Amazon may be known as The Everything Store, but New Aim is making a name for itself in Australia as The Everywhere Store.
In a world of hyper-specialisation, New Aim is product agnostic and operates a multi-channel strategy. That's why the business has been able to achieve roughly 45 per cent growth, year-on-year, for 14 years, in a struggling retail environment.
As other retailers plug away at perfecting a direct-to-consumer marketing strategy, Melbourne-based New Aim founders Fung Lam and Werner Liu are rapidly engineering products based on data.
It's a strategy that scored them the title of Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 last night at a hotly contested Awards ceremony co-hosted by the City of Gold Coast and held at Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort and Spa on the Gold Coast.
The Australian retail sector may be tinkering on recession, but New Aim looks to have cracked the code to keep the consumption economy turning. No fluff, no frills.
"Our business is based on data and we simply look at the demand based on data," says Lam.
"Based on data, we can sell anything."
"We know something even if we don't know why. The data tells us to sell it and we can sell it."
This is textbook systems thinking. Lam and Liu are mechanical to a fault, yet they listen to feedback loops better than most too.
That's why New Aim launched a dropshipping business in recent years, playing to its logistical strengths, while also helping side hustlers, startups and SMEs.
New Aim is now the biggest dropshipper in Australia, supplying products to hundreds of online sellers, as well as providing them with administration and logistical support.
"One of our other big strengths is our investment in technology," explains Liu.
"We have an amazing in-house IT team that provides custom system integrations, reducing our workload and keeping things running quickly and smoothly. Currently, they are working on how to best apply the current AI innovations available to our systems for automation, which is a major project."
Noticing even the smallest shifts in the data set, New Aim's team of around 90 can capitalise on data unlike any other. It's a simple strategy that depends on attention to detail.
"We base everything on buyer behaviour," explains Liu.
"We only sell on websites where people are going to search for specific things. People will buy our products from a marketplace, for example, but never Facebook. Because we can't control buyer behaviour 100 per cent we just go where people are going. It isn't possible for us to control everything."
Control the controllable. Based on that, a central platform would seem appropriate, but that would mean directing more efforts into marketing. That isn't the aim of the New Aim game, as Lam and Liu tell Business News Australia.
Of course, marketing can drive margins, but marketing is shades of grey, while data is black and white. Lam is cut and dried.
"We're the number one seller on all marketplaces in Australia," he says.
"More than 20 per cent of households have received our items. You may have bought from Amazon Australia, eBay, Catch, Kogan, MyDeals and Temple and Webster, but you've actually bought from us."
For every five Australian households, there is one household that has received items from New Aim, speaking to the company's great bargaining power.
It's quite clear New Aim is trying to be everywhere for everyone. It's a strategy that's as hard as it sounds, and that's precisely why Fung Lam and Werner Lui have taken out the coveted Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and earlier this year the Melbourne Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
However, the young entrepreneurs have certainly met their match.
Each and every finalist into the 2019 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards deserves equal merit.
This year, Business News Australia's 2019 Young Entrepreneur finalists turned over approximately $1.03 billion. Between all nominees into the Awards, this figure balloons to $1.3 billion.
Across the nation, these young entrepreneurs are underpinning economic growth in the suburbs, our capital cities, and across entire regions. Together they employ around 4500 staff and counting.
According to the Young Entrepreneur judging panel, this year's event was hotly contested between ASX-listed businesses, impressive scale-ups and fast-growing startups.
And yet, adds Young Entrepreneur Awards founder Camilla Jansen, the initiative has always been about camaraderie rather than competition.
"This is more than an awards night, but gives young Australian entrepreneurs a chance to connect and elevate their businesses onto the global stage," says Jansen.
"Through the initiative, life-changing partnerships have been formed. Ultimately, everyone who has come through the awards is better for it. If nothing else, it presents an opportunity to meet the best and brightest young leaders in Australia."
Mayor of the City of Gold Coast, Mr. Tom Tate, says he was delighted to host the Awards on the Gold Coast; the small business capital of Australia.
"This was the birthplace of the awards in 2008 when it was a local Gold Coast event but the concept is such a winner that it has now become a national celebration. To me, this is a perfect example of the have-a-go spirit that I love so much about Gold Coast," says Mayor Tate.
"The simple fact is that Gold Coast is the small business capital of the nation and a great place to celebrate those who are willing to take a risk and work for themselves. These awards showcase initiative, smart thinking and hard work.
"My attitude is that entering these awards is a terrific way to get your name, service or product valuable recognition. It is a terrific exercise in networking and also a chance to gain mentoring from others sharing your journey.
"Make no mistake, I believe entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy and make an incredible contribution to our national quality of life."
The winners of the 2019 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards 2019 are as follows:
Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Fung Lam and Werner Liu, New Aim
Australian Young Entrepreneur Trailblazer Award
Karl Brown, Instyle Solar and Rokkit Performance Marketing
Australian Young Entrepreneur Social Award
Amelia Gow, Active Opportunities
Australian Young Entrepreneur Arts & Culture Award
Michael Huxley, Huxley Group
Australian Young Entrepreneur Fashion Design Award
Tammy Hembrow, Saski Collection
Australian Young Entrepreneur Marketing Award
Nic Blair, Search Factory and Brus Media
Australian Young Entrepreneur PR & Media Award
Naomi Spies, Ruby Communications
Australian Young Entrepreneur Property & Construction Award
Brett Boulton, BOLD Group of Companies
Australian Young Entrepreneur Legal Award
Sacha Kirk and Warwick Walsh, Lawcadia
Australian Young Entrepreneur Professional Services Award
Carlos Ferri, Zapala Corp, Zapala Go, Zapala People, Shipeezi, Moveezi, Educafy, Zapala Brazil, Zapala Fleet, Bhold Creative
Australian Young Entrepreneur Startup Award
Jackson Meyer, Verus Global
Australian Young Entrepreneur Food & Beverage Award
Drew Bilbe and Troy Douglas, Nexba
Australian Young Entrepreneur Hospitality & Tourism Award
Justin Hales, Camplify
Australian Young Entrepreneur Fitness Award
Aaron Smith, KX Pilates
Australian Young Entrepreneur Health & Medicine Award
Dr Tanya Unni, Amtan Medical, Amtan Health, Amtan Health, Australian Skin Lab and SkinLab & Beauty
Australian Young Entrepreneur Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution Award
Jeff Yu and Anson Zhang, One Stop Warehouse
Australian Young Entrepreneur Specialist Services Award
Jonathan Dwayre, Orbitz Elevators
Australian Young Entrepreneur Finance Award
Daniel Wessels, Jacaranda Finance and Jacaranda Loans
Australian Young Entrepreneur Technology Award
Christian Pacheco, Virtual IT Group
Australian Young Entrepreneur Digital Disruptor Award
Ben Bradshaw, Disrupt Digital, SponsoredLinX and Get More Traffic
Australian Young Entrepreneur Retail & Services Award
Fung Lam and Werner Liu, New Aim
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