined Shopify as head of enterprise merchant success in December after six years with Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Evan AgostiniAs it moves further into enterprise, Shopify hasn't always been subtle about zeroing in on Salesforce as a competitor. It recently launched a webpage comparing its platform with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, encouraging merchants to "join the mass migration" of brands moving from Salesforce to Shopify. But winning over enterprise retailers requires a different approach, and it's one where Salesforce has more years of experience than Shopify. Talking the enterprise talkPoaching employees from Salesforce isn't the only way Shopify has made an effort to win over enterprise customers.

Persons: —, Shopify, Kal Stephen, Holly Dresden, Everlane, Marc Benioff, Evan Agostini, hasn't, Michael Affronti, we've, Affronti, Shopify's, Salesforce, We've, It's, Rick Watson, Watson, Demandware, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Wong, Harley Finkelstein Organizations: Service, Salesforce Commerce, Business, Salesforce, Adobe, SAP, Mattel, Commerce, RMW Commerce Consulting, Accenture, IDC, Manhattan Associates Locations: Salesforce, Demandware

☆ Shopify Fulfillment Network is back — sort of. Here's why it's different this time around.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The new app has a familiar name: Shopify Fulfillment Network. With the new Shopify Fulfillment Network , merchants can sign up to use Flexport's services through Shopify's app. The newly named Shopify Fulfillment Network is not merchants' only option for fulfillment. Wong said the company had also indicated Flexport would not be the exclusive provider for Shopify Fulfillment Network. "They've definitely given themselves more choices than there were before when it was just Shopify Fulfillment Network or bust," he said.

Persons: Shopify, Tobi Lütke, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Wong, It's, Flexport, They've Organizations: Shopify Logistics, Business, Shopify, Flexport, Amazon Locations: Flexport, mlstone@protonmail.com

☆ Asian central banks are more 'cautious' about cutting rates, says asset management firm
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAsian central banks are more 'cautious' about cutting rates, says asset management firmKen Wong, Asia equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments, says there's still some skepticism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will aggressively cut interest rates.

Persons: Ken Wong, there's Organizations: Eastspring Investments, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Asia

☆ Shopify sets a Black Friday record
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailShopify sets a Black Friday recordKen Wong, analyst at Oppenheimer, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss Shopify's Black Friday sales, holiday season sentiment, and more.

Persons: Ken Wong, Oppenheimer, Shopify's

☆ Shopify plans to introduce a new level of customer support for its largest enterprise merchants, as it works to attract bigger companies, leaked video reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Shopify is working on a customer support offering for enterprise merchants. In June, Shopify announced that its one-click checkout Shop Pay would be made available to non-Shopify enterprise merchants through Commerce Components. The 2023 version of the report evaluated Shopify Plus and ranked the platform at the top of its peers in terms of execution. Merchant success managers are Shopify employees who consult with Plus merchants about launching and running their online stores. They're often touted as a benefit that can help merchants "get the most value out of Shopify Plus."

Persons: Shopify, Staff Glen Worthington, Ken Wong, Oppenheimer, Wong, Harley Finkelstein, Kaz Nejatian Organizations: Staff, Mattel, Merchant, Shopify Locations: Canadian, Commerce

☆ Shopify's midlife crisis: How a surprise pivot away from logistics capped the e-commerce giant's whirlwind year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But Shopify's logistics acquisitions, which came with around 550 more staff altogether, started to look like dead weight after the shine of the initial announcements wore off. By the beginning of 2023, the attitude toward logistics inside Shopify had shifted to palpable frustration, four people who worked for Shopify's logistics division said. Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesIndependent of logistics, Shopify saw massive cultural shifts in the past several years. One core tenet of Shopify's work culture is "default to open," meaning it values transparency and sharing information with employees. The letter referred to Shopify's logistics work of the past four years as a "side quest" that distracted the company from its "main quest."

Persons: Shopify, it's, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Lance McMillan, crafters, Tobias Lütke, Slack, —, Lütke, Shopify's, I've, Toby Shannan, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Hoffmeister, Bobby Morrison, Allan Leinwand, Kaz Nejatian, Nejatian, Madeline Stone, Emma Cosgrove Organizations: Employees, Amazon, Systems, Kiva Systems, Toronto Star, Getty, miscalculating, Facebook, ecosgrove Locations: Shopify, Ottawa , Ontario, —, Silicon

☆ Shopify tried to challenge Amazon in logistics. It never came within 100 miles. Was it all a waste?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Shopify is selling most of its logistics business to freight unicorn Flexport in an all stock deal. Though Shopify's logistics journey began in 2019 as Shopify Fulfillment Network, the current iteration is less than a year old, and investors had become wary of the level of investment that getting the outfit into competitive shape would take. The acquisition was previously considered key to Shopify's fulfillment ambitions, and its team has been involved in the company's efforts to develop fulfillment software. Derek Lossing, an Amazon Logistics alum-turned investment advisor with Cirrus Global Advisors, said an acquisition-driven strategy may have been the right course — especially when the alternative involved contracting with legacy logistics players, which can take months. To some, the question of whether Shopify's layover into logistics was a waste of talent, time, and resources, can't be answered until Flexport takes hold and Clark flexes the muscles he gained building Amazon Logistics.

☆ Shopify insiders and analysts are bracing for a strategy shift in the company's logistics business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insiders and analysts expect a major shakeup to Shopify's logistics strategy. "The fulfillment investment is sort of the biggest anchor that's keeping the business from being more profitable." That may be a welcome change for investors, who have been voicing increasing concern with the level of investment Shopify had planned. And Shopify Logistics CEO Aaron Brown told Insider in February that 6 River Systems' warehouse automation would be "the machine in the background making everything work." Weiss then asked if Shopify Logistics is intended to turn a profit.

☆ Shopify sinks as investors worry over big spending in weak economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nivedita Balu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pandemic-related disruptions propelled the company to briefly become Canada's most valuable firm before online demand eased as economies reopened and forced it to launch new products, boost investments and focus on social media integration. Such investments and Wednesday's warning on macro-challenges have spooked investors concerned about profitability. "Our outlook reflects the prudence that we think is necessary in this macro environment," company president Harley Finkelstein said in an interview on Thursday. "The lack of annual guidance suggests limited near-term visibility to the sustainability of consumer spending," he said. Some analysts also flagged Shopify's significant exposure to categories such as apparel, which could take a hit from softening consumer spending.

☆ Shopify's prices will go up by as much as 33% in some cases, but analyst say merchants aren't going anywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts say Shopify's products offer a much better value than their competitors'. He added that many merchants pay more in fees for third-party apps and add-ons than they do for a Shopify subscription. With those fees in mind, an increase to the monthly subscription fee would seem relatively small, Pfau argued. Luria said that it's possible Shopify's price hikes could "upset smaller merchants for whom this is a big expenditure," particularly amid inflation and economic uncertainty. Shopify's price hikes come as the company makes changes to its leadership team.

☆ Shopify is making moves to woo multimillion-dollar businesses. It's a big change to its identity as a small business champion it established during the pandemic.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With the move to Commerce Components, Shopify could target merchants with sales that are more in the $500 million range, Wong said. For Commerce Components, Shopify has already partnered with Mattel, which generated nearly $5.5 billion in sales for 2021. For a subscription fee, Shopify merchants get access to tools to build an online store, ship out products, and process payments. To convince large retailers to use its product, Shopify must show them it has an edge over legacy software platforms. At the same time, it has launched other products, like its advertising product Shopify Audiences, that are available only to larger merchants using Shopify Plus.

☆ Squarespace, a Website-Development Firm, Names Amazon Executive as CFO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Gooden most recently led the finances of the unit behind Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, and Echo, which sells the online retailer’s smart-speaker products. At Squarespace, Mr. Gooden is set to succeed Marcela Martin, who held the CFO role from November 2020 until July of this year. Photo: Squarespace Inc.Liz Coddington, the former vice president of finance for Amazon Web Services, in June joined exercise equipment company Peloton Interactive Inc. as CFO. Squarespace declined to make Mr. Gooden available for an interview, nor did he immediately respond to a request for comment via LinkedIn. Prior to joining Amazon, Mr. Gooden held CFO roles at companies such as payments firm SpacePointe and defunct commerce platform Solavei LLC.

☆ Shopify's C-suite revamp could signal more acquisitions and a focus on services over software, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Most of Shopify's C-suite has been replaced in the past two years. "There was some hope that they would reprioritize software, whether it's marketing-automation software or customer-engagement software," he added. The former chief technology officer Jean-Michel Lemieux, chief legal officer Joe Frasca, and chief talent officer Brittany Forsyth all departed in 2021. The chief product officer Craig Miller left the company a few months before that, in fall 2020. Shopify has yet to formally fill the chief product officer role, whose responsibilities Lütke said he would take on in the wake of Miller's departure.

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