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Cross cultural expansion a herculean task, says YourLibaas CEO Khalid Raza Khan

As part of our leadership series, we at APN News got in touch with Khalid Raza Khan, CEO & Founder of Indian eCommerce company YourLibaas which recently expanded into the UAE. The key learnings and insights from the excerpts shall be a model to consider during an expansion.

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Khalid Raza Khan

By Anil solanki

During the last decade, there has been an increasing trend of Indian startups expanding internationally. Earlier unheard of, global expansion is now on the cards even during initial rounds of funding as founders consider India as a launching pad for experimentation and testing product-market fit. Access to liquidity and efficient knowledge transfer are catalysts to expansion within the eCommerce and consumer-tech domain primarily – FirstCry, MakeMyTrip, Byju’s, OYO, the list goes on.

As part of our leadership series, we at APN News got in touch with Khalid Raza Khan, CEO & Founder of Indian eCommerce company YourLibaas which recently expanded into the UAE. The key learnings and insights from the excerpts shall be a model to consider during an expansion.

Khalid founded YourLibaas in 2014 and pioneered designer lawn apparel within India. The homegrown startup features International designers such as Sana Safinaz, Maria B, Gul Ahmed, Khaadi and so on. Post establishing a firm ground within the Indian market, they expanded to the UAE eyeing the customers within the MENA region.

What made you decide to expand internationally? Why UAE?

We have been operating YourLibaas in India since founding it in 2014. Primarily, the designers we feature at our platform are based in the UAE. During the last 7 years, we established a strong solid presence in the domestic market within the pakistani suits segment. The next logical step was backward integration which meant moving closer to the origin within the supply chain.


To top that, UAE also has a sizable diaspora from the Indian subcontinent that is familiar with the product we sell. Even prior to making the move, most of the international customers were from the MENA region. Specifically UAE because of the ease of doing business, friendly regulatory frameworks, higher consumer buying power, and a market ripe for disruption.

What are the key challenges and roadblocks during a global expansion?

The challenges for each individual are naturally going to be different, but there would be a common overarching scheme. From my experience, one key aspect is cross cultural management. The consumer behaviour, cultural differences, buying patterns, awareness about the tech environment, and expectations that drive customer satisfaction metrics were unexpected.

For instance, we learnt how express delivery was the bare minimum expectation when we initiated operations into the UAE. Consumers were habituated to deliveries within a matter of hours. It would only be possible with an efficient hyperlocal model, one which is only possible for grocery startups within India. We had to rethink our delivery model and initiate partnerships with hyperlocal logistics and warehousing companies. The key is sequencing the priorities and taking swift action to adopt the right strategy.

Another critical success factor is defining the goals of the expansion, both across strategic and financial terms and closely monitoring the KPIs to measure success towards achieving the slated goals. An oft-ignored step would be training – The domestic team we brought in had to be upskilled through collaborations with external agencies within the country. Execution is a different ball game within a new market. What worked well in India may not necessarily do so in the UAE. There are differences in regulation, cultures, consumer behaviour and the eCommerce landscape – all of which requires rethinking and revamp the approach.

What is your advice to entrepreneurs and founders planning to make the key move?

I would like to warn about where one could essentially go wrong. First and foremost, a successful product within the domestic market does not necessarily translate into success within the target market. That’s a myopic view one should take away – remember how consumer patterns are different.

We lost a sizable chunk of our initial investment learning it the hard way – the logistics and warehousing cost trying to replicate the Indian model here. External consultants or hiring from the host country would have saved us increasing the probability of success. If possible, local partnerships also go a long way establishing trust and credibility and a shorter time to market.

Starting small and scaling once an initial set of loyal customers are onboarded is another lesson. Focus on favorable demographics you clearly understand for those initial set of customers. The Indian diaspora is your best bet – they are literally in significant numbers round the globe.  Repeat the cycle and then scale up opening to the larger market. More likely than not, Indian founders shall have done that earlier given the amount of diversity within India itself. What works for you in Delhi might not in Tamil Nadu.

One can keep abreast with the latest updates from the company through @yourlibaas at Instagram.

By Anil Solanki

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Google restores delisted Indian apps after government intervention

Google on Saturday restored all Indian apps it had removed.

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Google has started to restore all the delisted Indian mobile apps on Play Store agian, which they had removed due to a disagreement over service fees. After a discussion between company representatives and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the decision was made, according to sources.

The step was taken in response to Vaishnaw’s strong statement in which he said that it is not allowed for apps to be removed from the Google Play Store. The minister had said, India is very clear, our policy is very clear…our startups will get the protection that they need.

Vaishnaw  continued saying that he has already given Google a call. They will be speaking with the app developers who were delisted this week. This is not acceptable. The minister said this kind of delisting cannot be permitted.

Ten Indian companies’ apps were banned by Google on Friday, causing outrage in one of its fastest-growing markets. With 94% of phones running on its Android platform, Google holds a large portion of the Indian market. Popular names like Naukri and Bharatmatrimony were on the list.

The main point of contention is Google’s in-app purchase fees, which range from 11% to 26%. Indian startups have long opposed the US tech giant’s actions, believing them to be unfair.

The founder of Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony, and Jodii, Matrimony.com, expressed shock at the matchmaking apps’ removal from the Google Play Store.

Shaadi. Com CEO Anupam Mittal described it as a dark day for India’s internet, highlighting the possible broad effects on matchmaking services. He also called Google an evil.

While, Kuku FM Co-founder Vinod Kumar Meena in a statement had said that Google was behaving like a monopoly.

Meanwhile, Google temporarily withdrew the famous Indian payments app Paytm from the Play Store in 2020, claiming a few policy infractions. Due to this decision, the founder of the company as well as the larger startup community came together to build their own app stores and file lawsuits against Google.

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Anant Ambani says he is 100% lucky to get Radhika Merchant in his life

Anant Ambani said he was grateful to get Radhika as his life partner. He said he is 100% lucky to get Radhika Merchant in his life. He said every day he is falling more and more in love with her. He added although he had known Radhika for the last 7 years, it felt he had met her only yesterday. He thanked Radhika for everything.

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Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s grand three-day wedding celebrations began with a glamorous cocktail night on Friday in Jamnagar. During the celebrations, Anant Ambani also gave a speech wherein he thanked his late grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani and grandmother Kokilaben Ambani for inspiring him. Anant Ambani said he was grateful to get Radhika as his life partner. He said he is 100% lucky to get Radhika Merchant in his life. He said every day he is falling more and more in love with her.

He expressed his gratitude to his mother for pulling together the lavish three-day wedding celebrations in Jamnagar. Anant thanked his mother for all she had done. He said all the arrangements had been done by his mother and nobody else. He added his mother had gone all out and she had worked 18-19 hours a day and he was extremely grateful to her.

He also thanked all the guests who were present there at the pre-wedding celebrations. He said everyone had made it to Jamnagar to make him and Radhika feel special. He said both of them were honored and humbled to have all of them present there. Anant said he was sorry if they had caused an inconvenience to anyone. He asked for forgiveness. He hoped everyone is going to enjoy the coming three days. He also thanked his mother, father, sister, brother, his sister-law and his brother in-law for making this event memorable.

Anant said everyone has been sleeping for less than 3 hours a day for the last 2-3 months and he was very happy to share this joy with everyone. The youngest Ambani talked about his personal struggles and how his parents had always supported him. He further added his life had not been entirely a bed of roses. He said he had also experienced the pain of thorns. He said he had faced many health crises.

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Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg shares pictures from 2nd day of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pre-wedding celebrations

Zuckerberg shared pictures from the 2nd day of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebrations. In the photograph Mark Zuckerberg can be seen along with his wife Priscilla Chan. The couple is exuding happiness as they prepare for the event. He captioned the picture it is getting wild out here.

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Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan joined the star- studded pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar on Friday. The event was attended by many prominent figures from different fields. Zuckerberg took to his Instagram handle congratulated the couple and said he loved Indian weddings.

Zuckerberg shared pictures from the 2nd day of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebrations. In the photograph Mark Zuckerberg can be seen along with his wife Priscilla Chan. The couple is exuding happiness as they prepare for the event. He captioned the picture it is getting wild out here.

The theme of the opening day of the pre-wedding celebrations was Evening in Everland as the guests wore cocktail attire. The first day of the grand celebrations elevated the expectations of the guests for the following days. The theme of the 2nd day of the pre-wedding bash is known as a Walk on the Wildside and the guests can be seen in Jungle Fever attire.

Zuckerberg has opted for an animal print shirt with white trousers, Chan is complementing his look in a strappy one piece in black and golden. The Jungle theme is aligned to Vantara, Reliance’s animal welfare initiative undertaken and launched by Anant Ambani a few days back.

International pop star Rihana electrified the pre wedding celebrations on Friday with an amazing performance, marking her debut appearance in India. The chart topping artist engaged the audience with performances of her iconic hits which included Pour it Up, Work and Diamonds.

Zuckerberg graced the opening day, wearing a black-on-black firefly blazer and shoes from Alexander McQueen while his wife Priscilla wore a black gown with gold flower details and other accessories such as dainty chain bracelet, gold necklace and stud earrings. Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan are one of the Power couples invited from the global business community for the festivities currently underway at Jamnagar.

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