Kaymu Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper examines the prospect of Kaymu Bangladesh in the Bangladeshi e-commerce industry. This paper looks into the e-commerce industry in the Bangladesh, introduces Kaymu and it's business model, compares it with current market players and looks to see the feasibility and sustainability of Kaymu financially. Although due to confidentiality reasons, financial data was not possible to give Kaymu is the brainchild of the world's largest internet incubator Rocket Internet. It started it's operations in Bangladesh at the end of 2013 and within a very short span of time, has become quite popular. Kaymu replicates the eBay model of buying and selling where sellers sell on Kaymu in exchange of a commission percentage on sales. Kaymu is an online marketplace where sellers and buyers meet and exchange goods. Buyer can order anything from Kaymu and pay via cash on delivery (especially in Dhaka) and can receive products via home delivery all over Bangladesh (some sellers take prepayment via bank account or mobile banking). Kaymu markets the brand names of the sellers via social media, e-marketing (newsletters) and Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The sellers find Kaymu easy to sell through to as Kaymu does not keep their stocks neither do they handle the payment. The sellers use Kaymu as a platform to get buyers and they do the contacting buyer and product delivery on their own or by using third party delivery system. Problems arise when delivery systems become unable to take the pressure and buyers suffer. Kaymu is still on the lookout for a dependable delivery partner. Financially Kaymu hopes to break even within the third year. Currently it runs from parent company funding and focuses on investing heavily on marketing to gain market share. Kaymu's revenue has hundred folded since it's inception and it is on the rise. Kaymu looks to bring on board more sellers to give the buyers more variety of products and at competitive rates. This attracts more buyers and Kaymu's customer base is increasing day by day. Given the fact that Kaymu is a new company in the market, this study gives a clear look at the operations of Kaymu in Bangladesh, its challenges and talks about the buyer seller experiences and comparisons with other e-commerce sites.