Multiply.com's Evolution : The Jump from Social Networking to a Digital Shopping Mall

Multiply has been making a comeback, but not as an social network sharing site but as the Philippines biggest digital shopping mall.

Multiply was one of the pioneer social networking sites where users can share photos, videos, and personal updates. But that changed when Filipino entrepreneurs thought of utilizing the photo albums as product sales catalogs. Now, Multiply has grown to over 88,000 online shops, letting users browse through almost every kind of product in the comfort of home.

Here are some photos from the event.

Registration Table

Event Planners/Coordinators brief meeting

Rehearsal

Coordinators collaborating with the featured guest

Featured Guest (from left to right)
Jonie Cheng of Mamaway
Suyen Rivera Lopez of House Of Flair
Alwin Aguirre of Tough Brat Bags

During the Multiply Event hosted by the lovely Ms. Lia Cruz, we were oriented about the new Multiply.com . Who could introduce it better than Multiply.com's own Country Manager Mr. Jack Madrid and Senior Marketing Manager Mr. Paulo del Puerto.

Ms. Lia Cruz starting up the event

Country Manager Mr. Jack Madrid began with the history of Multiply.com from what is originally was until what it has now become. "Multiply's original purpose was to be a social networking site but some thought of using it's best feature the Photo Album Sharing in a different way. After finally giving in to what the people wanted, multiply finally became a Digital Shopping mall", said Country Manager Jack Madrid.

Country Manager Jack Madrid expressing his thoughts on the evolution of Multiply.com

On behalf of Multiply.com, Jack Madrid extended his thanks to everyone by saying: "without the Philippines we would not be where we are today and without listening to you we couldn't have become successful".

Fun Fact: Multiply is running their 2 offices here in the Philippines and Jakarta.

After the introduction, Senior Marketing Manager Mr. Paulo del Puerto kindly gave us a detailed explanation on how to use the new multiply feature.

Senior Manager Paolo del Puerto showing us a sample of the new multiply market place

Successful Multiply-neurs

Is Multiply.com really that great of a online shopping mall? To answer this question, Ms. Lia Cruz interviewed a few Successful Multiply-neurs namely Alwin Aguirre of Tough Brat Bags, Suyen Rivera Lopez of House of Flair and lastly Jonie Cheng of Mamaway.

Interview with the succesful Multiply-neurs

Alwin Aguirre the creator of Tough Brat Bags offers stylish and customized laptop bags for both men and women "It was surprising to tap this market but I'm glad I listened to my instinct" Alwin said. Launched in October 2008, Tough Brat Bags is now a well known brand and it all started on multiply.com.

Suyen Rivera Lopez of House of Flair decided on doing a different approach. Instead of mostly having on-hand goods she decided on selling pre-order ones. "I thought of making everyone shop in the U.S", she claimed. With that in mind, she was able to make The House of flair grow through viral-networking and word of mouth.

On the other hand, Jonie Cheng of Mamaway came up with her business idea because of her sister's refusal to go back to work and insistence in continuing to breastfeed her baby. Jonie shares, "This store came from a need from my sister, Jaydee was due to go to work 3 months after giving birth but she still insisted in continuing to breastfeed her baby". They researched on where to get decent nursing wear since they were not locally available. Now, they are the exclusive distributor of the Mamaway brand here in the Philippines.

Though they all had different inspirations in pursuing their entrepreneurial instinct they all used the same medium in selling their products and that was through Multiply.com. So why did they choose Multiply.com? They answered that "It's Free, Its easy to use and It's really one of the best ways to showcase your items."

After gaining all the motivational insights to start a business, the event came to an end. What better way to end it than with free food and freebies.