Reprinted from 8/29/00 edition of Business News News Jersey
Practicing E-Commerce With a Latin Beat
By Joćo-Pierre S. Ruth
Some companies are Internet-savvy, but business owners say others lag behind
in the digital revolution.
The explosive growth of New Jersey¹s Hispanic population has prompted a
similar profusion of Hispanic-owned firms, many operating in urban centers
in low-tech, service-oriented businesses. But not always. Some of the
state¹s Latino companies have caught onto and up with the high-tech hype,
specifically through e-commerce. Firms such as Jenlo-Link in Little Ferry
and Latino-owned Sigma Internet Services in Paterson are building Web sites
for Latino businesses. Some suggest, however, that more members of the
Latino business community need to learn the ways of the World Wide Web.
Hispanic markets, particularly those using the Internet, have been growing
nationwide. In a recent report by Forrester Research in Cambridge, Maryland,
47% of Hispanic-Americans were online as of January. That is up from 36% in
January 1999. While comparable statistics are not available for New Jersey,
the large population of Hispanic-Americans here likely reflects these
national trends. In the 1990 census, more than 850,000 Hispanics were
reported to be living in the state. The Statewide Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce in Jersey City now estimates that population exceeds 1.2 million.
³We are the largest consumer group in the state,² says Daniel Jara, the
Chamber¹s CEO. The Hispanic sector generates more than $7.5 billion in
annual sales and supports more than 180,000 jobs here.
As a result of this boom, New Jersey¹s Latino business community has been
growing. Jara says New Jersey has more than 30,000 Hispanic-owned
businesses. ³That has grown by 84% over the last four years,² he explains.
Of those businesses, 22% are engaged in international trade and Jara sees
them as potential major players in the globe-spanning e-commerce market.
One example is Rafael Cuellar, owner of LatinoNetShopper.com and President
Supermarket in Passaic. Cuellar has moved aggressively into e-commerce. He
resigned from a nine year career as a Navy officer and took over President
Supermarket in 1996 after his father, Evelio Cuellar Sr., passed away. In
1999 Cuellar formed Latino Online Services to help spur other Hispanic-owned
businesses to use the Internet. He also started LatinoNetShopper.com last
year, an ethnic food e-tailer tied to the supermarket. In addition to owning
President Supermarket, Cuellar is also a board member for the U.S. Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce.
Another New Jersey-based business eager to engage the Hispanic community in
e-commerce is Jenlo-Link, an advertising and marketing firm. Founded in 1987
by Louis Sanchez, the company develops e-commerce sites for small to
mid-size companies. Sanchez wants to bring affiliate network marketing used
by such online powerhouses as Amazon.com and 1-800-Flowers.com to the little
guys. Affiliate networks are groups of Web sites that display ads referring
consumers back to the advertiser¹s home page.
Sanchez, a graduate of Seton Hall University who majored in accounting, is
a classic techie, having dabbled with the earliest models of Apple
computers. ³I found it very easy to do research with computers,² he says.
Sanchez wants to leverage his understanding of the business world with his
technical background to bring more Hispanic businesses to the Web. ³We
develop online storefronts for our customers,² he says.
In September, Jenlo-Link will launch Niumcd.com for New Millennium
Productions, an online music catalog featuring aspiring artists. Angel
Ramirez, former member of Latin pop group the Bario Boyzz, is one of the
artists who wants to use Niumcd.com to market his latest songs and announce
performances. Ramirez appeared in the film Busting Loose when he was 11
years old with Richard Pryor and later added singing to his acting talent.
The recent mainstream popularity of Latin music has increased the need for
artists like Ramirez to find new ways to stand out from such names as
Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. ³Niumcd.com will help me
benefit from e-commerce,² he says.
Other Latino e-commerce sites Jenlo-Link is developing and promoting
include Bluephire, another recording company and artist catalog,
2Northeast.com, a computer hardware e-tailer and CTFiveanddime.com, a Web
site reviewing low-cost stores, eateries and vacation sites in Connecticut.
Jenlo-Link targets small, entrepreneurial clients and often establishes
bilingual Web sites.
Despite Jara¹s claims and the work of Jenlo-Link and others, much of the
Latino business community has not tapped into the Internet¹s potential, says
Cuellar. ³There are so many solid Hispanic businesses that don¹t know much
about the Internet,² he says. Cuellar believes a generation gap could be
interfering with the Hispanic-American business community¹s use of
e-commerce. ³Many Hispanic business people are over 50,² he says.
Cuellar likens the slow growth of Latino e-commerce to the trouble Hispanic
online community Quepasa.com of Phoenix, Arizona is having. Quepasa.com is a
bilingual Web site that features online auctions, news and other information
relating to the Latino community. But Cuellar says mainstream sites such as
eBay and America Online are beating their Latino counterparts in capturing
Hispanic-American customers. ³It¹s not the same level of service and
information content,² Cuellar says. Quepasa.com is operating at a loss and
is regarded as a takeover candidate for larger mainstream companies.
Jara sees Hispanic-owned companies in New Jersey and across the U.S. as
bridges for business with Latin America. Reaching out to those nations opens
up markets with more than 600 million people. Jara adds that
Hispanic-Americans are expected to become the largest ethnic group in the
country by 2020. He expects Hispanic-Americans to achieve that status within
New Jersey by 2010. Learning the language of the Internet and, more
specifically, e-commerce will no doubt become muy importante in developing
their business plans.