Loss-making retailer Fronteer
International Holdings has renamed itself (again) to eBiz.hk.com Ltd. The
problem is, that web domain is a subdomain of hk.com, which belongs to
someone else. When it comes to the net, some companies just don't get it. |
Wrong.name.com
11th October 1999
Loss-making retailer Fronteer International Holdings, listed in
Hong Kong, was known as Iwai's International Holdings until 25-Sep-98. Well, a
whole year's gone by and they've heard of the internet. Time for another name
change. Cyberspace: the final Fronteer.
The company has started selling clothes on line at instantstyle.com
(complete with really cheesy music). Nothing wrong (or innovative) about that.
Most companies manage to go online without changing their name, and those that
do change their name tend to adopt their on-line name.
This company, however, has adopted "eBiz.hk.com",
effective 27-Sep-98. Note the first dot. That means the name is in fact what techies call a "subdomain" of hk.com,
which of course was registered long ago by another firm. The hk.com site holds
an internet search engine focused on Hong Kong.
Domains are unique, and
therefore the only people who can create the subdomain eBiz.hk.com are the people
who now own hk.com, a company called HK.com Holdings Inc. We spoke to its
Chairman, Mr. Maren Leizaola, who said that they had no connection whatsoever
with eBiz.hk.com Ltd and had no intention of selling them the subdomain.
Separately, Mr. Leizaoala declined to comment on rumours that
his firm will be launching a new subdomain service (for names like
yourname.hk.com) in competition with the "real" (and sometimes
uncommercial) registrar of Hong Kong, HKNIC, which registers domains of the type
yourname.com.hk.
In fact, the company formally known as Fronteer (didn't they
mean Frontier?) does own the
domain eBizhk.com (no dot between the z
and the h), although the site is currently "under construction" since
it was registered on 18-Jul-99. Perhaps another corporate name change to remove
the dot?
This move is symptomatic of the current internet craze in Hong
Kong, where mediocre companies look to achieve fame and stardom just be renaming
themselves and making a few internet investments. It is reminiscent of the 1993 wave of companies wanting to
"China" their names after Morgan Stanley analyst Barton Biggs came
back "maximum bullish" and started the China investment wave. And we
all know how that ended.
© Webb-site.com, 1999
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