B2B Online Media Report(2007 Novermber)

What's in the Report?

• The Top 30 Asian online B2B media companies continue to be dominated by consumer merchandise sourcing websites. Of the 30 in our ranking, 18 are primarily sourcing websites or online trade directories. The remaining 12 are IT and Internet titles or fall into the vertical industry category.
• The Top 10 were quite stable in the past six months. Alibaba.com held onto the top position and most other websites only moved one or two positions. There were two new entrants to the Top 10 - dhgate.com and bbspace.cn. There was more change in the bottom third of the list. There were three new entrants - texnet.com.cn, ecw.com and busytrade.com. Six of the bottom third of the list dropped nine or more places since our April report.
• The sourcing websites typically generate revenues by charging suppliers to list their products online. Other businesses in our Top 30 generate revenues through selling banner ads or by charging for premium content and subscriptions.
• Of the sourcing websites, Global Sources and Alibaba continue to have the most sophisticated online sourcing platforms offering a variety of services and content ranging from proprietary research to voice and instant messaging services.
• Interestingly, Global Sources and Alibaba also have the most diverse source of revenues compared with their competitors. In addition to its online sourcing platform, Global Sources has a viable print-based trade catalogue business and it operates a series of sourcing exhibitions in Hong Kong. The Alibaba Group has its sourcing platform, online search services, Taobao.com (a consumer auction site), Alisoft, Alipay and it operates Yahoo! China. Although these business do not fall under the Alibaba.com unit.
• Amongst the online business publishers, the most significant in terms of traffic are ITmedia (#3), a Japanese media company targeting IT professionals and ChinaByte (#8), the partner of TechTarget in China, which is focused on the technology professionals in China.
• There are six key trends that BSG believes will significantly affect the rankings going forward:

1. Increased content: this is especially evident amongst the more sophisticated sourcing sites, Global Sources and Alibaba. They are continually offering more content such as industry research, supplier credit reports, export guidelines and verification services.

2. Search engine optimisation: SEO is playing an important role in determining which B2B websites move up the rankings. SEO involves making continual technical adjustments to the website to ensure that their website appears at the top of Google's (and other's) search results.

3. Creating offline awareness: Leading B2B websites including Global Sources and Alibaba are also focused on building their brand offline through outdoor advertising campaigns, participating in trade shows globally and, in the case of Global Sources and some others offering print catalogues.

4. Online Sourcing in China's Domestic Market: A considerable number of the websites in the Top 30 are either exclusively focused on domestic sourcing in China (e.g. 51fashion.com.cn and hc360.com) or they operate multiple websites which includes a domestic sourcing site (e.g. Alibaba.com.cn). These will likely serve as a means to generate new revenues and create leads for flagship English-language sourcing websites.

5. Emphasis on Verification Services: Following a series of recalls of products made in China earlier this year, the leading online sourcing platforms have responded by offering new and more sophisticated verification services for buyers using their websites. These services are being offered in part as a response to market pressures and in part as a means of gaining a competitive advantage.

6. Vertical Sourcing Websites: There are now a number of vertical, industry-specific sourcing websites in BSG's Top 30. It is unclear if these websites will expand in number, quality and depth or if they will be acquired by the larger general sourcing sites such as Alibaba and Global Sources.