Daraz Life

Daraz CEO Bjarke Mikkelson Exclusively in Conversation with Bloomberg News

On 22nd April 2020, Daraz Founder and CEO, Bjarke Mikkelson, had an exclusive discussion with Bloomberg News.

In the conversation, Bjarke introduced Daraz as an e-commerce businesss that operates across several categories. He also mentioned that Daraz is operating in 5 Asian countries with around half a billion people. These countries include: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar.

He then went on to talk about how the pandemic has affected the business operations. Bjarke said that some impacts are short-term while others are more long term in nature. The three main impacts he identified were:

  1. The Physical Impact due to the lock-down.
    Although this is a short-term effect but it’s had a significant impact on Daraz deliveries. Right now, Daraz is making 60-70% of the deliveries through its own logistic companies.
  2. The Work from Home situation has been a challenge for everyone. However, Bjarke said that he has been “incredibly positively surprised” with how work from home has worked out thus far. According to him, this has shown how Daraz can effectively utilize the digital work-space to engage employees and improve productivity. He found this to be a positive impact.
  3. And lastly, the surge in customer demand for essential products.
    Bjarke said that Daraz’s Bangladesh business and Sri Lankan business have seen the most growth – around 200% year on year. He attributed such large growth to investments in infrastructure, good government regulations & policies. Furthermore, he also expressed that having the right team on the ground was the key to growth.

When asked if this situation is going to pace up the shift from offline to online, Bjarke commented that although that’s inevitable, it’s not what Daraz is fighting for right now. He said that the current fight is to make sure that the economy and businesses return to track.

“If we have a bigger share of a small pie, we know that’s not something which is good for anybody”, commented Bjarke.

He further added that Daraz’s strategy is the same as it was before the pandemic situation which it to have the largest assortment from local and international suppliers, to use their technology to create convenience, to give a fun experience on the app and to provide a high quality service across all channels.

Regarding the Alibaba acquisition, Bjarke said that it has had 3 major impacts on Daraz:

  1. Daraz now has a technology platform powered by Alibaba which is perhaps the best in the world. He said that setting up a small e-commerce business isn’t that hard but managing a huge marketplace with millions of customers, thousands of effective sellers and more than 20 million products is very challenging and having strong tech really helps.
  2. The supply chain has significantly improved and Daraz is now not only selling cross-border, but has also integrated it’s whole supply chain to efficiently deliver to the end consumer.
  3. Daraz can now take Alibaba’s help on dealing with challenges that may be new for Daraz, but are not new for Alibaba. Alibaba has extensive knowledge and experience in the industry and it has shown great support every time Daraz has reached out.

Finally, Bjarke said that while the Covid-19 will have short-term effects, the situation will accelerate the shift from offline to online. He said that the market is pointing in the right direction and Daraz is very optimistic to see a 100%+ growth in the coming years.

The Unsung Heroes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the new COVID-19 economy, delivery workers have become the unsung heroes as homebound Nepalese rely more on online shopping with orders focused on staples such as food, medicine, and other essential goods. Nepal’s leading online marketplace, Daraz, has been collaborating with Big Mart to fulfill such demands. According to Daraz, order volume for essential items has grown drastically.

The company is continuing to fulfil orders and make deliveries round the clock with a 95% success rate delivering 800+ packages on the same day despite having limited resources and vehicles.

In order to maintain safety for customers and delivery drivers, Daraz has asked its customers and delivery workers, also aptly known as Delivery Heroes, to maintain “no-contact”, in which the delivery hero leaves the order at the door and customers pick it up. The drivers and delivery workers are regularly educated on hygiene best practices and are also equipped with hand sanitizer for them as well as for the customers. They are equipped with protective masks, and sanitized disposable/polythene gloves. Furthermore, the company is also monitoring their health and well-being very closely with temperature checks, and they are instructed to strictly stay at home if they begin to feel unwell.

READ MORE: THE BENEFITS OF PAYING THROUGH CARD

Sagar Shakya who is a Delivery Hero at Daraz says he sees a wide range of customer appreciation for the new challenges of his work. 

Sagar Shakya

“Our loved ones would rather want us to stay indoors but we assure them that we are following all the safety protocols and I’ve seen a lot of grateful people which makes me feel good to be able do my job and also make people happy during such a crisis.”

Delivery workers go a long way to deliver essential commodities to many households. They might not be out on the front line the same way as doctors and nurses are, they are still doing a vital service in difficult circumstances. It is time that we all give these brave workers credit and realize that they are some of the unsung heroes amid this world crisis.

Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation Donation Arrives in Nepal to Combat Covid-19

Mr. Lino Ahlering (first on the left), Managing Director for Daraz in Nepal acting on behalf of the @JackMaFoundation and the Alibaba Group, took part in a ceremony today during which the Foundations' donation of essential medical supplies for Nepal was presented to the Ministry of Health and Population.
Mr. Lino Ahlering (first on the left), Managing Director for Daraz in Nepal acting on behalf of the JackMaFoundation and the Alibaba Group, took part in a ceremony today during which the Foundations’ donation of essential medical supplies for Nepal was presented to the Ministry of Health and Population.

Kathmandu, Nepal, March 29, 2020 – The first batch of essential medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation for Nepal arrived in Kathmandu at the Tribhuvan International Airport today. The Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal took receipt of the supplies and will distribute them throughout the country.

This delivery is part of the donation of essential medical supplies by the two Foundations to 23 Asian countries totaling 7.4 million masks; 485,000 test kits; 100,000 sets of protective clothing along with other medical equipment.

Mr. Lino Ahlering, Managing Director for Daraz in Nepal acting on behalf of the two Foundations took part in a ceremony today during which the donation was presented to the Ministry of Health and Population. Also present to witness the presentation in support of this private philanthropic initiative were Her Excellency Ms. Hou Yanqi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and Hon’ble Mr. Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, Minister for Health and Population.

Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation Donation Arrives in Nepal to Combat Covid-19

“We hope this donation will help Nepal contain the spread of Covid-19. We are making our best effort to support the global community. It is not easy to source and transport medical supplies to where it is needed the most, but we are working hard to get it done.”

Jack Ma Foundation.

These donations are among a number of aid initiatives from the Alibaba Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation to support the areas of the world affected by the Covid-19 crisis, sourcing and delivering various types of medical supplies to countries across Asia, North America, Latin America, Europe and Africa.

More initiatives and donations may be announced in the coming days and weeks.

The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation also supported the publication of a handbook with key lessons and experience from doctors, healthcare workers, and hospital administrators at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (FAHZU), who were on the frontline of Covid-19 treatment in China and crucial to slowing its spread. The handbook is available for global medical health professionals at https://covid-19.alibabacloud.com/.

Follow @JackMa and @foundation_ma on Twitter for the latest efforts of Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation to support the global fight against Covid-19.

About Jack Ma Foundation 

Established by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, the Jack Ma Foundation was founded on 15 December 2014 and has been focusing on education, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership, and the environment. The Foundation aspires to be a reliable, participative, and sustainable philanthropic organisation. The Jack Ma Foundation has so far supported projects worldwide including the Jack Ma Rural Education Program, the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program, and Jordan’s Queen Rania Foundation. Additionally, the Foundation has also funded a number of projects in its priority areas. The Jack Ma Foundation is committed to empowering rural educators, entrepreneurs, rural children, young start-ups, and women to equip them for the future and to help build a happier, healthier, more sustainable and more inclusive society. 

About Alibaba Foundation

The Alibaba Foundation, established in December 2011, aims to create a culture that encourages people to get involved in philanthropy, make it sustainable and genuinely contribute to civil society and nature. Its key funding aspects include water protection, environmental awareness promotion and development of green organizations. Alibaba Group is committed to devoting a percentage of its annual income to the Alibaba Foundation to ensure stable long-term funding that will allow for timely response in the event of natural disasters or expansion of philanthropic projects. 

Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation Donate Medical Supplies to 10 More Asian Nations

The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation today announced plans to donate much-needed medical supplies to 10 more countries in Asia to help the global fight against COVID-19.

The governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will receive from the two foundations a donation totaling 1.8 million masks, 210,000 COVID-19 test kits, 36,000 pieces of protective clothing, as well as essential medical equipment and supplies that include ventilators and forehead thermometers.

“Go Asia! We will donate emergency supplies to 10 more countries across Asia,” said Jack Ma, who announced the latest foundation pledges through his Twitter account. “Delivering fast is not easy, but we’ll get it done!”

Delivery of the donations will leverage the robust capabilities of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) to overcome the significant logistical and transportation challenge presented by the vast number of countries and their geographical remoteness.

“The epidemic outbreak has brought about challenges to global logistics. With the help of eWTP, we’re trying our best to ensure speedy transport and delivery to move the supplies to remote communities where they are most needed,” said Juntao Song, Secretary General of eWTP.

Earlier this week, the two foundations announced donations of medical supplies to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines that also leveraged eWTP’s strong logistics capability for speedy and reliable transportation and delivery. eWTP has a mandate to empower global SMEs to realize their full economic potential through reducing trade barriers and making it easier for them to participate in global trade.

Contacts
Rico Ngai (Southeast Asia) – Alibaba Group – +852 9725 9600 – rico.ngai@alibaba-inc.com
Adam Najberg (International) – Alibaba Group – +852 5474 3262 – adam.najberg@alibaba-inc.com

Daraz CEO Bjarke Mikkelsen playing soccer with local kids

The CEO of Daraz in an Interview with Gigabit

Daraz is known to be the eCommerce leader in South Asia which has been built from a small startup in Pakistan to an important part of Alibaba’s global ecosystem. The company’s Founder and CEO, Bjarke Mikkelsen was in an interview with Gigabit where he discussed strategies and ethos driving its success.

In 2015, the CEO of Daraz, Bjarke Mikkelsen took a leap from investment banking to ecommerce industry because he decided to do something different. He wanted to target the ecommerce industry with great success, he wanted to be in the right industry at the right time in the right market in order to take advantage and do something cutting edge. It is quite surprising how he managed to make a huge success of the shift but according to him, the skills he brought from his previous career helped him quite a lot in the ecommerce. For him, shifting from London to South Asia was a more significant difference.

In his interview, he mentioned that Daraz aims to capture as big a market as possible but also want to make sure it’s all on the basis of organic growth and in a way that users stay engaged on the platform. If customers stop returning, it means Daraz needs to improve, be more relevant or be more fun he said.

Also, this growth resulted in an acquisition from Alibaba Group which is Asia’s eCommerce leader and this further helped Daraz expand exponentially. He said that new technology infrastructure has been a big win for Daraz and Alibaba has always give Daraz the flexibility to localize how Daraz implements products in the market.

He also appreciates the natural beauty of South Asian countries including Pakistan apart from just the business opportunity or talent in the market.

Read more from this interview here.

Sony Powers Daraz Brand Day

Get the best deals exclusively only for a day!

Daraz, Nepal’s biggest online shopping destination, has announced another edition of Brand Day powered by SONY on March 15th, 2019.

Starting from midnight until 23:59 on March 15th, shoppers can grab specially curated offers of Sony at Daraz. Consumers can get discounts of up to 52% with the minimum discount starting from 33% on Sony phones. Furthermore, there will be up to 37% discount on select Smart TVs including vouchers worth Rs. 5000. There’s more, consumers can also enjoy 27% off and freebies worth up to Rs.17,000 with select camera models. Moreover, consumers can win freebies worth up to Rs. 16,000 with PlayStations. There’s more, with discount of up to 23% on storage devices and up to 80% discount on select accessories.

And now, for one day only, with exclusive discounts, exciting coupon vouchers, and the best deals only at Daraz, new and old customers get to discover the best of Sony.

Not only that, lucky customers can also win the Sony XPERIA L2 by following the official Sony Store: https://bit.ly/2u5tq5k

So get ready and enjoy the exclusive deals of Sony this 15th of March exclusively on Daraz. Shop Here: https://bit.ly/2u5tq5k

About Sony

Sony is one of the biggest companies in the world known for premium quality, reliability, and innovation. From the first floppy disk to the first OLED TV, Sony has invented and helped develop many iconic products that have made our lives more enjoyable, convenient and productive. Sony’s list of achievement is highly admirable with innovations including the iconic Walkman, the PlayStation

About Brand Day

Daraz Brand Day is an exclusive one-day one-brand shopping event wherein Daraz joins hands with top-rated brands offering special discounts and exciting deals to delight the shoppers. Brand Day takes place on the 1st and the 15th of every month for a limited time period of 24 hours where shoppers can lookout for bargain deals on big brands. The first Brand Day kicked off on February with Clovia and Caliber on 1st and 15th of February, respectively. Mantra was the latest brand to be featured on Brand Day on the 1st of March. Other brands that will be part of the series along with Sony include Goldstar, American Tourister, Titan, Baltra, Xiaomi, Maybelline, Converse, Rangoli, L’Oréal Paris, Salana, and many more.

For further details, please refer to this link: https://bit.ly/2u5tq5k

Or Contact

Marketing Department

9801114302

media@daraz.com.np

Daraz to officially launch its very first Brand Day in Nepal

January 29, 2019. Kathmandu, Nepal

Daraz, Nepal’s biggest online shopping destination, is powering up the online shopping experience with its very first Brand Day – an exclusive one-day one-brand shopping event wherein Daraz joins hands with top-rated brands offering special discounts and exciting deals to delight the shoppers.

Brand Day is taking place on the 1st and the 15th of every month, starting from February 2019, for a limited time period of 24 hours where shoppers can lookout for bargain deals on big brands such as Clovia, Caliber, Mantra, Goldstar, American Tourister, Titan, Baltra, Xiaomi, Maybelline, Converse, Rangoli, Sony, L’Oréal Paris, and many more.

“As the leading online shopping destination, we look forward to launching Daraz Brand Day for the first time in Nepal, giving exclusive exposure to one brand on one day where shoppers can look forward to an amazing shopping experience. More than this, it’s about engaging and exciting shoppers through great deals, fun games, and collectible vouchers. It is our commitment to connect top Nepali as well as international brands with our customers.” said Lino Ahlering, Daraz Co-Managing Director.

For further details, please refer to this link: https://bit.ly/2ATWyAr

Daraz Seller Summit

Daraz hosts first Seller Summit in Nepal with major announcements

Daraz hosts first Seller Summit in Nepal with major announcements

Daraz successfully hosted over 650 sellers at the first Seller Summit in Nepal held at Hotel Yak and Yeti on September 17, 2018. The summit offered all Daraz sellers an opportunity to learn and discover smarter ways to be successful with Daraz by introducing them to the new upgraded systems and software.

Seller Registration at Daraz Seller Summit

Daraz announced the launch of the newly revamped app from September 29, 2018, which will have new features and an enhanced interface for customers. This launch of New App will be backed by the upgraded Seller back-end system. Mr Bjarke Mikkelsen, CEO of Daraz Group, announced the new strategy to empower the sellers by providing them access to the new and highly advanced Daraz systems.

Bjarke Mikkelson in Nepal

The new 3 step-approach aims to develop seller engagement and enhance customer service. The initial step is a revamped strategy where Daraz will provide tools to enable the sellers to sell their own products, create campaigns and interact directly with customers.

The tools will be provided by Daraz to control and maintain the quality of service through a dynamic performance management system. The final step is building the Business Process to ensure that the system is seamless and foolproof.

We believe that the best person to sell a product or a service is the seller himself – not Daraz. That’s why we want to give the sellers all the tools to do this independently online. Our job is to build the tools and the control systems to ensure that the customer is always 100% protected in every single transaction. said Mikkelsen.

Anil Shah & Bjarke Mikkelson
Keynote speaker of the event, Mr Anil Keshary Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank announced the partnership with Daraz for digital payment gateway by introducing a new spectrum for Daraz’s customers and sellers where they get the assurance of payment and confidence to add products. He also assured that Daraz sellers will get Nabil Bank’s support by announcing SME Loan facilities for Daraz Sellers.

Daraz also announced the launched of its own logistics service known as Daraz Express (DEX). Also, Daraz will have an offline presence as Daraz Hubs which will enhance the services of Pick up, Delivery and Return.

Bimal Aryal explains Daraz Express

The Seller Summit concluded with a sneak peek of the biggest sale on Daraz, 11:11 sale for the first time ever in Nepal to be held on November 11, 2018. 

11.11 at Daraz

The 11:11 sale will feature big discounts across all categories with freebies, mystery boxes and app-exclusive deals.

Daraz Championship Case Study winner 2018

Nepal Commerce Campus wins Daraz Championship Case Study 2018

Nepal Commerce Campus wins Daraz Championship Case Study 2018

Nepal Commerce Campus has bagged the Daraz Championship Case Study 2018 beating seven other finalists at the Grand Finale held at Hotel Yak & Yeti on 21st July 2018.

Charlotte Stofberg HR Director Daraz Group

Daraz Nepal had organized the event in partnership with Ace Institute of Management for the second time following the huge success of the first edition last year. There were a total of 22 participating colleges in the first round which was held a week before the grand final. The eight qualified colleges competed for a combined cash prize of Rs 1,75,000/-. The top 8 qualified colleges were The British College, Ace Institute of Management, Medhavi College, Nepal Commerce Campus, Quest International College, KUSOM, Islington College and Kathmandu Model College.

DCCS 2018

The Grand Finale was officially inaugurated amidst an opening ceremony by Guest of Honor at the event, Ms Charlotte Stofberg, HR Director, Daraz Group. Other distinguished guests at the event included HR Heads of Daraz from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka. All the finalists were given a case study related to Daraz Pakistan. The Students had to analyze the case on Customer Loyalty Programme and suggest the most suitable loyalty programme for Daraz.

Delegates From Daraz

The Teams were adjudged by a panel of leading industry experts which included Mr Ujaya Shakya ( Managing Director, Outreach), Mr Ashutosh Tiwari ( Founder, Safal Partners) and Dr.Arhan Sthapit ( Asst.Professor, TU).

Judges DCCS 2018

The team of Ms.Mallika Karki, Ms Lipsa Karmacharya and Ms Sunita Tandukar were awarded the winning trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The First Runner-ups, Ace Institute of Management received Rs 50,000/- whereas The British College grabbed the Second runners-up prize of Rs 25,000/-.

Ace Institute of Management

Daraz Championship Case Study is a pathway to Daraz Future Leadership Programme. All the winning teams will be invited for a direct interview with Daraz for “Daraz Future Leadership Programme” (DFLP). DFLP is an 18 months leadership training programme where the selected candidates will work six months each in three departments of their choice.

British College at DCCS 2018

During the 18 months of the programme, they will be given full leadership training, will have direct access to Top Management and will play a key part in the important projects of Daraz. Upon Successful Completion of the 18-month programme, they will be signed off in the Management Team of Daraz.

Rajeev Amatya

Daraz Nepal hopes to make the event even bigger next year by bringing together Top Colleges from all over the country.

Daraz Group had successfully organized DCCS in all its countries. Daraz operates in Pakistan, Srilanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Digital-Marketing-Workshop

Empowering The Youths Of Nepal Through Digital Marketing

An initiative workshop was organized by the Daraz HR in collaboration with the Career Prep Fellowship on 9th June 2018 at Bikalpa Art Centre, Pulchowk, Kathmandu. As the participants are a group of youth with interest in digital marketing, some of them are already working in the digital marketing field while some are thinking of making a career in that field. The main objective of this workshop is to find potential candidates for the digital marketing team at Daraz. In addition to that, the event was held with the noble motive of making the young people equipped with the knowledge of Digital Marketing. The emphasis was also given in the development of the skills related to the field.

ABOUT THE EVENT

The workshop was conducted by Ms. Vidha Pradhan, Online Marketing Manager, Daraz Nepal in presence of Rajeev Amatya, Managing Director (MD), Daraz Nepal. The main motive of the programme was to provide ample knowledge in the field of digital marketing. It was an innovative collaboration keeping in mind the growing online market of Nepal. 22 desired people attended the event amongst whom the majority were students of the Bachelors and the Masters level who already have basic knowledge about digital marketing and want to learn more from it. Vidha Pradhan of Daraz Nepal shared her content regarding different topics namely, channels of Digital Marketing, the scope of Digital Marketing and career in Digital Marketing. The topics covered had an impact in how Digital Marketing Tools has helped Daraz in revolutionizing e-commerce industry in Nepal.

Ms. Vidha emphasized the elements of digital marketing viz SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), SEM, Social Media Marketing. The social media has paved the way for the larger audience base for the companies to advertise. Following which she interacted with the audience answering the queries and also provided the in-depth analysis regarding the career of the youths in the field of digital marketing.

The event revolved around covering the various aspects of Digital Marketing. The participants’ interest grew as the topic turned to the topics of “Scope of Digital Marketing” and building a career upon it. As explained by Ms. Vidha, there is significant scope in the field of Digital Marketing and one could build a career on it. The flow of the speech grasped the attention of the audiences glancing through the slides put forward. The keen interest that the participants showed in the event provided us with the knowledge people being interested in different aspects of Information Technology, the growing market of Nepal.

Through this program, the HR Department explored the potential for finding the Digital Marketing Manager for the company. In this context, the participants were asked to take a test so as to determine the potential candidates.  

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