KARACHI: Majid Al Futtaim, an Emirati holding company that owns Carrefour Pakistan, recently signed a partnership agreement with leading online marketplace Daraz at the latter’s head office.
“This collaboration is a strategic alliance enabling Daraz’s online shoppers to shop from over 3,000 products offered by Majid Al Futtaim’s Carrefour stores, across numerous categories,” said a statement issued on Monday.
The agreement was signed by Carrefour Pakistan Country Manager Jean Marc Dumont and Daraz Managing Director Ehsan Saya.
Talking to this scribe, an official from Daraz said, “This is a win-win situation for both the partners, but for us it is also a success in the sense that now Daraz has reached to the point where big brands wish to become part of our platform.”
In practical implications, Carrefour would be like just another brand using Daraz’s platform to connect with customers, but the strength of Carrefour brand itself would obviously be beneficial to Daraz to attract more customers for both partners, the official explained.
Daraz has a customer base of more than 5 million monthly users. The combination of Carrefour’s extensive product range and Daraz’s marketplace would ensure variety for shoppers.
Carrefour Pakistan Country Manager at Majid Al Futtaim Retail Jean Marc Dumont commented, “Our strategic alliance with Daraz, being a renowned online shopping platform, is exciting news for the ever-growing community of online shoppers in Pakistan. Majid Al Futtaim is on an ambitious digital transformation agenda and we have now brought this to our Carrefour operations in Pakistan, allowing local customers to choose from more than 3,000 FMCG products.”
Daraz Pakistan Director Commercial Imran Saleem said, “We are very proud of our new partnership with Carrefour. Their official store on DarazMall will give customers across the country access to a much larger assortment of groceries and other items, making their shopping experience at our platform much more convenient.”
Meanwhile, industry experts have noted that the online market for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is growing in double-digits, which means that Carrefour took a step in the right direction in partnering up with Daraz. However, they raised concerns over some of the brands that Carrefour sells; a user can easily find counterfeits of those brands on Daraz at cheaper prices. “But nonetheless, it’s a win for both the brands.”
Daraz should improve their customer service both for their vendors and customers before claiming success and instead of ignoring, start paying their vendors on time.