Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1161128
29.08.19 7 FOREIGN NEWS A survey of 1,253 owners of failed start- ups in the UK, carried out by Market- ingsignals.com, revealed the top ten reasons why e-commerce start-up busi- nesses are failing. According to many sources (including Forbes and Huff Post), 90% of e-com- merce startup businesses end in failure within the first 120 days. Just why they are failing so quickly has been revealed in new research from Marketingsignals.com which has found that the two main reasons for failure are poor online marketing performance coupled with an overall lack of search engine visibility. Of those companies who were sur- veyed, a staggering 37% said that their failure could be attributed to an inability to compete or deliver online marketing, with 35% saying a lack of online visibili- ty was the main factor. Further research found that the same proportion of re- spondents (35%) felt failure was down to them being too small to compete or there being no market for their prod- ucts/ services, whilst 32% reported that it was due to them running out of cash. Completing the top five reasons for failure, was price and costing issues, with 29% of failed startup owners claim- ing this was the reason why they folded When further quizzed on the reasons why their online startup business failed, 23% said that it was due to being out- competed, whilst 19% blamed retail gi- ants such as Amazon for dominating a large share of the consumer online retail market. 16% felt that their business collapsed due to their lack of customer service, whilst 14% felt it was due to the poor team they'd built around themselves. Completing the top ten reasons why e-commerce startups fail was product mistiming, with 11% of startup owners claiming that the reason why their busi- ness failed was due to 'right product, wrong time'. Gareth Hoyle, managing director at Marketingsignals.com comments: "It's clear to see that having an online pres- ence and being visible on search engines is a key area e-commerce startups need to focus on to ensure they succeed. "As nine in ten online startups fail within their first 120 days of businesses, it's incredibly important that business owners put provisions firmly in place well before launching – this must in- clude a bulletproof search visibility and online marketing strategy, as well as en- suring there is a market for their prod- uct offering. "A targeted, strategic approach to dig- ital marketing is vital to the success of any online business in this day and age, only more so for small businesses who are just starting out. Many tools can be used to increase their brand awareness and search visibility in their first few days and weeks, where consumer trust and loyalty hasn't yet been established." e vast majority of e-commerce startups are set to fail within their first 120 days of operation, new research has revealed Nine in 10 e-commerce startups end in failure within 120 days A former executive from HSBC's pri- vate Swiss bank has been cleared three years after French authorities charged him with helping clients hide assets worth at least €1.6bn (£1.45bn). Judah Elmaleh, the former head of the bank's Mediterranean-Israel depart- ment, had been charged back in 2016 with encouraging French residents to hide their money in Switzerland and avoid paying taxes, but investigative judges decided that there was no clear evidence of his involvement in the scheme. ierry Marambert, one of Elmaleh's lawyers, said the dismissal of charges was an acknowledgement of his cli- ent's good faith and innocence, while a non-public decision from back in Jan- uary noted that the former executive's testimony had proved useful in the wider investigation into HSBC. e investigation has seen HSBC pay out €300m to resolve allegations, while Elmaleh's former boss, the Swiss bank's chief executive, pleaded guilty to simi- lar charges and being handed a fine of €0.5m. France has recently staged a crack- down on money laundering and tax evasion operated through Switzerland, with UBS being slapped with a record €4.5bn fine back in February and for- mer government minister Jérôme Ca- huzac jailed for two years. Former HSBC banker cleared in €1.6bn tax fraud case