The world's leading provider of online classified advertising, eBay Classifieds Group, is expanding its operations in Hong Kong with the launch of a free bilingual platform, Kijiji.
Part of the United States-based eBay's consumer-to-consumer e-commerce empire, eBay Classifieds has established eight different brands for general online classifieds sites in more than 1,000 cities in more than 25 countries. These sites provide more than 25 million live listings and receive almost 65 million unique visitors each month.
Frances Chiu, general manager at eBay Classifieds Asia-Pacific, said Kijiji - pronounced 'kee-gee-gee' - was introduced this month to replace the outdated English-only Gumtree site that was set up in 2005, many years before the company opened its regional headquarters in Hong Kong.
'The old Gumtree site was quite vibrant among the English-speaking population, but we also want to capture the larger Chinese-speaking population with a brand they can connect with,' Chiu said.
The company hopes to create with Kijiji (from the Swahili word for 'village') a close-knit online community for trade in Hong Kong. It aims to help local buyers find bargains by encouraging the growth of the second-hand market and bartering.
'People live incredibly busy lives in Hong Kong, so simplicity is key to Kijiji,' Chiu said.