I love that question. Hahaha.
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Hey Tola,
You seem to think in terms of zero sum assumption of wealth distribution. That iROKO, Jumia, Konga die off does not necessary imply you will be any richer. The converse, too. They create value as it is, so your thesis is fundamentally wrong, around the fact that their misfortune would bring fortune to those left off.
Unless of course, you think they are pastors, magicians or money doublers.
The reason this guys are failing is because anybody can wake up today and start what they are offering, Ecommerce, n Nigeria today Ecommerce is a dime a dozen, Ecommerce is practically as simple as blogging, but the difference with blogging is one time investment, visitors pay you, ecommerce you beg, cajole all your visitors with investments, Amazon, Alibaba succeeds because they started very early, have so much cash reserve and then diversify, Jumia and co cannot diversify because they were not founded by a vision, of all of them if none diversify to other portfolios you will find that 5years from now only iroko will be standing the rest are just copycats with no proprietary value that can be monetised, the only way is down, after elevation you diversify or go extinct, if they think along those lines, they can still save themselves…
If we’re to look at the bigger picture, the market for social coupons/deals has dramatically cooled off recently. Even Amazon had to close down their daily deals equivalent (Amazon Local), effective December 18 2015 - http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/30/amazon-to-exit-daily-deals-with-closure-of-amazon-local/
@Tola’s analysis implying the bubble is “currently busting” might be a fair one, but more data and analysis is required before we can characterize the bubble as being the “Daily Deals Bubble” or the “Tech Bubble in general in Nigeria”.
So Mr x alone does ‘experiments’? I’m sure you have a point somewhere, I just don’t get it.
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Its simple from my POV, sales are down because money is not in circulation, as in the economy is slow at the moment, it changes. The same companies firing workers today will hire tomorrow soon as business picks up i.e people start buying because they have disposable income .
Its E commerce early stages in Nigeria but it can only grow, the odds favor it. Business in general is bright in Nigeria you only need a smart leadership to drive it and yes this is a tech blog not politics.
Too many construction workers losing their jobs too, that’s your best indicator.
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This was how they started before they got the warehouse and started making deliveries for merchants. Now, every merchant does his/her own deliveries. Which saves DD lots of cash and frees up money.
Let us not forget that they make money when people offer Deals on their site. Having been in the game for a while now, they would have gotten data on the deals that sells the most, the ones that are needed and the ones that only adds up to the listings online. I know the “hotel for 2”, “N1k dental treatment” and the “N3k spa” sessions are hot cakes there.
Fashion items? Not so sure since consumers are spoilt for choice with Jumia, Konga, Kaymu and even “Instagram merchants”
This is a smart move from them. If something is not working as you expect, you stop pumping money into it
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They are trimming off the fat but they are not there yet when it comes to execution.
To me dealdey is the only e-commerce concept that makes perfect sense in the Nigerian business environment and the first time I saw it I saw a winner. .Why? It fits the culture. Nigerians love to haggle. Nigerians love getting one up on the merchant. Dealdey offers that. BUT not the way its supposed to. Its limiting and seems to serve the Ikoyi/Lekki/VI/Maitama yuppie crowd with spas and dinners at expensive hotels and what not. Dealdey offers massive pleasure and then disappoints. Its got the concept but not the delivery.
It has bigger promise though than Jumia or Konga but I don’t know if its going to deliver. It needs a makeover like some of the makeovers it sells. Someone who understands what makes the Nigerian markets tick. They should hire me to develop their strategy and I would do it for free in exchange for 10% of three years of post-strategy profits.
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