How an Indian marketer grew his family-owned company on Alibaba.com

“We are not just in competition with Indian suppliers but suppliers from around the world. One thing we do to try to beat the competition is to focus on quality and work on the relationships with customers.”

- Abuzar Ikram, Marketer, M/S INDIAN DECOR HANDICRAFTS

Story

M/S INDIAN DECOR HANDICRAFTS has been in existence for many decades now, and they manufacture home decor like lighting products and furniture and garden products like planters and gloves.

Originally founded by his father, Abuzar Ikram joined M/S INDIAN DECOR HANDICRAFTS in 2020 after completing his Masters in Business. It was his idea for the company to register on Alibaba.com to reach clients from international markets. His goal for the family-owned company was to take the business to the next level by exploring the international market, and Alibaba.com came to mind.

Solution

Abuzar came to know about Alibaba.com from a friend who had had his business on the platform. Also, he had seen other business owners and close friends thrive on Alibaba.com, so he spoke with them about how to get started on the platform.

Alibaba.com was a top choice for him because it is a centralized B2B platform that makes it easy to tap into the global market. Not to mention that it is low cost especially when compared to other platforms.

Abuzar also teamed up with local partners of Alibaba.com in India for support with the platform. He started using Alibaba.com to post products, respond to inquiries, and source for international customers using the various tools available on the platform. Initially, Abuzar was operating the platform himself, but now the company has four people managing the e-commerce platform.

Success

Abuzar couldn’t deny that the company saw a significant boost in business performance after joining Alibaba.com. M/S INDIAN DECOR HANDICRAFTS got its first international customer after 3 months of joining Alibaba.com. The company still has a business relationship with this first client.

In addition, 30-40% of M/S INDIAN DECOR HANDICRAFTS’ sales come from Alibaba.com. They are also considering expanding the business and maybe exploring other e-commerce platforms.

The company is currently a 3-star supplier on Alibaba.com, and Abuzar attributes it to the company's fast response rate and excellent use of RFQs. Some of their biggest customers come from European countries, and Abuzar does not doubt that he will be able to tap into other markets, including Dubai and KSA.

Aside from using Alibaba.com, Abuzar attributes the company’s success to the fact that it focuses greatly on quality and customer service, especially in terms of communication and delivery. “You must be a good listener,” Abuzar says about improving customer relationships.

“For business owners, I will say join Alibaba.com now. Also, nothing comes without hard work. So you have to give 200% effort, and you will get great results for your business,” Abuzar advises new business owners.