Marc Schillaci - Oxatis Founder and CEO

Congratulations to the E-Commerce Academy Winners - October 2010 Session

For the October 2010 session of the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy, we announced the winners following a conference at the Salon des micro-entreprises in Paris. This trade show closely resembles the Business Startup show that we'll be attending in London at the end of the month.

This time around, the jury was made up of:

• Christine Lorimy – Coliposte
• Henri Kaufman – Hipipip
• Grégoire Leclercq – EBP
• Blaise Vignon – Microsoft
• Antoine Dary – Audacia
• Denis Fages – Chacunsoncafe
• And Hervé Bourdon, Nathalie Perchard and Philippe Leroy from Oxatis.

And the winners are:

Master Category:
- Géraldine Pichard from Épilation Expert
Géraldine told us that she was recruited by ODC Distribution, another Oxatis customer, for an internship. She didn't know anything about websites, but built hers on her own.

Women Category:
- Julianne Fischer from Obelligne

E-Commerce Partner Category:
- Pierre SAYEGH from France Electric

Newbie Category:
- Marion Olivieri from Figurines Avenue

General Category:
- Jérôme Leveille from Espace Ombrage
Jérôme told us about how he discovered Oxatis at the Salon des micro-entreprises exactly two years ago!

Congratulations to all of you!

See you at the next session ...

E-Commerce Academy Winners

Sorry for the wait...but as they say, better late than never!

This time around, the E-Commerce Academy awards were given out on July 2nd during our Journées Oxygène in Marseille, France.

This event brings together Oxatis clients, partners, solution centers and other e-commerce actors once a year under one roof to nurture their e-commerce activities and provide expert information to those seeking it out, all in a relaxed and fun atmosphere where everyone really has the chance to interact and exchange their points of view.

While this event is currently focused on our French market, we are slowly expanding it to include all of the different countries where we are currently present. And this year, we had our first ever Oxatis E-Commerce Partner from the UK in attendance!

So, if any of you are interested in attending next year or in entering your Oxatis site in the E-Commerce Academy, don't be shy...feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

And without further ado, the 2010 E-Commerce Academy winners are:

• Master
  Jacques Bottemanne for bières du monde

• General
  Olivier Kaufman for terrasse- nature 

• ECP
  Nicolas Tant for Decklinea

• Newbie
  Nicolas de Watteville for e-claireur
  

• Women
  Tamara Tarassova for Altavic-bio

Congratulations to the winners! And thanks to everyone who participated.

 

Oxatis E-Commerce Academy Nominees - Jury Deliberation 24 June 2010

Once again, we had a heated meeting this year to choose the list of nominees for the E-Commerce Academy.

Here's a sneak peak at the nominees that came out of the jury deliberation last week.
An unexpected surprise: Two Italian applicants were nominated this time around.

See you this Friday night, 2 July, for the awards ceremony that will be held in Marseille during the Oxatis event - Journées Oxygène.

Good luck to all the nominees! 

• Master
  Pascal Gesan for alterafrica
  Marc Hauglustaine for aux meilleurs prix 
  Jacques Bottemanne for bières du monde

• General
  Alain Bierry for abp-piscines
  Ydriss Dessay for Cadodes 
  Olivier Kaufman for terrasse- nature 

• ECP
  Christophe Meurant for AchaTendance
  Olivier Baudewyn for Journaux originaux
  Nicolas Tant for Decklinea

• Newbie
  Nicolas de Watteville for e-claireur
  Arnaud Pfliger for climadreamshop
  Francesca Mistrangelo for ClickNails

• Women
  Tamara Tarassova for Altavic-bio
  Sylvia Grandperrin for Les Joyaux De La Couronne
  Angela Carpinelli for Mammabimbo

With professional participation from our jury members:

• Bertrand PINEAU
  FEVAD
• Martine FUXA
  E-Commerce Mag 
• Olivier LEVY
  Blog E-Commerce 
• Christophe LAUER
  Microsoft 
• Laurent BIZOT
  Oxatis 
• Luc LECHELLE investisseur
  ALP Capital 
• Catherine HEADLEY
  Ecole Supérieure de Gestion 
• Gimena DIAZ
  PayPal 
• Philippe STANO
  Graphical Dream

And a big thanks to Jacques Froissant and his team.

E-Commerce Academy: Awards Ceremony February 2010

No two days are ever the same. And at Oxatis, that couldn't be more true!

Wednesday night, we had our gala dinner at La Tour d'Argent for the E-Commerce Academy awards ceremony.

Forty or so guests all talking about e-commerce....that ends up making a lot of noise, in a good way or course, and creates a truly unique experience!

The only thing missing was Alcante, winner of the General Category, who was stuck due to ongoing train strikes. Philippe Stano from Graphical Dream, the Oxatis Graphic Partner that designed their graphic charter and understood how to communicate Roger-Charles Hispa's passion, stood in for them. A few years ago, Roger-Charles, an older entrepreneur, realized the impact E-Commerce could have on the development potential of his local scented candle business and took the leap!

It was an exceptional evening where the winners, Marie-Hélène Piot and Sylvie Mourgues from Avec Passion, Karine and Patrick Gidouin from Ledressingbyines, Lucas Baupère from Boitissimo, Anibal Barreira and Cyril Guizy from AlliancePaintball, were able to mingle with journalists, bloggers, representatives from official institutions and Oxatis partners (all indiscriminately brought together for this event with a complete disregard for status...shall no one's wrath be brought down upon me:)).

We had the pleasure of spending the evening with guests from all of these sectors. Drawing up a complete list isn't easy, so forgive me if I've left anyone out....

In addition to the nominees, the Oxatis teams and our partners, Christine Lorimy from Coliposte, Bertrand Pineau from the Fevad, Christophe Lauer and Lubomira Rochet from Microsoft, Philippe Stano from Graphical Dream, we were also pleased to welcome:

Martine Fuxa from E-Commerce Mag, Laurent Calixte from Challenges, Julien Pompey from Echos, Corine Moriou from Entreprise, Robert Lafont from the Group Robert Lafont, Elodie Toustou from Le Monde éco, Olivier Levy from Blog E-Commerce, Anne-Françoise Rabaud from Chef d'entreprise Mag, Florence Duprat from BFM TV, Pascal Galinier from Le Monde, Carine Gouradiec from VSD, Andrea Graells from the AFP, Carine Guicheteau from Artisans Mag, Philippe Mabille from La Tribune, Isabelle Marsal from Madame Figaro, Guillaume Grallet  from Le Point, Daniel Rosenweg from Le Parisien Eco and Julien Chaumont from the DGCIS.

In addition to the pleasure of handing out the prizes and sharing an excellent meal, this kind of ceremony is also the occasion to get additional feedback from our users. Karine Gidouin from Ledressingbyines confided that she was truly touched and grateful that technical support has been such a big help to them on a daily basis. And their shop is only 3 months old! This proves that true value doesn't take years to be appreciated!

Avecpassion brought their experience to the table sharing, as in the past, that E-Commerce saved their business. Two years ago, their high street store represented two-thirds of their sales versus one-third for their online shop. Today, it's the other way around.

AlliancePaintball started out really small. They specialized in a niche sector and now their activity generates between 80 and 120K€/month (a very large majority of that from their site).

And as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words...

Want to be part of the fun? The Oxatis E-Commerce Academy is open to all Oxatis users. All you have to do is enter your site in the next E-Commerce Academy!

No two days are ever the same. And at Oxatis, that couldn't be more true!

Wednesday night, we had our gala dinner at La Tour d'Argent for the E-Commerce Academy awards ceremony.

Forty or so guests all talking about e-commerce....that ends up making a lot of noise, in a good way or course, and creates a truly unique experience!

The only thing missing was Alcante, winner of the General Category, who was stuck due to ongoing train strikes. Philippe Stano from Graphical Dream, the Oxatis Graphic Partner that designed their graphic charter and understood how to communicate Roger-Charles Hispa's passion, stood in for them. A few years ago, Roger-Charles, an older entrepreneur, realized the impact E-Commerce could have on the development potential of his local scented candle business and took the leap!

It was an exceptional evening where the winners, Marie-Hélène Piot and Sylvie Mourgues from Avec Passion, Karine and Patrick Gidouin from Ledressingbyines, Lucas Baupère from Boitissimo, Anibal Barreira and Cyril Guizy from AlliancePaintball, were able to mingle with journalists, bloggers, representatives from official institutions and Oxatis partners (all indiscriminately brought together for this event with a complete disregard for status...shall no one's wrath be brought down upon me:)).

We had the pleasure of spending the evening with guests from all of these sectors. Drawing up a complete list isn't easy, so forgive me if I've left anyone out....

In addition to the nominees, the Oxatis teams and our partners, Christine Lorimy from Coliposte, Bertrand Pineau from the Fevad, Christophe Lauer and Lubomira Rochet from Microsoft, Philippe Stano from Graphical Dream, we were also pleased to welcome:

Martine Fuxa from E-Commerce Mag, Laurent Calixte from Challenges, Julien Pompey from Echos, Corine Moriou from Entreprise, Robert Lafont from the Group Robert Lafont, Elodie Toustou from Le Monde éco, Olivier Levy from Blog E-Commerce, Anne-Françoise Rabaud from Chef d'entreprise Mag, Florence Duprat from BFM TV, Pascal Galinier from Le Monde, Carine Gouradiec from VSD, Andrea Graells from the AFP, Carine Guicheteau from Artisans Mag, Philippe Mabille from La Tribune, Isabelle Marsal from Madame Figaro, Guillaume Grallet  from Le Point, Daniel Rosenweg from Le Parisien Eco and Julien Chaumont from the DGCIS.

In addition to the pleasure of handing out the prizes and sharing an excellent meal, this kind of ceremony is also the occasion to get additional feedback from our users. Karine Gidouin from Ledressingbyines confided that she was truly touched and grateful that technical support has been such a big help to them on a daily basis. And their shop is only 3 months old! This proves that true value doesn't take years to be appreciated!

Avecpassion brought their experience to the table sharing, as in the past, that E-Commerce saved their business. Two years ago, their high street store represented two-thirds of their sales versus one-third for their online shop. Today, it's the other way around.

AlliancePaintball started out really small. They specialized in a niche sector and now their activity generates between 80 and 120K€/month (a very large majority of that from their site).

And as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words...

Want to be part of the fun? The Oxatis E-Commerce Academy is open to all Oxatis users. All you have to do is enter your site in the next E-Commerce Academy!

E-Commerce Academy Nominees - February 2010

And here we are again! Already at our 9th edition of the E-Commerce Academy! Sure to be full of the good kind of surprises that always pop up when we get the chance to meet the people we usually interact with on a virtual basis.

The jury got together last week to deliberate! Another intense, but extremely interesting and rewarding....(and amusing!), session.

So, without further ado...(drum roll please), I bring you the finalists for the 9th edition of the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy:

 Master Category:

• Les magiciens du feu
• Baotian France
• Alliance Paintball

Women Category:

• Santessentiels
• Bio et Glamour
• Avec Passion

Newbie Category:

• Le dressing by Inès
• PetitBoubi
• Art de la Gourmandise

General Category:

• Alcante
• Deco Cado
• Radicalle

E-Commerce Partner Category:

• Boitissimo
• SoeScalade
• Color del mundo

We'll see you all February 3rd for the awards ceremony!

E-Commerce Academy Winners

 

The awards ceremony for the latest edition of the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy was held last night, in the presence of our partners and Oxatis e-merchants.

It's never easy to choose and we had a great 8th edition! So, without further ado, the winners are: 

Newbie Category

Cadeaux Latino

Finalists: Lissage Intense and Dovenco

Women Category

Bella Maman

Finalists: Institut Aïana and  Impression de Guyane

General Category

Cadodes

Finalists: Esthe-Boutik  and Maxidemo

  

Master Category

Ikom Sport

Finalists: Starnight Shopping and Aux Meilleurs Prix

E-Commerce Partner (ex ISC) Category

Nescargot 

Finalists: Gustoditalia and Cassoulet

A big thank you to all of the participants and congratulations to the winners! Keep up the good work!

See you soon for the next E-Commerce Academy.

Marc

E-Commerce Academy Nominees - September 2009

We are pleased to bring you the 8th edition of the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy, the only E-Commerce competition dedicated to start-ups and SMBs!

I say it loud and I say it proud...the E-Commerce Academy is the only competition that features "small" e-merchants. In addition to the awards (which are considerable and average about 5,000€ per winner), the Academy also provides the nominees with very useful advice. Our sponsors and jury members have each made this commitment.

So, without further ado, it's time to reveal the list of nominees for this 8th (already!) edition:

Newbie Category

Lissage Intense
Cadeaux Latino
Dovenco

Women Category 

Impression de Guyane
Institut Aïana
Bella Maman

General Category

Cadodes
Esthe-Boutik
Maxidemo 

Master Category

Aux Meilleurs Prix
Starnight Shopping
Ikom Sport

 E-Commerce Partner (ex ISC) Category

Nescargot
Gustoditalia 
Cassoulet

A big congratulations to all the nominees who've made it this far! Good luck to all and  may the best sites win! The results will be announced October 6th during the Salon des Micro-Entreprises at the Palais des Congrès exhibition center in Paris.

Until then,

Marc

E-Commerce Academy - What do the Members of the Jury Think?

For the "general public", the E-Commerce Academy is a competition Oxatis runs 3 times a year.

For Oxatis E-Merchants, it has become a challenge that allows them to set objectives and progress even further.  I can still remember the words of Guillaume Desportes from the site GDBôBalcons. He was nominated for a previous edition and he told me "I'll apply again, and I'll win". He didn't say it like "Maybe next time I'll win". He said it like "I'm going to work really hard on my site and I'm going to win". And he won! (in the General category).

3 July 2009. Awards Ceremony: Guillaume Desportes, winner in the General category -
Bertrand Pineau - Fevad

But the Academy also represents a considerable amount of work for the Oxatis team, who has to analyze and sift through hundreds of applications in order to narrow it down to 15 nominees (3 per category: "Master", "Newbie", "Women", "ISC" and "General").

This selection is then submitted to a jury of a dozen e-commerce experts.  This jury meets for several hours before the awards ceremony and scores the nominees in 5 different domains. That means 60 scores per jury member,  judging on:
 
•     Site design,
•     The applicant's line of argument and their Business Plan
       (the application form is quite impressive),
•     Visibility, traffic and user base,
•     Sales performance,
•     Content. Wealth of descriptions, photos, promos, other
       components (FAQ, News, etc.).

Each nominee receives 12 x 5 = 60 scores, the average of these scores giving their final ranking!

Once, the scores were so close that, as President of the Jury, I suggested that we double the award to honor 2 winners. This was a year ago when the 2 winners of the "Master" category were only separated by 0.02 points in their average!!!

This time, we planned for the deliberations to last 2 hours, between  4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. In the end, they lasted 3_^1/2 hours and we finished just 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony!

For those of you who share my enthusiasm for numbers, that makes 210 minutes / 15 applications, or 15 minutes per applicant. Furthermore, our jury members take the time beforehand to prepare the work by visiting the sites and taking notes before coming to the session!

It seemed important to me to share the general impression taken away by these jury members who  are active Internet practitioners all year round.

This is what some of them had to say:

Oxatis E-Commerce Academy - Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony 2009

In its third year and for the 7th edition, there were more than 200 in attendance at the New York Hotel in Disneyland Paris for the 2009 Oxatis E-Commerce Academy awards ceremony. Many members of the jury were able to stay, after our looooong deliberations, to honor the winners and share in the celebration with not only our customers, resellers, and partners, but also, representatives from official institutions and members of the press at the table of honor.

Thank you all for being there and for your infectious good mood and conversation!
This kind of ceremony always has a serious feel, but the atmosphere didn't stay formal for very long and I really appreciated  your attention and interest in the different sites that received awards.

The Gala, in pictures: (Thank you Kmeron !)

E-Commerce Academy Winners - July 2009

This year, the awards ceremony for the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy was held during a gala dinner at the New-York Hotel in Disneyland Paris.

For this 2nd session of the 3rd running year of the Academy (whew!), or to put it more simply, for this 7th edition of the Oxatis E-Commerce Academy, the quality offered by the multitude of applicants was excellent!

Could this be a result of Oxatis coaching (most of the applicants took advantage of personal coaching sessions), of comments made by the jury for those who have already applied in the past, or is there perhaps a rise in the general quality of e-commerce sites?

I'd like to add that when I'm talking about quality, I'm not just referring to graphic design! Among other things, we judge the site's organization and user friendliness, sales performance, use of e-commerce functionalities, and also the applicant's motivation, via the application form. The jury is made up of experts in the e-commerce domain (Oxatis CEO, Editor in Chief of E-Commerce Mag, PayPal representative, Oxatis veterans, etc.).

All I can say is that, once again, it was extremely difficult for the jury to decide on the winners!

So, without further ado, the winners are:

Newbie Category

Passion Led
Decorative LED lighting specialist.

General Category

GDBoBalcons
Sale of artificial plants, flowers and trees.

ISC Category

Autour des Pâtes
Sale of organic, home-made pasta and pasta machines.

Women Category

Direct Siège 
Office chairs and diverse professional seating.

Master Category

Amsterdamer 
Sale of Dutch bikes and accessories.

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to the participants, as well as all of the members of the jury who spent a lot of time studying the nominated sites.

Till next time,

Marc