Bowing to pressure from investors, Pitney Bowes has replaced longtime CEO Marc Lautenbach, who is also leaving the board of directors, while a company statement on the news points to the likelihood of a pending sale of the money-losing global ecommerce unit, which investors have also called for. The board named EVP and Group President Jason Dies as interim CEO.
Some major Pitney Bowes investors unhappy with its financial results are renewing calls for the company to sell off its money-losing global ecommerce business and get rid of CEO Marc Lautenbach, with one estimating a $1 billion valuation for the unit and possible interest from heavyweights like Amazon and Walmart. Short of that, another bruising proxy fight could be in the cards for next year.
With Chinese New Year starting Sunday, and manufacturing and logistics operations virtually shut down there for two weeks, experts say retail inventory levels are in a good place given recent gluts and proactive restocks, but the weeks following will bear watching and might bring issues.
Dublin-based ESW and Mamenta of Littleton, CO have joined platform forces to offer brands and retailers greater opportunities to expand their cross-border ecommerce trade both on hundreds of global marketplaces and in their direct-to-consumer business.
Building an international presence through cross-border ecommerce is often an incredibly daunting task, even for the most established brands. Following these best practices will help ensure greater success and an overall better customer experience by avoiding supply chain and logistics disruptions while maximizing brand potential.
With worldwide cross-border ecommerce sales reaching as high as $2 trillion by 2030, the opportunity is hard to ignore, but there are logistical hurdles to overcome. The good news: provider networks have made it easier than ever for even SMBs to jump in. This MCM report taps cross-border experts to explore both the risks and rewards of cross-border ecommerce in 2022 and beyond.
Borderfree, a provider of cross-border shipping acquired by Pitney Bowes in 2015, is being acquired by Israeli cross-border platform firm Global-e for $100 million in cash, about a quarter of its original price, the companies announced, adding the two will enter into a strategic partnership. The deal is expected to close in Q3.
There is no slowdown in sight for global ecommerce, so now is the time to seize the moment. But before launching, there are many factors to process. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 or an SMB, you can drive prosperous cross-border growth if you tackle a few areas first. Here is a checklist of the high-priority items to consider.
Those who only think of ecommerce marketplaces of major American and Chinese operators when they consider the global platform economy overlook opportunities this business model also offers SMBs. Merchants with complementary offerings can learn from the big players and serve their customers better together.
Ecommerce penetration worldwide increased from 16% in 2019 to 19% in 2020, driven by the pandemic-fueled shift toward online purchases, according to a UN agency report. Global ecommerce sales, including both B2C and B2B, were up 4% to $26.7 trillion, representing 30% of global GDP.