A native of Taiwan, Fred Chang turned Newegg into the No. 2 online store in the United States and became a billionaire. How did he do it?

The second-largest US online store by revenue, Newegg, is not well known to a wide audience. Even less well known is its founder and CEO, Fred Chang. He made it a rule not to communicate with the press. And he continues to follow it even now, when the successes of the company created in 2001 have turned the businessman into a dollar billionaire.

Meanwhile, he clearly has something to tell: in 2012, Newegg's revenue reached $2.8 billion. According to this indicator, the company lags only behind the undisputed leader in the industry - Jeff Bezos' Amazon online store. Forbes estimates that Chang owns more than 30% of Newegg. If you compare Newegg with publicly traded competitors Amazon and Overstock.com and apply the price/revenue multiple, the businessman's net worth can be estimated at exactly $1 billion.

Chang himself, through a spokesman, refused to confirm or deny Forbes' findings. And this is not surprising: since the founding of Newegg, the entrepreneur, who, according to Forbes, is now 56 years old, has not given a single interview. Despite this, something is still known about him.

A native of Taiwan, Chang holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from the Chinese Cultural University of Taiwan. Newegg is not his first company. Before it there was ABS Computer Technologies. Chang is a naturalized US citizen, however, he prefers to live in his homeland, Taiwan, according to sources close to Newegg.

What allowed Chang to achieve such impressive success in e-commerce? Newegg, whose headquarters is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, has its customers - computer game enthusiasts, programmers and other representatives of the IT industry. A total of 18 million customers who order mainly computer equipment and software. This audience is loyal to the Newegg brand. The online store reciprocates by sponsoring IT events and gaming tournaments.

According to Internet Retailer research editor Mark Broan, the most surprising thing was that Newegg reached $1 billion in revenue in the company's fourth year. Now the growth rate is more restrained: in 2012, the online store’s revenue increased by only 4%.

What to expect from the retailer in the future? Experts have mixed assessments of Newegg's prospects. According to Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, Newegg must match the market growth rate of 10-12% per year, "or else they will lose share."

However, there is no confidence that Chang's brainchild will maintain this pace. With a high level of service and an elastic price range, the retailer clearly lacks Amazon’s recognition. “They rely too much on search engine marketing and pay little attention to making the consumer aware of the company's existence. Outside of a dedicated audience, the Newegg brand is still poorly recognized,” concludes Mulpuru.

Recognizing this, Newegg is making efforts to gain new users in new regions. forever The motto of the company, which begins the global promotion of its brand, sounds as simple as possible: “ Once you know, you Newegg . ”

When the retailer filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, it noted, “Our growth plan is dependent on the success of our business expansion in China, where e-commerce is still in its infancy.” These hopes were not destined to come true: the Chinese Internet market was divided between Alibaba and Suning. And Newegg suffered losses.

However, the company is not discouraged. In March, the head of the retailer's Chinese subsidiary, Zhou Zhau, said in an interview with local media that Newegg should earn at least $480 million in China in 2013, which will help it become profitable again.

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