Shopify: starting the year strong
Ottawa-based e-commerce company Shopify has posted its strong Q4 results for 2019, bringing the company US$505.2mn in revenue (up 47% from 2018).
The success of the company is due, in part, to its long-term commitment to expansion in the Canadian market. Carrying this attitude forwards into 2020, the company recently announced that it would be hiring 1,000 more staff in Vancouver.
“Our mission has always been to make commerce better for everyone, and in order to continue this work, we’re committed to hiring a world-class, cross-disciplinary team with a focus on software development in Vancouver,” said Shopify in a press release.
“Last year, our share of R&D expenditure across Canada’s professional, scientific and technical services sector was 9%, and our R&D spending increased over 70% in 2018 alone—the fastest among our peers in Canada.”
Earning the trust of customers and suppliers
In an article with Global Cosmetics News, Tobi Lütke, CEO of Shopify, emphasised that 2019 had been a milestone year and that it wouldn’t have been possible without building strong relationships with partner companies.
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“We’ve earned the trust of more than one million merchants, and we are motivated more than ever to keep lowering the learning curve so anyone, anywhere can become an entrepreneur.”
Speaking with CNBC, COO Harley Finklestein believed that Shopify’s lucrative festive period inferred the legitimacy of direct-to-consumer (DTC) as the future of retail and online shopping trends.
“This is the story of independent brands and entrepreneurs doing really, really well, and consumers are voting with their wallets,” said Finkelstein. “I think Shopify is powering the entrepreneurship movement.”
Empowering entrepreneurs
A company proud of its Canadian roots, Shopify is determined to make 2020 a year for investment and further expansion across the country. Taking advantage of the burgeoning tech economy and talent in Vancouver is the first of many future developments.
“We’ll be solving real and complex problems that matter to the entrepreneurs we support,” said Lynsey Thompson, VP of User Experience. “The team will be shaping products from scratch to help over one million businesses around the world, and their hundreds of millions of customers.”
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