KaiseDiya.com is a Hindi name. It means by asking " What is the cost" from a seller. It is an online grocery store in Mumbai. started by Sachin Pikle. He comes from a technology and eCommerce
consulting background. He has handled various eCommerce assignments with both
global and Indian retail giants like Walmart, Future Group and others in the
last few years. Previously he has been associated with global Banking and
Insurance majors like Westpac, J.P. Morgan, American Express and others. Sachin
Pikle holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Mumbai University and has over
15 years of diverse industry experience. We had a talk to know more about his current venture KaiseDiya.com
What is your site all
about? What problem are you solving?
KaiseDiya.com is all about Quality, Convenience, Price and
Service. We call it the KaiseDiya.com experience.KaiseDiya.com, our first etail
venture, is Mumbai's youngest online market for groceries and household
supplies. At the moment we cater to customers in the western suburbs of Mumbai
from Dahisar to Jogeshwari.
With rising fuel prices and high retail inflation, we hope
to bring some relief to our customers by providing good quality grocery and
household supplies at prices lower than the nearest
kirana/provision/convenience stores, and even big supermarket chains. We realize
that your time is precious and you have far more important things in life than
wasting it in the crowded aisles and long checkout queues of supermarkets and
dealing with rickshaw refusals!
Now you can order online from the comfort of your home or
office, sit back and relax while we do your grocery runs and deliver them right
at your doorstep. And what’s more, you can pay by cash after verifying the
delivered goods!
Tell us the story of
how it started and the challenges you have faced?
Having contributed to the way technology and internet have
simplified people’s lives there, I have always dreamt of providing a similar,
if not better, experience to fellow Indians living back home. I believe
KaiseDiya.com will help me realize this dream!
KaiseDiya.com has been started with the aim of giving people
access to a hassle-free, cost effective and convenient way to shop for their
ongoing household supplies and groceries at discounted prices. We feel this
service will most benefit senior citizens, women and busy working families who
hardly have the time and energy to visit supermarkets. Plus people need a
better alternative to arrogant local street vendors, hawkers and shopkeepers.
And to add to this is the burden of rising fuel prices and high retail
inflation. We want to make a difference by bringing some relief to our
customers in these difficult times.
The biggest challenge for us has been creating awareness and
reaching our target audience. The next
big changing ahead of us is changing the consumer mindset and inspiring
confidence with online shopping of groceries and household supplies.
Who are the Founders
and their backgrounds?
Sachin Pikle inspired and ably supported by parents, wife
and sister without whose support this wouldn’t have become a reality. Quitting
a high profile, well-paying job to pursue my dream has been a personal
challenge. I come from a technology and eCommerce consulting background.
Why is your site so
different when Bigbazaar has already started operations in Mumbai?
We believe in relationships, not money. We go out of the way
to keep our customers happy even if it means we pay from our pocket.
Personalized attention and sharing revenue by way of discounted offerings helps
us make a difference in the lives of our customers and the community at large.
Our site provides a number of convenient features like
one-step reordering of previous orders, substitution of out-of-stock items,
advanced order with weekend delivery, faster checkout, flexible delivery
options, free delivery and payment by cash on delivery. We have a
no-questions-asked-return-policy.
Our previous association with eCommerce majors gave us the
much needed insights in to how the etail sector works both globally and in India.
What technology
platform is your site built on? Is it in-house?
We have used one of the leading open source eCommerce
platforms for our initial launch. The front end and site customization has been
handled in-house.
What initiatives are
you planning in the next 2-3 years?
A number of initiatives including expanding our delivery
footprint, introducing additional payment and delivery options, introducing new
features on the site and building a strong supplier network. We are increasing
our range of product offerings daily and we continue to invest in these areas.
Same day delivery and order by phone will be live in the next quarter.
Which all locations
are you offering services?
At the moment we cater to customers in the western suburbs
of Mumbai from Dahisar to Jogeshwari with plans of expanding to other parts of
Mumbai.
What is your
Marketing/Promotional approach?
Keeping in mind our target audience and geography, we plan
to leverage the print media and social networks to create awareness and spread
the word around. We have over 1500 quality products on sale and run various
promotions like Cyber Monday deals and others to share our margins with our
customers.
Did you raise any
funding? If you want to raise funds do you want to be contacted by Investors ?
It gives us great pride in saying that KaiseDiya.com is a
self-funded initiative. Considering our massive expansion plans we would be
open to likeminded potential investors.
What is the overall
plan going forward?
We continue to invest our blood, time and energy in this
initiative. The overall plan is to move towards our goal of becoming Mumbai’s
best online supermarket.
Your take on the
current eCommerce scene in India ?
We see a lot of potential in this space in the next five
years. The Indian consumer mind-set is changing and people have now opened up
to the idea of buying clothes, electronics and shoes online something that was
unheard of previously. We would like to be catalyst of change in the area of
online groceries. The percentage of people buying online groceries today is far
lesser than other consumer goods but we are hopeful we can be the difference.