Daraz breaks all records with PKR 3 Billion in Big Friday Sales

In what is a first for ecommerce, Daraz scored Pakistan’s first 3 billion rupee sale in revenue, securing 4 times more orders compared to last year’s sale, powered by 3 times more traffic on the ecommerce portal.

The high stakes behind Big Friday

What makes Big Friday, big? While this might sound an obvious question, it is a no less instructive one to consider when reviewing the year’s single biggest sale phenomenon. Daraz’s annual sale is best seen as a tent pitched to attract not just millions of digital-savvy prospects, but a consortium of top brands and thousands of sellers across the country. Introduced by Daraz in 2015, the sale has now become a nationwide phenomena, with malls being jam-packed during this period as all retailers go on sale. By 1:45 AM on Friday, Daraz had already gone past its PKR 1 Billion sales milestone from last year.

Bjarke Mikkelsen, CEO Daraz commented, “Whenever we mount a sale of this magnitude, its a huge effort to make the ecosystem of customers, sellers and partners to come together in a coordinated effort. This year the result was beyond all expectations and we are thrilled to have broken new ground in Pakistan e-commerce.”

Digital rush-hour as never seen before Millions of shoppers thronged the online marketplace during Big Friday - the event clocked in 17 million sessions during the week-long sale compared to 6 million sessions from the year before. 76% of this traffic was mobile, compared to 55% in 2016, attesting to the increasingly mobile-first nature of Pakistani e-commerce. Over 60% of transactions were made using the Daraz app, vindicating the continuous investments the company has made in improving their app experience.

55% of transaction volume came through prepayment methods, with customers utilizing Daraz’s broad portfolio of payment offerings spanning mobile wallets, debit/credit cards, and bank transfers. Customers were able to enjoy additional discounts through EasyPay, JazzCash, Allied Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Bank Alfalah, SilkBank and Keenu Rewards. Higher prepayment penetration indicates a key inflection point in the ecommerce scene, with customers showing increased trust in online payments.

A bonanza of top brands, exclusive product launches and breathtaking deals  

2017 has proven to be a breakthrough year for FMCGs on Daraz. One needs look no further than the numbers turned up by brands in the FMCG space this Big Friday, with 40% of the volume being generated by customers ordering beauty, grocery and other household products.

Industry leaders like Unilever sold the highest number of items during the sale, with Nestle and L’Oreal prominent amongst top brands generating millions in sales. L’Oreal exclusively launched NYX during BIG Friday and Nestle EveryDay bundle was amongst the top  highest selling products.

A series of exclusive launches accompanied the year’s biggest sale. Xiaomi launched their highly anticipated flagship phone Mi Mix 2 - selling hundreds of phones. iPhone X was exclusively launched on Daraz for the first time in Pakistan - with a special discount for HBL card holders. OnePlus 5 was another exclusive launch being offered at a special price in a VEON flash sale - all phones were sold a few minutes into the flash sale.

Cutting-Edge Collaboration with Veon

Daraz, the leading ecommerce platform and VEON, Pakistan’s leading communications app, came together for an innovative collaboration. The partners added a star-studded element to the sale by collaborating on a series of interactive Facebook Live Videos with Ali Noor and Mira Sethi engaging with customers through games and other fun challenges. The highlight of this partnership were the daily VEON Flash Sales, Vouchers and Crazy Deals that had everyone glued to their phones in a race to secure the best deals. The ORIENT 32’’ TITANIUM SERIES was offered as a VEON Crazy Deal at 86% off with an astounding price of Rs 3,149, selling out within a second.

Massive Investments in Customer Experience

In the runup to Big Friday, the Pakistani ecommerce giant lined up a major logistics investment to streamline deliveries across the nation, devoting a large slice towards new fulfillment centers in Karachi and Lahore with 100,000 sq. ft. of space. The brand new Fulfillment Centers are booming with more than 400,000 items, and excellent new technology. Daraz continues to work with all third party logistic companies and has also expanded its own delivery fleet with hundreds of riders in major cities. The investments have paid off with 85% of orders shipped already, with 43% of items shipping through Daraz Express, the e-retailer’s premium fulfillment solution.

Great deals to continue throughout the week

What began in 2015 as a daring gambit has now become a bona-fide retail trend - in 2017, Big Friday marks a new epoch in Pakistan retail with online retail standing head-to-head with brick-and-mortar across all verticals. To celebrate the 3 billion rupee milestone, Daraz has announced that it will be providing special deals throughout the week to meet the continued demand from its customers.

Pak-Qatar Takaful co-hosts International Seminar on "Global Takaful Practices" at IBA-CEIF

Pak-Qatar Takaful group in partnership with Institute of Business Administration’s Center of Excellence in Islamic Finance (IBA-CEIF) co-hosted a seminar on “Global Takaful Practices”. The key speakers at the seminar at IBA-CEIF are renowned internationally acclaimed Islamic Finance Scholars that include Dr. Sheikh Suleiman bin Mohammed Al Jewisser from Saudi Arabia and Mufti Muhammad HassaanKaleem from Pakistan. Pak-Qatar Takaful is the pioneer and largest Takaful group in Pakistan (comprised of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful and Pak-Qatar General Takaful companies).

Pak-Qatar Takaful recently invited Dr. Sheikh Suleiman bin Mohammed Al Jewisser (a renowned Islamic Finance scholar) as their guestto visitPakistan and share his latest International practices on Takaful. Dr. Sheikh Suleiman will meet various localShari’a Scholars, Government Dignitaries, senior Islamic Bankers, State Bank of Pakistan officials, prominent Pakistani businessmen and Pak-Qatar Takaful Group management for understanding Takaful practices of Pakistan.

Dr. Sheikh Suleiman,currently serves as Chairman of Shariah Advisory Board (Al-Rajhi Bank) Head of Shari'ah and Secretary to Shar'iah Board of Al Rajhi Takaful. Dr. Suleiman holds a Master's degree in Islamic Shariah politics of the Higher Judicial Institute at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, a specialist in Islamic Takaful adoption of the General Council of the Islamic banks and financial institutions.

Mufti Muhammad HassaanKaleem is an eminent Shari’a Scholar of Pakistan and is a member of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Shari’ah Advisory Board. He holds the degrees of Alimiyyah and Takhassus (specialization) in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) from JamiaDarulUloom, Karachi and Centre for Islamic Economics. He is also a faculty member /teacher at the same institutions.

Furthermore, he is a member of the curriculum committee of the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF). His areas of expertise are Islamic Finance and Takaful. He is Head of Shari’ah at both Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan and Center for Islamic Economics, Pakistan. He is a frequent guest-speaker and lecturer at many different conferences, seminars and forums.

The Chief Executive Officer of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful - Mr. Nasir Ali Syed stated that; “It is a great opportunity for the people of Pakistan to have the honour of interacting with Dr. Suleiman and get enlightened with his expertise of Islamic Finance and Takaful. Pak-Qatar Takaful has- always been committed to nurture highly competitive and learned managers for accelerating growth in this industry.” 

The interactive session with Dr. Suleiman was a blend of industrial insights and academic learning. Through this session, people were able to gain a clearer understanding of various Islamic financial services, including Shariah-compliant Investments and Takaful (The Islamic mode of Insurance). Moreover, Dr. Suleiman’s expertise will help in building solid foundation and knowledge-base, by engaging the Professionals, Entrepreneurs, Academicians, Finance Managers, Students, Human Resources Managers, Consultants and other stake-holders of the industry.

High level guests from all Islamic Banks, Islamic Banking windows, Takaful companies & windows, Islamic University, businessmen and corporate clients from Pak-Qatar Takaful and various trade associations attended the event.

GREE & EcoStar actively participated at Family Expo in Multan

DWP Group is the official brand partner of the globally renowned GREE Air-conditioners and producer of EcoStar Electronics. In order to further enhance the popularity of these high quality products in market, DWP became a key participant at the two-day Family Festival and Exhibition held at the Noor Malik Club in Multan recently. 

Gree has been consistently innovating new technologies. At the Multan Expo, Gree and EcoStar’s exhibition area demonstrated a wide range of electronics, as the consumers could also see live demos, get hands-on experience and purchase any of these latest products.

Gree and Eco-Star have a tradition to regularly participate in many vibrant social festivals, technology exhibitions and other events, to introduce pioneering technologies and create awareness among the consumers all over Pakistan. As a large number of consumers and families thronged the Family Expo in Multan, it turned out to be a tremendous success. 

DWP ensures nationwide availability of these products, along with prompt after-sales support.

Pakistan’s biggest sale gets a fitting name: Daraz announces BIG FRIDAY

Daraz sends a special THANK YOU to the tens of thousands of customers who have already started shopping on Black Friday 2017. Just 3 days into the sale, and the event is on track to get 3x bigger than last year’s record.

Black Friday was introduced by Daraz in 2015 and propelled into Pakistan’s first billion-rupee sale in 2016. Having now established this international phenomenon as a staple of the commercial calendar for the entire country, the time has come to give the event an identity of its own.

From midnight tonight, as Daraz starts the main sale, the biggest shopping event of the year shall from hereon be known as the BIG FRIDAY sale!

With this announcement, Daraz is adding new MEGA DEALS, more inventory for top sellers, and announcing exclusive launches of the iPhone X, the Mi Max 2 and OnePlus 5 in Pakistan!

Customers can now enjoy the next 48 hours of shopping craziness in the biggest sale of the year: BIG FRIDAY 2017 presented by Daraz.  

Huawei fosters Technical & Vocational Training in Pakistan

Huawei Technologies is playing a key role in promoting technical and vocational training of the people in Pakistan. Recently, this global technology leader sponsored the inaugural ceremony of an initiative, launched by the Ministry of Education in Punjab, to upgrade and modernize more than 1100 Technical and Vocational Training Schools all over the province. This social-development programme will nurture the skills needed for specific jobs and empower the students for higher productivity and brighter careers.

This inaugural ceremony was held at the Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore, where a number of training-equipment and tools were also donated to the Technical Vocational Schools. More than 250 distinguished guests participated in this event, including; the Consulate General of China in Lahore - Long Dingbin, Minister for School Education Punjab - Rana Mashhood, the CEO of Huawei - Saif Chi, Deputy CEO - Mr. Ahmed Bilal Masud, Secretary - Dr. Allah Buksh Malik, Mayor of Lahore - Col. (R) Mubashar Javed and large number of School Principals, Academicians and students.

The ‘Punjab Skills Development Fund’ (PSDF) is also actively involved in addressing the basic and critical skill-development needs of the youth, through technical and vocational training, thus generating more opportunities for employability and also encouraging entrepreneurship. The youth must realize the importance of having hands-on experience and its benefits in generating sustainable income for them and their families.

The Chief Executive Officer of Huawei said: “As Huawei is at the forefront of technologies around the world, we are also nurturing a culture of technological skills and expertise in Pakistan, to play our role as a socially responsible organization. We are working towards high quality trainings aimed at ultimately benefitting young students in Pakistan”.

VEON Black Friday reveals first round of amazing deals; the best is yet to come!

Enter a sale that begins where others end. At discounts up to 86%. Starts at the top of the week- runs through the weekend with new categories unlocking daily. It is the one and only annual Black Friday sale. First 2 day reports from sources close to Daraz suggest that this Black Friday sale is well on its way to being 3 times larger than last year’s recording breaking event.

To get things started, Daraz unlocked Grocer's Shop; Health & Beauty; Baby, Kids & Toys; and Books & Stationery on Nov 20th. Nov 21st, saw the Fashion categories unlock. And today, deals from Home & Appliances; Sports & Travel; Computing & Gaming and Automobiles went live. Nov 23rd will see deals from the hottest categories - Phones & Tablets, TVs and Audio - are going to be unlocked.

Up until November 24 the sale will keep getting bigger and better with mega deals from new categories being unveiled daily. The 23rd onwards, ALL categories will go live with some big reveals and special offers on Nov 24th.

Top Deals Unlocked Today (Nov 22)

Chief Marketing Officer, Hamaad Ravda, comments: On popular demand - we have changed things up this year. In a first for Black Friday,  the sale has been extended into a week-long affair seeing select categories unlock each day of the event. In true Black Friday tradition, our aim is to raise the bar and then deliver it: to infinity and beyond.”

Additionally, customers can expect a huge surprise reveal on Friday. With mega deals, brand vouchers and bank partners to boot, customers are enjoying the best Daraz has to offer from the comfort of their homes. The sale went live with a bang and yet again the traffic numbers took Daraz by surprise.

Special Offers from VEON, the Daraz QR Code and Digital Partners 

Black Friday this year is super exciting with special offers on the VEON app, as well as QR Code discount, that shoppers may scan in order to redeem an exclusive Rs. 500 discount on the Daraz app. The code has been sighted on fliers and billboards nationwide, generating palpable excitement three weeks ahead of the sale.

Additionally, with every Daraz order, customers can enjoy a free Careem ride as well as a 20% discount coupon from Pizza Hut. Iflix is offering a free subscription with every order. Cinepax brings a 10% discount on Black Friday shoppers’ next ticket purchase. Talk about fringe benefits! Scan the below to get Rs 500 discount.

VEON Crazy Deals: Exclusive discounts on VEON everyday

If customers want to experience what it means to #BeTrulyFree, they are advised to check out the CRAZY DEALS calendar below and avail handsome price reductions.

Additional discounts from Payment Partners

Safe and secure payments are a Daraz signature. As is customary for Pakistan’s No.1 online marketplace, the Black Friday payment partner roster is populated by many of the country’s preeminent banking stalwarts- household names in and of themselves- offering additional discounts on already heavily discounted deals.

Download the Daraz app for timely updates

Stay tuned, everything in Phone and Tablets, TVs and Audio  up next! Download the Daraz app to make the most of this Black Friday.

The Country’s First-ever Smartphone Fashion Shoot Looks Mesmerizing

·         TapuJaverishotPakistan’s first-ever smartphone fashion shoot with the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro

·         He chose Skardu for itsresplendentlandscapethatwasperfect for an avant-garde fashion shoot

·         HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro has dual cameras with 12MP RGB sensor, 20MP Monochrome sensor and the world’slargest aperture f/1.6

·         The camera isco-engineeredwithLeica – making HUAWEI the world leader in dual-camera smartphone photography

Stop what you’re doing for the country’s first-ever smartphone fashion shoot is here. Ace-photographer and Pakistan’s favourite shutterbug TapuJaveriwent on a breathktaking quest to Skardu to conducta never-seen-before fashion shoot from a HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro – and boy are we mesmerized by the results!

TapuJaveri and HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro are a match made in heaven! Tapu chose the picturesque Skardu valley to exude his passion for photography all through the lenses of HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro.

Nestled on the confluence of the Indus and Shigar rivers, Skardu is the gateway to mighty mountains, scintillating lakes and wilderness that wears a different colour in every season. It was only fitting for Tapu to choose this location for an avant-garde fashion shoot.

Mahi – Tapu’s muse looked ravishing as she posed at the Shigar Cold Desert. The vast stretch of plains among high mountains gave an eclectic mix of landscape and depth to the shoot altogether. The camera on the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro – co-engineered with Leica – captured some candid shots of Mahi dressed in vibrant travel attire through its SUMMILUX-H lenses.

TapuJaveri loved the experience of his HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro and put its 12-megapixel RGB sensor to good use. Things got really exciting when Mahi cuddled up with colourful flowers on a boat on the scenic Upper Kachura Lake. It was a moment worth living, as the boat glided onserene waters of the lake and Tapu took vivid shots through the smartphone. An AI-powered Real-Time Sense and Object Recognition system identified human shots and flower shots adjusting its settings automatically.

A village near Upper Kachura Lake alsocaught Tapu’s wild imagination. Its trees dyed in hues of autumn created an ethereal aura that looked right out of a dream. Hopped on a cycle, Mahi had an angelic glow that HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro’s camera masterfully encapsulated. The camera’s AI-powered Bokeh Effect created brilliant portraits – no less than a DSLR.

Not only was Tapu spellbound by the landscape, but was also drawn to the warmth of Skardu’s people. While a group of friends bonded over tea, Tapu memorialized the moment in exquisite monochrome portraits taken through the 20-megapixel Monochrome sensor. The HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro also took some classic bokeh shots that added a unique candidness to the gathering.

As night fell on the Lower Kachura Lake and an eerie silence fell over the valley, Tapu indulged himself into another photographic experience. With the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro’s wide aperture of f/1.6, he embalmed a low-lit shot of the lake, as it reflected a shimmering moon on its tranquil surface.

To have a look at the amazing brand film, please visit:https://we.tl/rp1va0EbCT