Why We Love Boutir for E-commerce Business Management (And You Should, Too!)

Online shopping has become a trend in Hong Kong, and numerous people are using social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to sell goods with e-commerce hashtags. However, while placing an order is easy, arranging payment and delivery is anything but straightforward. Realising that in Hong Kong e-commerce business management was overly complicated compared to other markets, Eric Ng took part in the AngelHack Hong Kong Fall 2013 and came up with the idea of Boutir.

Boutir is a mobile app that helps sellers to manage their online stores. Sellers can create their stores in three minutes with their mobile devices by inputting basic information. What makes Boutir special is that it supports batch importing of product photos from Instagram to ease the item creation process. Sellers can also retarget product advertisements in Facebook, helping the sellers cross-sell and up-sell.

E-commerce: a way out for small shops

Hong Kong has been accused of real estate hegemony for a long time and it's not uncommon for small retailers to close because of an increase in rent. Boutir believes that the role of e-commerce is of the utmost importance as it provides a way out for smaller sales businesses to escape from the burden of high rent.

Starting up in Hong Kong: the challenge

Eric believes Hong Kong is the right place to launch a product to an international market and attract talent with an international vision. However, the startup ecosystem is not as mature as in the US , which benefits from government support and a more established network of investors, mentors and media. 

Starting up as an e-commerce startup, Eric points out that an out of date payment system and delivery service in the city is the biggest challenge for an e-commerce tool or platform. Therefore Boutir actively looks for payment partners and logistics partners. For example, Boutir provides a parcel locker service to sellers.

We love what we do

"A money-making business may not have a valuation, while a valuable business does not necessarily need to be making money.”
Gordon Yen, MD, Radiant Venture Capital, Google EYE Program Mentor.

Boutir believes marketing, transaction and fulfillment are the three most important factors for being a successful e-commerce seller. “While Boutir is helping a lot on the transaction part, we will continue to engage more partners and enhance Boutir to help sellers with marketing and fulfillment,” Eric says. .

“There are millions of reasons we would quit doing a startup, but there is only one reason keep us going . We love what we are doing.”