An inner look at e-commerce giant – Daraz

Daraz is an e-commerce venture which started in Pakistan back in 2012. It was financed by three German brothers and has since expanded into both Myanmar and Bangladesh. After a soft opening last October, Daraz officially opened in Bangladesh this February and has been a frontrunner in the e-commerce industry ever since.

Daraz is a leading online retailer in Pakistan, known for its exclusive products and deals. The company has successfully partnered with major local brands such as Bata, Ecstasy and Yellow, as well as with tech giants Symphony, Samsung and Butterfly. Daraz has certainly taken the e-commerce market by storm, with the website attracting around two million visitors every month.

Daraz’s co-founder Sumeet Singh stated that one of their company’s goals is to become Bangladesh’s leading online market. “We’re very specific about what types of products and sellers we allow on our site. Daraz is unique compared to other online markets because we offer a curated selection,” he explained, while speaking with Lifestyle at Daraz’s head office.

“We want to provide the most convenience and best available deals and prices,” he added. They are providing amazing deals on their website for a wide array of products, from electronics to accessories to clothing.

The deals are about to get even sweeter since they recently announced that, in collaboration with their other offices in Pakistan and Myanmaar, Daraz will have a massive sale starting on December 4 in their South Asian markets. The sale – called Fatafati Friday – is set to host huge deals and discounts exclusive only to Daraz. “We adopted the Black Friday concept from the west and applied it to our market in Africa and it was a huge success. So this year, we think that it’ll blow up here. We are running a lot of campaigns to provide the customer with discounts. Companies like Samsung and Symphony will be giving away huge discounts on our website and fashion items will also be available up to 70 percent off. We want to create a huge impact and make this the biggest e-commerce sales event in the country,” said Sumeet Singh.

Daraz has had to face and work hard to overcome various challenges since they first started to rise rapidly in the e-commerce industry. One of their primary challenges was with deliveries, as Bangladesh did not have a cash-on-delivery system in place. To solve this problem, Daraz allowed customers to pay online and set up their own logistics network in Dhaka through Easypayway. By doing so, they eliminated the need for cash collection, which was a big obstacle for them.

Also, to ensure that all deliveries are on time during the Fatafati sale, Daraz has multiplied their delivery capacity by ten. Another big challenge that Daraz faces is changing the habit of the customers and getting them to trust and buy online. Since this is still a relatively new concept in Bangladesh, Daraz sought the help of the former captain and local hero, Mushfiqur Rahim, to gain the trust of the local public.