Bytes.pk CEO Muhammad Khanani is confident that that his company possesses enough of an edge to dominate the market even if people launch similar companies or products.
During an exclusive interview with Daily Times, the young business leader said that he launched the online store in 2015 with the primary aim to enable people to do more. At the time when bytes.pk was launched, the Pakistani e-commerce market was more focused towards high-profit margins rather than towards high volumes, he said, adding that the masses were largely ignored and general consensus was built that if you want a niche product, you can’t get anywhere but online stores at a high mark up.
He said the primary target of bytes was to cater the needs of masses. “We began offering used mobile phones and cheap mobile phone accessories to start with. Over the last nine months, we shifted our focus from electronics to fashion, but our way of working and goals remained the same,” he maintained.
On a query, he said two of the key differentiating factors between bytes.pk and other online stores were that bytes hold inventory of everything it sells and thus does not cancel orders because of something being out of stock. In Pakistan, he added, more than 90 percent of online retailers of today do not even have an inventory of their own thus many top online stores cancel up to 40 percent of orders due to unavailability of products. “Our second key differentiating factor is that we have a large number of in-house brands that allow us to sell great quality products at low prices. By owning the brand and controlling the complete production process, we can keep costs significantly lower and thus reduce prices. Currently, all the other top online stores in Pakistan are either foreign-backed or owned by a conglomerate. We differentiate ourselves by being an independent online store, which gives us a much higher level of flexibility and ability to change swiftly,” he added.
Over the last two years, bytes.pk has been able to attract some of the top brands from around the world. The company has brought more than 300 foreign brands to Pakistan from over 40 countries. “Ever since we entered fashion, we have shifted our focus to local brands, as they understand the local needs and trends way better,” he opined.
Leading fashion brands on board with bytes.pk include Shehla Chatoor, Maria B, Sapphire, Élan, Zara Shahjahan, Orient Textiles, Al Karam, Al Zohaib and Shariq Textiles. Khanani credits his company’s success to its ability to attract major brands, which not only brought sky-rocketing sales, but also helped build up their brand as one of its major successes.
Being an online retailer, he said one of the most important aspects for them was to consider “volumes”. While electronics was generating good revenue, profit margins were very slim and at the same time order volume growth was slow.
“I was sceptical about fashion and was not very excited about it but once I ventured into it, I fell in love with it. Shifting to fashion also opened up a new customer base for us. Previously, we were catering to a male dominant customer base, which over the year we realised was not the best target market. In Pakistan, working women have the highest disposable income comparatively and this would only grow over the next few years.”
He said as women join the workforce, it would also increase their likeliness to want to save time and shop online, as it could be tiring to go out to shop after a long day at work.
Over the next year, he said bytes intend to continue its focus on growing its women’s fashion division while adding more products for them. “Currently we lack prêt clothing for women so that is something we will also be adding soon,” he added.
Khanani believes that being young gives him a lot more time to research, which gives him an edge over his competitors. “I am available 24/7 and so is my team. With very few other commitments I have been able to focus all my time and attention on bytes. We are available for our customers when our competitors aren’t. We have deals going live around the clock. For example, our support and product updating team is live 365 days a year and 24 hours a day so whether it’s Eid or midnight you’ll always find new deals and new products. Being young can also be challenging as many people try and take advantage of your age and try to cheat you.”