Apple News Facebook Twitter 新浪微博 Instagram YouTube Wednesday, Mar 15, 2023
Search
Archive
English>>

Jewelry shines online: HK entrepreneur starts up jewelry sharing business

By Xian Jiangnan, Zheng Jiahao, Yuan Xiaohai (People's Daily Online)    13:26, September 19, 2019

"In cities like Shenzhen and Beijing, you can always find those who have interesting souls," Terence Lin, co-founder of Jewellry-Box, said with a slight Beijing accent. Sitting at a café where he often meets with friends to discuss business, the Hong Kong entrepreneur shared his story of starting a business in Shenzhen, a vibrant city abundant with people with "the heart of entrepreneurship."

Internet plus jewelry

Terence Lin, co-founder of Jewellry-Box (Photo provided by Terence Lin)

Born and raised in Hong Kong, the 30-year-old is no stranger to the Chinese mainland. Terence got his bachelor's degree in Hong Kong, and then studied for his double master's degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Peking University. After working in investment banking and a listed company for a while, he felt that while investment earns quick money, but it wasn't 'real', so he decided to start up his own business.

In 2018, Terence set up his company Jewellry-Box, which is devoted to jewelry technology, jewelry sharing, and authentication technology. In his eyes, China's jewelry industry was still stagnating in what he often described as "Internet 1.0", so he decided to tap into this industry where China is looking to improve, complemented by technology and the new business model of jewelry sharing.

"(Some Jewelry manufacturers) just have an e-commerce platform, and that's all, without making any breakthroughs in technology. Without big data, you are more likely to make enormous mistakes," said Terence. According to Terence, big data could help analyze what consumers like, so that designers could create jewelry that better caters for their clientele.

Since its launch in November last year, the company now has five shops and has developed an App, on which customers can exchange pieces of jewelry of equal value for free. To date, the total number of memberships has reached over 10,000 on the mainland, and over 4,000 in Hong Kong. About 20 percent of the members are active users, with a re-purchase rate of 25 percent.

As a trailblazer in this sector, Terence hopes to use AI technology and big data, complemented by a new marketing model, to create China's own jewelry IP and copy this business model abroad. "When our jewelry IP has gained enough attention worldwide, our nation's jewelry industry will become sustainable," he said.

Encountering interesting souls

Terence Lin, co-founder of Jewellry-Box (Photo provided by Terence Lin)

For Terence, Shenzhen, as part of the Greater Bay Area, is an ideal place for him to start a business, as the city boasts a vibrant atmosphere of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation."

Initiated by Premier Li Keqiang in 2014 at the World Economic Forum, the "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" campaign, which promotes entrepreneurship through innovation by all people, attempts to evoke people's entrepreneurial drive and lead to the activation of innovation. In 2018, over 18,000 new companies were registered in China per day; while 478,000 university students started up their own businesses.

In Shenzhen, people at all ages from various walks of life have the heart of entrepreneurship, Terence noted. "Here, you can always find those who have interesting souls."

Getting started by studying

Terence Lin shares his story of starting up a business on the mainland at a symposium held in Shenzhen. (Photo provided by Terence Lin)

Shenzhen has become a go-to place for many budding Hong Kong entrepreneurs like Terence. Compared with Shenzhen, Hong Kong is still "in its infancy" when it comes to entrepreneurship and is costly to start up a business, said Terence, noting that the two cities could leverage their advantages to complement each other.

"Shenzhen is an innovative hub, and Hong Kong has more advantages in legal and financial facilities. By complementing each other, the two cities could radiate their influence on South-East Asia," he said.

While the mainland welcomes Hong Kong entrepreneurs, getting started on the mainland is not easy for them. As many Hong Kong youths are not familiar with the mainland, Terence explained, getting enough knowledge of the mainland market is crucial for them, and studying on the mainland may be a good start.

"You will make new friends and build connections by studying here. When you are studying, you will have new experiences. If you combine new experiences with your background in Hong Kong, maybe you will gain something new." 

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)
(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)

Add your comment

Most Read

Hot News

We Recommend

Photos

prev next

Related reading