THIS DOCUMENT IS IN DRAFT FORM, INCOMPLETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT MUST BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECTION HEADED “WARNING” ON THE COVER OF THIS DOCUMENT. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW The information contained in this section, unless otherwise indicated, have been derived from various official government publications and other publications generally believed to be reliable and the F&S Report which we commissioned. We believe that the sources of such information are appropriate sources for such information and have taken reasonable care in extracting and reproducing such information. We have no reason to believe that such information is false or misleading in any material respect or that any fact has been omitted that would render such information false or misleading in any material respect. None of our Company, the Sole Sponsor, the [REDACTED], the [REDACTED], the [REDACTED] and the [REDACTED] or any of our or their respective directors, officers or representatives or any other person involved in the [REDACTED], except for Frost & Sullivan, has independently verified such information nor give any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. As such, you should not unduly rely upon such information in making, or refraining from making, any investment decision. SOURCE OF INFORMATION We have commissioned Frost & Sullivan, an independent market research and consulting company, to conduct an analysis of, and to prepare a report on the online retail sales of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances market in Hong Kong. The report prepared by Frost & Sullivan for us is referred to in this document as F&S Report. We agreed to pay Frost & Sullivan a fee of HK$420,000 which we believe reflects market rates for reports of this type. Founded in 1961, Frost & Sullivan has 40 offices with more than 2,000 industry consultants, market research analysts, technology analysts and economists globally. Frost & Sullivan’s services include technology research, independent market research, economic research, corporate best practices advising, training, client research, competitive intelligence and corporate strategy. We have included certain information from the F&S Report in this document because we believe this information facilitates an understanding of the online retail sales of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances market in Hong Kong for the prospective investors. The F&S Report includes information of the online retail sales of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances market in Hong Kong as well as other economic data, which have been quoted in the [REDACTED] document. Frost & Sullivan’s independent research consists of both primary and secondary research obtained from various sources in respect of the online retail sales of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances market in Hong Kong. Primary research involved in-depth interviews with leading industry participants and industry experts. Secondary research involved reviewing company reports, independent research reports and data based on Frost & Sullivan’s own research database. Projected data were obtained from historical data analysis plotted against macroeconomic data with reference to specific industry-related factors. Except as otherwise noted, all of the data and forecasts contained in this section are derived from the F&S Report, various official government publications and other publications. In compiling and preparing the research, Frost & Sullivan assumed that the social, economic and political environments in the relevant markets are likely to remain stable in the forecast period, which ensures the steady development of the online retail sales of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances market in Hong Kong. –55– THIS DOCUMENT IS IN DRAFT FORM, INCOMPLETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT MUST BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECTION HEADED “WARNING” ON THE COVER OF THIS DOCUMENT. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW HONG KONG E-COMMERCE MARKET OVERVIEW Definition and Classification Electronic commerce (e-commerce) refers to the sale and purchase of products or services using the Internet. E-commerce can be commonly segmented into the following categories based on the nature of sellers and buyers: Category Description B2C • Business-to-customer (B2C) refers to trading of goods and supply of services between businesses and customers. There are two types of business models, namely e-commerce B2C direct-to-consumer platform and marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers: 1 Direct-to-consumer – Under the direct-to-consumer model, platforms procure products from manufacturers/suppliers, manage inventories, and sell products to customers via online platforms. Direct-to-consumer platforms generate profit from the difference between sale prices and procurement prices of the products. They also create revenues by offering other value-added services. E-commerce B2C direct-to-consumer platform is an asset-heavy model, as the platform works as a retailer which needs to source and store products or services with substantial procurement and warehousing costs 2 Marketplace – Under the marketplace model, platforms facilitate transactions between third-party manufacturers/suppliers or distributors and customers and receive commissions from sellers. They also create revenues by offering other value-added services, such as logistics information services, supply chain financing, online payment solutions etc. B2B • Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce encompasses all electronic transactions of goods or services conducted between two companies. The B2B e-commerce platforms help different companies set up a strong establishment for the long-haul business interrelations between the enterprises C2C • Customer-to-Customer (C2C) model refers to trading of goods and services between customers and customers. The C2C e-commerce platform is a consumer-to-consumer site, which fills in as an arbiter between the customers and offers a chance to sell or buy merchandise straightforwardly M2C • Manufacturer-to-Customer (M2C) model refers to trading of goods and services between manufacturers and customers. Under M2C model, the manufacturers directly provide consumers with their own products or services, which can contribute to the reduction in additional costs incurred by distributors and strengthen the consumer confidence with their guaranteed product quality and comprehensive after-sales services –56– THIS DOCUMENT IS IN DRAFT FORM, INCOMPLETE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT MUST BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECTION HEADED “WARNING” ON THE COVER OF THIS DOCUMENT. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Introduction to Online-Merge-Offline Commerce Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) is a business model adopted by companies to establish presence in both offline retail stores and online platforms. It integrates online commerce and offline commerce to foster an interdependent and omni-channel purchase experience for end-consumers. Platforms commonly adopt an OMO model with a view to transcend the boundaries and heterogeneity between online and offline channels through technological and operational means, whereby customers are able to go through the marketing funnel from (i) building up awareness on the service provider; (ii) consideration, evaluation, trial and purchase of the desired products (iii) opting for the desired payment or delivery means and; (iv) receiving after-sales services, in either and across channels pursuant to their preference. Extensive efforts are required on aspects such as workflow and workforce management, online-offline system integration, communication channels customer relationship management, dashboard reporting, information system infrastructures. Definition of Online Retail Sales According to the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong, online retail sales refer to the sales of goods to customers through computer networks specially operated by local retail establishments for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders. The goods are ordered by those methods, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of goods do not have to be conducted online. On the other hand, orders made by manually typed e-mails, telephone calls or facsimiles are not regarded as online sales. In the case where a retail establishment provides an online platform for use by other businesses in selling goods (i.e. the marketplace model of B2C), the value of online sales refers to the commissions and service charges. Value of Total Retail Sales and Online Retail Sales in Hong Kong The value of total retail sales has declined from HK$483.6 billion in FY18/19 to HK$386.2 billion in FY19/20 and subsequently HK$332.7 billion in FY20/21, recording a year-on-year decline of 20.1% and 13.9% respectively, which is imputed to the impact of social disturbances which led to reduced tourist arrivals and contracted consumer spending, along with the outbreak of the COVID-19 and resulting anti-epidemic measures brought inbound tourism to a standstill and disrupted consumption-related activities. As at June 2021, there are currently more than 90 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in trials, and more than 30 have reached the final stages of testing. The World Health Organization is working in collaboration with scientists, enterprises, and global health organisations to speed up the pandemic response. Further, in view of the economic downturn, the Hong Kong Government has rolled out several financial measures as outlined in the Anti-epidemic Fund to relieve the financial burden