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Rising above the pandemic

11 Jul 2021

  • Rising above the pandemic

By Lavanga Abeyrathne In an age of pandemic-fuelled online normalcy, digital ventures are many. Among these, the rare few that started long before their peers, the pandemic, and the shift to the online world stand out as pioneers in the field, and the 2012-founded online marketplace Daraz is one of them. This week, The Sunday Morning Business had a conversation with Daraz Managing Director Rakhil Fernando to learn more about Daraz, their secret to success, and what the future holds. Fernando told us that initially, Daraz started its operations in Sri Lanka in 2016, under the name “Kaymu”. Beginning with approximately 50 employees, they worked out of a “very tiny office”. Warehousing, sorting, customer service, marketing, sales, and other departments were confined to one floor, probably less than 1,000 sq. ft. From these humble beginnings, Daraz has now expanded to over 1,500 employees, a 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse, four offices around Colombo, a 50,000 sq. ft. sorting centre, over 40 hubs islandwide that handle more than 25,000 orders a day, and over 1.5 million unique users who visit Daraz every month. Speaking about Daraz’s success thus far, Fernando noted that it’s rooted in a culture of entrepreneurship, creativity, and commitment to fulfill their customers’ demands. “We ensure we hire the right people – a team that understands the requirements of local shoppers and evolving trends,” he elaborated. He shared that the dedication of Daraz employees, along with the support provided by its parent company, the Alibaba Group, with their ecosystem, infrastructure, and investments, has contributed to the company’s rapid growth in a short time span. “In addition, we’ve been utilising a lot of domain expertise from Alibaba since their acquisition, allowing us to expand our e-commerce offering into a more mature product.” Those who regularly use Daraz would agree that one of the standout features of the site is the wide selection it offers. Speaking on the original idea for becoming an all-in-one hub, Fernando said their goal was to build an ecosystem where businesses and consumers from all walks of life interact in a single environment. “We also wanted to accommodate various sellers, from start-ups to flagship brands, to connect all buyers and sellers in one platform. Simply said, we enable all aspects of retail to be co-ordinated online into a vast network of sellers, marketers, service providers, and manufacturers, enabling Daraz to be a one-stop shop and lifestyle destination that fulfills all types of customer needs,” he elaborated. However, a vision takes time to be realised, and even Daraz’s journey had its own challenges. One was that online shopping is relatively new to the Sri Lankan market, Fernando stated, and that it takes time for platforms like Daraz to gain consumer trust. However, through relentless customer-centric focus, Daraz has managed to show shoppers how convenient it is to shop online on their site. Currently, they have over three million products on the site, which gives extensive access to all customers’ needs. “We keep a transparent platform where we encourage our customers to review the products and the sellers on Daraz. It allows others to go through the ratings and decide to purchase or not to purchase a product,” Fernando said, noting that user-generated feedback is key to building trust. He also mentioned that they have implemented a completely secure online payment option for customers to easily use. In addition, for those who feel reluctant to make payments online, Daraz also offers the option of cash on delivery anywhere in the country, hoping to make customer retention possible. Speaking about Daraz’s workplace culture and environment, Fernando noted that at Daraz, the workplace culture is built upon five core values: Ownership, integrity, teamwork, creating change, and customer commitment. These values underpin Daraz’s shared vision to be the most inspiring marketplace, and they help the team do it with meaning. “A great workplace is made of great people who feel empowered to create change, find their work meaningful, and are inspired to develop and grow themselves supported by their company,” he said. Daraz has created a workplace culture with a flat organisational structure, and every employee of Daraz has the freedom to share their ideas, he emphasised, adding: “As a result, we have a young and enthusiastic team with a vibrant and fun working culture. We try to keep it very informal at Daraz, trying to find the right balance in work-life harmony.” When inquired about the targeted return for this year, Fernando was quick to note that although he can’t go into specifics, they always try to aim for 100% year-on-year growth. “We are already on a monthly run rate that puts us in excess of $ 150 million a year in sales. But that’s already yesterday’s news at Daraz.” Daraz is always planning ahead, rolling out new products and features with the aim that they will allow them to achieve more than $ 300 million a year in sales within the next 18 months.   Regarding plans concerning this year, he mentioned that they plan to introduce a new FinTech company with a “buy now, pay later” product within the next few months. In addition to that, they are also working towards launching their own customer loyalty wallet called “Daraz Points”. Within the next few years, they expect the online marketing share to be around 10% of the overall retail share in Sri Lanka. This would give the company a market opportunity in excess of $ 1 billion, he said, adding that Daraz plans to have a large slice of that pie.

Kapruka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


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