Flipping the business-to-consumer (B2C) model on its head, San Francisco-based startup WUSIC wants to disrupt the retail industry through a “consumer-to-business” (C2B) model where consumers go straight to manufacturers for the largest savings possible. Consumer demand would dictate supply quantity and price from online marketplace Alibaba’s network of global factories, effectively cutting out big box middlemen such as WalMart and Target.
“With this new platform – integrated into the entire Alibaba catalog of products – we hope to disrupt the bix box model at its core,” said WUSIC founder Bruce Wong. “If consumers want to take advantage of huge savings, we need to invent a platform that allows consumers to aggregate demand and purchase directly from factories, disrupting the middleman in a new kind of revolutionary model.”
Consumers can create a wish list of items and search through Alibaba’s catalogs. They will be notified when the demand for a specific product reaches the minimum quantity required by manufacturers, at which point WUSIC negotiates a deal with the manufacturer on the item’s price. Consumers can also share WUSIC and their wish lists on social media to earn credit on WUSIC or receive more savings.
WUSIC was voted one of the Best Startups at TechCrunch Disrupt SF at the end of September. It is currently available in the US, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia and is steadily expanding to service other countries.
While WUSIC’s desire to shake things up for “evil” big box stores is admirable, whether the service will improve environmental and social impacts associated with huge retailers is uncertain. Big box retailers are often criticized for supply chain and end-of-life mismanagement, but they can also lead change, as they have the buying power to influence their supply chain to make progress on sustainability and human rights issues. By dimishing this power, would factories and suppliers continue to raise environmental and social standards, as some big box retailers are currently pressuring them to do? WUSIC may mean immediate savings for consumers, but the potential systemic repercussions in the long term have yet to be seen.