Cobone acquired by Tiger Global Management, Google selling cars?, Hybris raises money and much more

I missed writing last week’s summary and boy this week has been full of news. Google is rumored to be building a Amazon Prime competitor. I find this interesting, how does it fit into the commerce value chain at Google? (at the moment this seems like a program to be run on top of Google Shopping? ). Secondly, it raises a very interesting question – if I am a merchant why would I take part in this program? Amazon Prime is the world’s greatest loyalty program and it is very successful for Amazon’s customers. The mere fact that Bezos keeps the user numbers secret tells you of the importance. Google has a serious disconnect with “Google Shopping Express” and needs to ensure that it compliments its services or it will go nowhere.

Are we beginning to see the building blocks for a marketplace from Google? Maybe, but Google has bigger problems to worry over – vertical search as seen with apps is cannibalizing its advertising business(the goose that lays the golden eggs for Larry and co), Android has lost ground in comparison to iOS for the last 2 months and Motorola seems to be having less staff every month.

I am going to say it as it has been on my mind for the last few weeks – anybody that wants to directly compete with Amazon needs lots of cash, patience and has to be 4 steps ahead of Bezos. No one has won when going head to head with Amazon.com (only when using the courts have Amazon lost) – they are the kings of margins and closing down industries. Google must be real sure that they want to go head to head with Amazon. I have seen what they do to companies – it aint pretty.

A few weeks ago I wrote about a potential IPO for Hybris software. Well, in the last few days they have announced a new round of funding by some serious investors. Meritech’s additional investing is interesting as they are a late stage fund and I think it signals that this investment is primarily done for growth. Let us be honest for a moment, enterprise commerce solutions is at the moment an open market. Oracle has spent billions on acquisitions, eBay has a interest via GSI Commerce and IBM has also spent millions on acquisitions to ensure that they have a total solution for merchants. Hybris is in my opinion a company to watch and I have a feeling that they will target specific functionality to add to their current offering. The IPO will come as they will need to raise money to challenge Oracle ATG in the enterprise commerce platform industry.

Africa and the Middle East are regions that I look at closely. Ecommerce in both regions are it is infancy but the investors are all here spending millions to ensure that they have a business/es to cater for customers in both regions. The Middle East has seen an influx of investment (LivingSocial etc) and then saw those same investors move out of the markets. It is almost like the ecosystem lost momentum which ensured business closures, investors leaving etc. Cobone is a early market leader who received funding from LivingSocial (whom are also under some pressure) and then lost the investor due to LivingSocial leaving the region. Earlier today, it was announced that Tiger Global has acquired Cobone with original investor Jabbar Internet Group exiting the investment. I note that  Tiger Global Management is investing heavily in Africa and MENA – it almost looks like a consolidation of holdings has been happening over the last 6 months.

Without further ado – here is the 10 stories that caught my attention this past week:

1. Rakuten Branches Out to Asia – Rakuten announces a $10 million Rakuten Fund for Southeast Asia. The fund will strategically invest in startups which Rakuten believes will help in its e-commerce or online travel business in Asia. I think here it is a case of Rakuten had no other choice – be an early investor in SEA ecommerce companies or lose out to competitors. Also a response to Alibaba’s dominance in the region in my opinion.
2. Bad Merchant? Google May Drop Your Rankings Later This Year – This was to be expected especially with the paid for service that Google Shopping has become. One question – will these merchants be penalised via higher Adwords costs or will they be removed from Google Shopping? One other thing – what is the point of Google Trusted Shops program then if another signal is to be used to determining the legitimacy of merchant performance?
3. PayPal Separates Developer Platform From X.commerce, Launches Simpler, Mobile APIs And More – This is a very interesting move by PayPal. Why? eBay centralized all developer interaction under one entity called X.commerce. I think this has been caused by 2 variables – Stripe and Square adoption rates have been high due easy developer platforms. Secondly, I thought at the time and still think X.commerce is dead on. This is the beginning of X.commerce move towards irrelevance..
4. What Does Neiman Marcus Departure Mean for eBay? – This is a significant moment in eBay’s history. They have one problem that they seemingly cannot solve and that is third party sellers for their marketplace. Neiman Marcus’s departure highlights how important relationships are between commerce platforms and their merchants. 25 fashion businesses in 2 plus years since launch should be a concern for Messrs Donahoe and co.
5. eBay aims for globalization, mobilization and more growth in 2013 – eBay is the leader in terms of mobile commerce in my mind, however they have not done great in the emerging markets. This article makes mention of the importance of BRIC’s for eBay. I will add another one here – I think we will be seeing them spin off  their classifieds business into a separate business in the coming 18 months..
6. Google Eats Retail – “Make no mistake about it, Google is trying to eat retail with its recent moves and every retailer should be worried about the implications.  However, while Google is dominant in search, it is not the global e-commerce leader yet.  It does not own significant pieces of the customer relationship (e.g. shipping, customer support, and retention marketing) and as such, retailers need to continue to invest in areas that will stave off commoditization.” Need I say more?
7. Fab stops sending you emails you don’t read, even when you don’t ask them to – Fab does the small things really well. This should delight customers as email overload is something we all battle daily..
8. Google follows Amazon into b2b e-commerce space – B2B ecommerce is suddenly getting a lot more attention. Why? No one is the market-leader in the vertical. I think this is a trend we will be seeing a lot more of in 2013.
9. Amazon has a commanding lead among mobile department stores – Showrooming is something that Amazon owns in the US. That in itself should scare retailers beyond concern. “Amazon receives 59.36% of mobile department store visits, Hitwise Mobile says” Why? Opening your mobile and using the Amazon Price Check app is easy and gives you the information to make a decision.
10. Millicom buys in further to Rocket Internet landgrab in South America and Africa – Millicom has increased their stake in Rocket Internet’s ecommerce efforts in Africa and South America. Jumia also has received another round of funding from Summit partners. I would love to know one thing – what is the total amount of money raised by Rocket Internet over the last 2 years. I am guessing it should be close to a Billion dollars…

Bonus links for this week:

• FindTheBest raises $11M to kill comparison-shopping hell – I love using FindTheBest – they allow customers to compare almost anything. They have proved their model and is a business I watch as I think they have a few things up their sleeves..
• Alibaba may be considering an IPO in the US – This makes sense to me as US investors will battle to get their share of the Alibaba IPO. I almost sure that this will happen and the IPO will be oversubscribed.
• The Problem With “Warby Parker for X” – Jamie Quint wrote a great article on the unique case that is Warby Parker. I agree with him, Warby Parker is a very unique business with a unique set of circumstances which has led to their success.
• The Next Place You Buy a New Car Could Be Google – Google has been testing a car comparison service which leads to dealerships selling cars. Is there any industry in which they have no interest? Autotrader – you have been placed on notice – Google is watching you.  In my mind they will do the same they did to air travel – buy a platform to add it to their search engine.

Onwards..