What are the success factors of e-commerce companies in Bangladesh? Part 1



Success”, a very rare word in the e-commerce industry in Bangladesh. It's really unfortunate to see that, even at the beginning of the new decade, we have seen very few e-commerce ventures who have successfully made “some” impact on Bangladeshi consumers' buying habits.

During the research for today's article, we have asked ourselves some questions. What made this very few e-commerce ventures kept alive in the “blood bath” of other similar ventures? How are they different? The answers to these questions were interesting and I believe, what we are going to share today would be really helpful for many e-commerce and related ventures out there.

In the process of our analysis, we have considered some key points into our consideration, which are necessary for any business. Then against each point, we have analyzed each successful company separately. At the end of our analysis, it was pretty clear to us, why & how they have succeeded? I believe, their success till today is just the beginning, they will go much further.

Without further ado, let's start analyzing today's e-commerce venture, Chaldal.

Chaldal was founded by Waseem Alim, Zia Ashraf, and Tejas Viswanath. At this moment they deliver 2200+ orders per day across Dhaka city. Chaldal received financing from IFC, world bank. They also received financing from other private, national and international venture capitalists.

Success factors of Chaldal
  1. Branding: Have you ever thought to use an egg as your company's logo? I know most of the people will laugh, someone could even think that I am just making fun, but that's what Chaldal has already done. This is a very good example of an excellent branding strategy. Most of the consumers would be able to remember the logo very easily & that's the primary target of a good logo.
    After the logo, let's take a look at the naming of the company. The name consists of two of the most common commodity for any Bangladeshi. The message is very clear & straight. After hearing the name, you would easily guess that this is something related to “Grocery bazar”.
    If I analyze more, it would be another article. So, I am keeping things short here. All I can say, the overall branding of 'Chaldal' is really good.
  2. Product quality & cost: Providing a quality product to your customer is one of the fundamentals of success in any business. This couldn't be truer in the case of any e-commerce in 2020 in Bangladesh.

    Chaldal knows this very well. From the very beginning, they dedicate themselves to provide the best quality products to their customers with the best possible price.

    I know, some consumers have an unfortunate experience with Chaldal, but the percentage of “unfortunate experience” is negligible.

    It is really a tough job to compete with local “kacha bazaar”, but Chaldal has taken the challenge & they are doing quite well.
  3. User-friendly website: If you have an e-commerce company or want to start one, you should take this point very seriously.
    As far as I remember, Chaldal website was very smooth from the very beginning. Their user interface was attractive & intuitive. The website loading speed was great.

    They even introduced the “floating cart” feature on their website in Bangladesh, which is now an unannounced standard for almost any other grocery e-commerce.
  4. Delivery & Support: Chaldal first introduced “The 1 Hour Delivery” within Dhaka city. They have 6 own warehouses at the six major areas in Dhaka city, which enables them to facilitate their customers with this great feature.

    Even if you don't receive your product within 1 hour, you'll get it within a few hours for sure. With a large fleet of the delivery van and customized bikes, they have made this possible.

    With a dedicated customer service team, Chaldal is always there for you. Chaldal call center is available for 12 hours a day at your service. Also, don't forget the little chat box on their website.

    The warm and dedicated customer service team is another vital point of their success. Thanks to the centralized customer care solution of Chaldal, pre & post-sales support is well organized & coordinated.
  5. Investment: You may find it surprising, why investment is at number 5, but as I mentioned earlier many e-commerce ventures had good investments though they failed miserably. Whatever, along with all the above-mentioned strengths Chaldal had investment from IFC almost from the beginning. Later, their good investment strategy attracted a lot of good angel investors & venture capitals. This helps them to implement the plans.
Chaldal was careful with every important tiny detail from the beginning. And that pays them well enough. They are undoubtedly the number 1 grocery e-commerce in Bangladesh, at present & they are steady enough to maintain that position for the coming years.

The second part of this series is coming soon with another success in the Bangladesh e-commerce industry. Stay tuned till then.

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