Online grocery shopping looking to find a way in

Aaramshop.pk banks on broadband penetration for growth. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: During the past few years, quite a few startups were launched to tap the country’s $25 to $30 million e-commerce market. Given that the market is still in its infancy, most of these online portals were focused on broader shopping categories, such as electronics, fashion and lifestyle segment.

While there is still enough room for the existing players to expand and for new players to enter, there are signs that some entrepreneurs have already started carving a niche out of this broader marketplace.

Take for example aaramshop.pk, one of the few startups focused on the online grocery market.

Based out of New Delhi, India, aaramshop is a grocery marketplace that expanded in October last year through a joint venture with Pakistan’s RedBox Groceries – the Pakistani venture was co-founded by an automotive and marketing entrepreneur Ahmed Arif and Qaysar Alam, a supply chain veteran and the Supply Chain Association of Pakistan president.

It is a neighborhood-based business model whereby customers buy grocery online and have it delivered by the nearest retailer – also called aaramshop – of their locality, according to Abdullah Soomro, General Manager at RedBox Groceries.

The aaramshop.pk team has technical support from India. It uses the back-end cloud application of the Indian parent to manage inventory and take customer orders.

Though a very small segment, Soomro believes, the online grocery market will grow with the increase in the country’s broadband penetration – the average basket size at aaramshop.pk is Rs1,500.

Since there is no official data available for this category and there aren’t any big grocery retailers, Soomro said it is difficult to estimate the market size. He, however, estimates that the online grocery market, only Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), is worth $1 to $2 million a year.

“It is a very small number but I expect it will grow very fast in a couple of years,” Soomro said. The growth will be driven by greater penetration of existing e-commerce players, introduction of 3G services, emergence of more online grocery retailers and higher grocery-focused marketing spend, he said.

“So far, electronics and fashion startups have made inroads in e-commerce space. We expect grocery to be the next in line to gain popularity among internet users in Pakistan,” the GM said.

Though Soomro is optimistic about growth in the next couple of years, it might take them a while to be profitable as the service is offered free of cost to the end user and retailers are not willing to pay at the same time.

Consumers place the order through their website, mobile phone app or on phone following which their nearest retailer delivers the goods without charging a delivery fee. Retailers, too, are not ready to pay at the moment, according to Soomro.

Aaramshop’s business model, therefore, relies on providing brands with premium services – they make money by charging for premium listings and offering promotions, such as coupons and discounts through retailers. A major strength of aaramshop lies in its ability to reach consumers through neighborhood retailers and its seamless integration with digital media.

“Our current focus is on expanding the network,” Soomro said. They currently have 302 retailers on their panel. Currently limited to Karachi, they are gearing up to move to other big cities soon.

Focus on FMCG

The business is presently focusing on FMCG and is planning to introduce dairy, vegetable and fruit delivery services soon.

It may be too early to comment on the outlook of the online grocery market but there are indications that the country is an attractive destination for this segment. This is perhaps why the Indian business chose Pakistan as the first market for international expansion.

“The way we look at it is the similarities between the two markets are enormous and the model we follow in India can be replicated with relative ease in Pakistan,” aaramshop CEO and co-founder Vijay Singh told TechCrunch in August, 2013.

Home / Blog / Ravindra Jadeja might be ‘the next Wasim Akram’,

It was very awkward for me when I saw a picture of Ravindra Jadeja on a magazine cover with ‘The next Wasim Akram?’ written on top of it. Indian Bowling coach, Joe Dawes gave a statement after losing the second Test match against South Africa that he may try to make Jadeja the new Wasim Akram.

His statement implicated that Jadeja should practice some seam bowling as previously done by Sourav Ganguly or Sachin Tendulkar. The first thing that disturbed me was how a spinner can be compared to one of the greatest pace bowlers the international cricket has ever seen. If anything, I personally think Sanath Jayasuria would have been a better choice as he was a left arm slow bowler and a master blaster. However, Jaya’s class is unmatchable when it comes to his batting talent.

The second thing that popped up in my mind was the numerous times Indians have choked their talented cricketers by comparing them with Pakistani greats. Irfan Pathan is a prime example who had some real pace bowling talent, but he was forced by his coaches to make his action identical to Akram, which ended up neutralising his natural talent.

To add to the cause, the Indian team insists on putting all 11 of their players behind the bat and force Pathan to be an all-rounder, which is a big loss on their behalf.

Coming back to Jadeja and his coach’s statement, even if we ignore the fact that a spinner is being compared to a pacer and only focus on their performance, he is being compared to the legend on the basis of his wicket taking ability in the away matches. Jadeja has only played one Test match against the Proteas in their backyard and got six wickets for 154 runs. As Jadeja has not played much of the long format cricket outside India, his record cannot be compared to Akram’s record of 255 wickets in 62 matches with an average of 24.61.

Let’s take a look at the performances of the most played format in international cricket; One Day Internationals (ODIs). Jadeja has played 36 away matches and has hunt down 28 batsmen at an average of 48.53. Whereas, the Sultan of Swing has taken part in 121 away matches and has taken 168 wickets at an average of 23.89. Akram has never bowled in a T20 format, so it is irrelevant to compare the records. However, if he had played, he must have better figures than Jadeja for sure.

The only way Akram and Jadeja can stand side by side is if you highly overrate Jadeja as the greatest slow left arm bowler of all time. I have no doubt that many Jadeja fans might believe that he is the best left arm orthodox spinner of this era or probably in history, but I rate Abdul Razzak of Bangladesh higher than him and even young Raza Hasan of Pakistan even though he hasn’t played much international cricket. Hasan is immensely talented and soon he will prove it to the world.

On the other hand, there is absolutely no doubt that Akram is the best left arm pacer or left bowler that has ever appeared on the field. Seeing the comparison above, I reckon Jadeja has a long way to go to even have his name mentioned alongside the Sultan of Swing.

Dawes’s statement is probably one of the most overrated and perhaps one of the most absurd statements that the cricketing world has ever heard. There is indeed no comparison between the two. Such statements usually end up destroying players and their talent rather than building it.

Outlook: Oil production set to reach record 130,000 bpd

The petroleum industry generally believes Pakistan’s geology is gas-prone rather than having any substantial oil potential. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

Pakistan’s crude oil output is expected to increase to 130,000 barrels per day in one or two years, a sharp rise from the stagnant 66,000 bpd seen in the last few years, industry players told The Express Tribune.

It has already risen to all-time high of 91,000 bpd in recent weeks, according to latest Pakistan Petroleum Institute (PPIS) statistics. That comes months after the highest level of 84,650 bpd was achieved.

Average oil production was at 81,000 bpd in 2013, up 13% over the previous year with most of the increase coming from the wells located in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa, especially the Tal Block.

“We were actually expecting production to rise to 100,000 bpd in 2013,” said Masood Siddiqui, a petroleum industry veteran who headed Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) till a few months back.

“If the work continues like it is right now, then we should be able to achieve the target of 130,000 to 140,000 bpd in a short time,” he said.

In other words, Pakistan’s annual oil production stands at around 4 million tons. That is a little less than what is imported every year to meet demand. In fiscal 2012-13, Islamabad spent $5.392 billion to import 6.939 million tons.

During the seven-month (July-June) period of current fiscal 2013-14, 4.22 million tons have been imported against $3.3 billion, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The 130,000 bpd level appears very much reachable because of the substantial rise in drilling activity, Siddiqui said. “Around 76 wells were drilled last year alone. We have never seen work on so many wells being done in one year.”

While there remains uncertainty over the exact size of oil reserves in absence of any broad geological survey, Pakistan has estimated recoverable reserves of 27 million barrels, according to the last Economic Survey.

Petroleum industry generally believes Pakistan’s geology is gas-prone rather than having any substantial oil potential. The fact that companies have to drill deep wells to find hydrocarbon reserves adds credence to this argument.

The wells at Makori field have a depth of around 12,000 feet.

However, Siddiqui points out lack of experience as another reason behind this view. “You have to remember that our geoscientists and geologists have been mostly trained to study gas structures since Sui field was discovered 50 years back.”

But the perception is changing. “Ten years back, experts would have laughed at us if we would have asked them to find oil in K-P from where all the production is coming now.”

Higher oil production has also added to profitability of petroleum upstream companies, says Vahaj Ahmed, analyst at Topline Securities. “The realised price of oil is six-and-a-half times more than what these companies get for gas.”

The average price of gas in Pakistan is $12.5 per barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) against oil’s $85 per BOE.

Despite the seemingly high return on finding and producing oil, the companies take cautious approach because of the huge capital expenditure, Ahmed said.

Higher oil production does not mean it will help the balance of trade substantially since the country spends a lot to import petroleum products like diesel and furnace oil as well.

German mull over opening solar school in Pakistan

BERLIN : Chief Executive of the German Solar Energy Society, Dr. Uwe Hartmann called on the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Muhammad Barjees Tahir here on Saturday. He briefed the Minister about various activities of the society being undertaken by it to promote new sustainable energy conversion techniques and energy-saving technologies as well as environmental and climate protections. He said that the major aspect of Society’s work was education and spreading information about renewable energies. Federal Minister said that Pakistan had been facing acute shortage of electricity and it had hampered the economic development badly.
The Federal Government is striving hard to overcome this energy crisis on one hand as well trying to maintain a balanced energy mix to keep the average price of electricity per unit as low as possible on the other hand, he added. The Minister informed him of various alternative energy projects including wind and solar, which were being installed in the country.
It was agreed in the meeting that the German Solar Energy Society will consider the possibility of setting up a Solar School in Pakistan to impart training in developing, planning, dimensioning, installing, and commissioning solar systems as well disseminate technical know how about the alternative sources of energy. As a first step forward, the experts of the Society will train the trainers in the fields of photovoltaic, solar thermal applications and energy efficiency.

Kareena Kapoor Wants Peace for Pakistan and India

Karachi: Indian actress Kareena Kapoor wants good relation between Pakistan and India. Kareena Kapoor has become the brand ambassador of Pakistani fashion house. Fashion designer Faraz Manan has taken the photo shoot of Kareena in the palace of Hyderabad Deccan, India. Kareena Kapoor was wearing those dresses which were designed by Faraz Manan.

Kareena Kapoor has said that she knows that she has a lot of fans in Pakistan. Actress has said that her ancestors belong to Pakistan. Having seen the love of Pakistani People for her, she is feeling quite happy Kareena expressed.

 Actress Kareena has said that her grandfather Raj Kapoor was born in Peshawar and he is excited for his birth place.

Her father Randhir Kapoor and paternal Uncle Rishi Kapoor often tells about their visit of Pakistan. Kareena wants to see the birth place of her grandfather as well. We have to make good relation between Pakistan and India actress expressed.

Fashion designer Faraz Manan has said that we have selected Kareena for the ambassador of his brand in order to show the Pakistani dresses in all over the country. Pakistani models are worried to see the interest of Indian actress for working for Pakistani brands.

Wonderful Wigan punish Pellegrini & lacklustre Manchester City

From his hoody and his team selection right through his inability to stir City into life from the bench, this was as lethargic as things have been for City under the Chilean

COMMENT
By Peter Staunton at Etihad Stadium

To my right ahead of kick-off, a City fan said it. His friend expected the win, 3-0. His fellow supporter wasn't having it, however. "The Uwe Rosler story," he reasoned. The FA Cup does have the knack of throwing up compelling narrative. 

The former striker, on his first trip back to the club where he was a folk hero, was the romantic tale at the weekend. The City fan knew there would be a sting in it for his team. However, this was not the fates conspiring against City; one of those inexpicable matches in which all reason and sense are discarded.

This was a result forged, initially, in the approach of the two managers and then in the tasks executed by their players. Night and day in that respect. Resplendent in his match-day suit, Rosler shouted himself hoarse, bending, squatting, patrolling the touchline, up and down, up and down, like a tiger in a cage, ensuring that his players followed his instructions to the letter. At one stage in the first half, he was telling them what passes to play. 

"Our worst half of the year," instead, was Pellegrini's assessment. "We didn't have the pace to play against a team in a very good moment." With his shaggy mane and hooded tracksuit, the Chilean cut an apathetic figure. 

"Maybe we thought it was not so difficult [before the game]," he said. And maybe, in the end, it wasn't as difficult as Uwe Rosler thought. Pellegrini was impassive after the first Wigan goal. He altered nothing as time and again, in possession, Wigan picked the right pass and starved City of the ball in meaningful places. 

When the changes came, they came desperately. He rolled three dice hoping to see two sixes among them. While the introduction of James Milner drew a better display from the right-back Micah Richards, Edin Dzeko and David Silva were less effective. The Bosnian hit the post with one header and saw another, for a potential equaliser, flash wide. City did not deserve it. The scarcely deserved the one they did score, opined Rosler. Joleon Lescott "clearly offside" and interfering with play. 

Silva put the ball under his foot and tried to pass it well when he came in but the frenetic nature of City's late strategy also featured Lescott and, latterly, Costel Pantilimon up front, illustrating a muddled approach.

Questions will have to be answered about the calibre of replacements for Vincent Kompany. It made sense to rest the Belgian with Barcelona on the horizon and an international match behind him. Nonetheless, City cannot defend in his absence. Richards was posted missing as Marc-Antonie Fortune ghosted down the right flank in the first half and Martin Demichelis was turned inside out before conceding the penalty. 

For the second goal, Richards had his hands behind his back in the box as James McArthur crossed along the ground for James Perch's tap in while Lescott let the ball go past. 

Even that goal showed the contrast in hunger between the sides. Gael Clichy was favourite for the ball but the former Newcastle United man simply showed more desire to get there. At the other end, Emmerson Boyce, as loyal a servant as they come, somehow diverted the ball over the bar from right in front of the goalline as Dzeko lurked. Even on replays, it defies logic that he kept it out. But keep it out the Wigan captain did and in the cup he kept his side. "You need matchwinners at both ends," said Rosler, whose side have now endured 52 matches this season. "That tackle has shown desire and willpower. I can only take my hat off to my players."

Boyce's opposite number, Yaya Toure, flounced down the tunnel after being substituted. He was lucky not to be sent off for two petulant fouls. His body language was all wrong throughout. It was symptomatic of City's display on the day. He threw his arms around in frustration that Wigan seemed to want it more than they did. How dare they come to the Etihad and try this hard. Don't they know the script?

All season long Pellegrini has parried enquiries about a potential quadruple. His side have the Capital One Cup in the bag but that is very much the bottle of champagne handed out when you win the National Lottery. No one really cares. 

Since the start of 2014 he has watched his side surrender their grip on the Premier League trophy to Chelsea, their Champions League credentials to Barcelona and now their FA Cup dreams to Wigan. 

The Latics now edge towards unlikely successive FA Cup wins. That's six consecutive wins for the Latics now since defeat at Huddersfield in February and five of those have been away from home. This isn't the stuff of dreams. This was what they came for.

Both teams believed they could do it; only one followed through.

Benzema's goals convincing Madrid not to sign a world-class striker

The Frenchman's stunning form means Carlo Ancelotti's side are increasingly unlikely to spend big on a new frontman in the summer - as long as he agrees a new contract

SPECIAL REPORT
By Chris Myson & Alberto Pinero

Karim Benzema's career has undergone an amazing transformation in the space of just a few months.

Having scored six goals in as many matches and an impressive 11 since the start of 2014, the striker's stock at Real Madrid has arguably never been higher.

As recently as October 26, it looked as if Benzema’s days at Madrid were numbered. Dropped for theClasico against Barcelona, he had scored in just one of his side’s previous 10 games.

He was being consistently booed by the club’s supporters; a spell of jeering that peaked when, after missing a glorious opportunity to score, he was substituted in a Champions League tie against Juventus.

Around the same time, Benzema was enduring ridicule back in his homeland for a disastrous run of form with France. Astonishingly, he failed to score in 17 consecutive international matches.

He has since turned that drought around too, netting four goals in five caps for the national team and playing a key role in helping les Bleus past Ukraine to qualify for the World Cup.

After ending the run in October, the striker admitted he had suffered with his poor form for club and country, saying: "This has been the most difficult period of my career. It has been tough for me, but I never stopped believing in myself.”

It has been an up-and-down journey for the 26-year-old forward since he arrived at the Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 in a deal eventually worth over €40 million. It is only now that Madrid are ready to fully commit to Benzema as their main man in the No.9 position.

At most clubs, a striker who has played over 200 games and scored over 100 goals would have already secured iconic status, but Benzema’s four-and-a-half seasons have been unconventional. 

KEEPING KARIM
BENZEMA'S STATS THIS SEASON
TOTAL APPEARANCES STARTS GOALS AV. GOALS PER GAME	36 33 21 0.58
BENZEMA'S OVERALL MADRID RECORD
TOTAL APPEARANCES STARTS GOALS AV. GOALS PER GAME	219 155 108 0.49

He has drifted in and out of favour with both the fans and his coaches, but in Carlo Ancelotti and, significantly, assistant Zinedine Zidane, he has now found two avid supporters. 

Even when being booed and criticised earlier in the season, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach gave him full public backing. The coaching team resisted repeated calls to replace him with Alvaro Morata.

That faith has been rewarded with Benzema’s upturn in form, which has intensified since the turn of the year. A number of his strikes have come in crucial games – two against Villarreal, one against Atletico Madrid and another double in Europe against Schalke. 

He also netted the vital first goal against Celta, Osasuna and Espanyol, playing a key role as los Blancos move into an impressive position. They remain in the running to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Ancelotti said ahead of the game with Levante on Sunday: "Benzema is comfortable in the side and with our style of play. He is concentrating hard on his work and that is paying off." 

For the first time, Benzema is in favour with the club’s support, the coach and the board. For most of the last four years, at least one of those groups – and often more – have been against him. 

Benzema finds it harder than most to win support from the terraces. His deliberate movements on the pitch and introverted personality can make him appear to lack passion. He is not a pure goalscorer either, unlike many of those who have historically played in his position for Madrid. 

Those factors can make him an easy target compared to established stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos or enthusiastic youngsters like Jese and Morata. He receives less patience than most team-mates are afforded when hit by a spell of bad form.

His current exploits are gaining widespread recognition, but he has impressed in the white of Madrid before. He did score 32 goals in all competitions in 2011-12, although that was overshadowed by Ronaldo netting a sensational 60 and Jose Mourinho ending Barcelona’s run of three-straight Liga titles. 

Gonzalo Higuain was a constant rival for selection in his first four years. With only one place up for grabs at centre-forward, his high-profile colleague was always waiting to pounce. It was rare for either to see out a full 90 minutes and a poor performance from one would mean the other quickly came into favour.


A man in form | Benzema's goals against Villarreal were two of many in 2014
Last summer, Madrid sold the popular Higuain, who had become disillusioned in the Spanish capital, to Napoli. It was a show of faith in Benzema when the club resisted temptation to sign another striker and instead spent €100m on Gareth Bale. That trust made his early-season struggles harder for some to take. 

But the club are now convinced by his performances and his role as the starting forward is set to continue beyond this season. Ancelotti’s support is a crucial factor, as is the belief that the Frenchman’s playing style perfectly complements the team’s two most marketable and expensive stars: Bale and Ronaldo. 

The rise of Benzema comes at the perfect time in terms of his contractual situation. The six-year deal he signed after joining the club expires in the summer of 2015 and negotiations are already under way to extend that, with the club hoping to have things tied up before the World Cup.

Providing he agrees to sign, there are no proposals for a big-money attacking arrival in the summer. Of course, you can never say never with Florentino Perez - but plans for the future of the striker spot are currently centred around Benzema. With every goal he scores, that position is strengthened.

As much as the club admire prolific Premier League duo Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero, both are likely to command a huge transfer fee, which is not appealing when Benzema is performing so well. 

Radamel Falcao is an often-touted option who represents a slightly different style to those targets and Benzema - that of a ‘true No.9’ - but the ex-Olympique Lyonnais star is the man in possession of the shirt.

The club are aware of the problems caused by two high-profile central forwards competing in the same squad and believe it is a counter-productive policy having had the France international and Higuain at the same time.

This summer, Madrid want to sort out the goalkeeping position if one of Casillas or Diego Lopez leaves, sign two full-backs and potentially replace Angel Di Maria. A new striker is not one of the priorities. 

All Benzema has to do to keep it that way is sign a new contract and, of course, keep the goals flying in as the big trophies are decided.