Need for innovation in retail businesses stressed at launch of online retail chain UCAAZ

Some tech-savvy Pakistanis on Monday launched a massive online grocery retail chain, UCAAZ, which is named after a historic marketplace of the holy city of Mecca.

The new startup is meant to reach out to every nook and cranny of the country. Under the same project more than 50 outlets with the name of the Mart Express are already running successful operations across Karachi for over a year.

Turkish actor Celal Al, who is famous for playing Abdur Rehman Ghazi in Turkish serial Ertugrul, inaugurated Ucaaz. The team said that they would not only help the struggling middle class retail store owners survive in the competitive market dominated by growing superstores but also bring the local business under the country tax network.

Addressing the launch ceremony of Ucaaz at a hotel in Karachi, the Turkish actor said he was feeling excited at the event. “I was moved by the invitation of the company once I learnt that the name of the business is UCAAZ. As soon as I received the invitation, I thought that I should definitely become part of the event,” he remarked.

He also emphasized the importance of trade for any country and called for innovation in general trading as it would make the entire experience hassle-free. “I couldn’t be possibly happier to mention here and share my views on the sector that such structure can bring prosperity to any country as Turkey has made enormous progress through increasing its trading. So, I am sure Pakistan will be an economic power one day as it has become an atomic power,” Celal Al said.

The company has also received an overwhelming response from a wide audience who are eager to start a reputable, scalable business in the country with low investment. The CEO and founder of the company, Syed Saad Shah, stressed that his company was more than a business for him and his team. “First of all, I would like to say that the inception of UCAAZ was not just a business for me. Instead, we have worked hard on it to solve various problems, the sector was facing in years, and left personnel of the sector in perplexity,” he said.

UCAAZ Chief Procurement Officer Syed Salman Shah spoke on how the venture was conceived. He said it was very important to ascertain if any new business was solving problems in the market. He added that identified problems in the retail businesses of the country such as heavy costs, credit mismanagement and bad debts, quality control and taxation issues, and realised that shopkeepers of small retail shops did not understand tax-related issues.

As for the problems of companies, he said they faced issues in supply chain management, and failed to understand consumer trends and behaviour. The consumers, he explained, faced issues regarding availability and quality of products and finding good rates of products.

The event was attended by top officials of various companies and distributors, representatives of tech sector and politicians. Some of them stressed the need for supporting companies like UCAAZ as Karyanas were in need of technological advancements that would help provide best customer experience in the sector. “Competition in any sector brings quality to the service and it is great for the consumers,” Saad said as he spoke about challenges currently being faced by retailers, distributors and companies.

UCAAZ is the first of its kind hybrid model of Karyana (general traders) and e-commerce stores on a massive level. While many retailers had troublesome e-commerce operations when the Covid-19 pandemic forced store closures, others such as the food and medicine businesses had to rush to meet their customers online.

The addition of technology provided by UCAAZ would evolve old Karyana stores as they would be able to match their service with one of the most technological advance stores. “Brothers, whenever you are going to expand this business abroad, Turkey shall be your first choice,” said Celal Al, addressing the CEO of the company and his team. “I invite you to bring this chain to Turkey.”