The CFO View: UMS plans for expansion in China and abroad

United Media Solution (UMS) is on a mission to grow the digital marketing business in China and overseas ahead of A round funding in 2018.

 

UMS Chief Financial Officer Richard Zhu said the company plans to expand the business by launching in new international markets, opening new offices in China, and growing its existing services for clients.

 

The expansion plans come off the back of a recent investment boost, which saw the company secure NZD$1million (close to 5 million RMB) in Pre-A round funding to help achieve its goals.

 

UMS has already kicked off its expansion in New Zealand, appointing its first senior staff member, New Zealand General Manager Jordi Du, and winning Vodafone New Zealand as a client.

 

UMS plans to further grow the business internationally by opening an office in Australia or United Kingdom within the next 12 months.

 

Zhu said, “We want to take the successful business model that we have established in our New Zealand-China business and expand this into new markets, including Australia and the UK with possibility of more countries”

 

UMS also plans to expand its Ningbo and Shanghai offices in China, as well as opening new offices in Hangzhou and Beijing. The China expansions will help the business to accommodate its growing team, as well as provide structure around its new divisions and teams.

 

Ningbo will remain the company production center housing the Management team along with Administration and PR staff.

 

The Shanghai office will be home to the Business Development team along with a small Creative and Content Marketing team.

 

Hangzhou will serve as the IT and Digital Development hub, while Beijing would potentially house the media buying and planning team.

 

Zhu said, the company’s challenge is finding talented staff to keep pace with the growth of new business.

 

“Currently our biggest problem is scale. As we grow our client list faster than we can grow our teams, we are looking to hire more talent to ensure we can manage the new business.”

 

“We have solutions and potential, however we do not have the resources to service all the clients we would like to take on. That is very much the next step for us,” said Zhu.

 

UMS is seeking talented individuals to join the team, as well as looking to partner with, and acquire businesses that are complementary to the company’s existing offering.

 

“We are keen to collaborate with the experts in the fields and partner with brilliant people,” he added.

 

The expansion comes as UMS prepares for A round funding at the beginning of 2018.