This insights session, we’re joined by Farhan Syed, the Chief Operating Officer of Bagallery, who explores the best way to develop your business through the lense of the fashion and beauty sector, using Bagallery as a case study. Bagallery, founded in 2017, is an e-commerce beauty platform that has pivoted into fashion and lifestyle, growing at a rate of 22% on a monthly basis.
With Pakistan having 167 million cellular subscribers, 81 million smartphone users, bringing in 80% of online traffic, Farhan insists, “The time to go for e-commerce is now.” This has been further emphasized by the pandemic, which forced a lot of businesses to adapt or shut down, most of which reverted to online platforms. The strong online presence can be felt through social media where platforms like YouTube and Facebook have up to 40 million users from Pakistan, with Tik Tok quickly growing with its 20 million Pakistani users. So how can you tap into this ripe market?
According to Farhan for any business to flourish it has to have three essential things:
1) A Unique Portfolio
2) Data analysis
3) Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
A unique portfolio is what sets a business apart from the rest. What is it that your business can offer people that others can’t? In Bagallery’s case it is a portfolio of 300+ brands with 10+ categories, breaking into a market comprising of not just women, the usual target audience of the beauty and fashion sector, but also men. Additionally 50% of their marketing is done by influencers through special PR boxes of their products that influencers try out and review, multiplying Bagallery’s reach.
To best tap into a market, you have to study it. Data is exceptionally important but even more significant is the analysis of said data with the tools on hand to help you make the best decisions for your business. Bagallery determined its best performing channel to be Instagram by assessing traffic performance, content performance and which channel has the best ROI (Return on Investment). Notably, they resolved a major operations crisis through CRM and relationship management, determining their top customers and looking into the reason for customer dissatisfaction, allowing them to isolate the problem and resolve it by moving to different warehouse.
Another priceless avenue, according to Farhan is partnerships. They enable your business to grow it’s traction through relevant tasteful collaborations, benefitting and potentially increasing sales for both partners. This is showcased by L’oreal’s customizable lipstick which was exclusively available on Bagallery’s website. Another incredible partnership Bagallery had was with TCF (The Citizen’s Foundation) where a certain sum would be donated on every order, upholding their corporate social responsibility by helping children attain education.
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