A TCS-backed e-commerce company called Yayvo.com is ending operations after eight years of competing with established players and up-and-comers.
Yayvo entered the Pakistani e-commerce sector in 2014 with a lot of momentum as a makeover of TCS Connect, an online shopping platform launched in 2012. However, players like Daraz, Alibaba, and Amazon snuck in and forced the company out of operation in just over three years.
In a post on Linkedin, Farzal Dojki, the founder and CEO of Next Generation Innovations, who had worked on the platform’s development and launch, claimed that Yayvo had essentially become a zombie since dropping out of the top 10 in 2020.
Shehryar Hydri, a partner at Deosai Ventures, commented on the development and called Yayvo’s shutdown “long overdue” and “a lesson for founders in Pakistan.”
This was a long time coming and it's a huge lesson for founders in Pakistan.
Many interesting BTS stories will be shared but the closure itself is the more important takeaway for now.
1. You can be the largest & oldest courier in Pakistan, ideally positioned to be the Amazon or pic.twitter.com/tREjHd7GSh
— Shehryar Hydri (@sheryhydri) September 28, 2022
Yayvo.com was an online store operated by TCS E-Com (Pvt.) Limited that provided a huge selection of top local and international brands as well as electrical devices, mobile phones, clothing for men and women, home decor, lifestyle items, books, edibles, and much more.
Early on, Yayvo’s marketing campaign featured numerous advertisements showcasing its products at its inception, but they seemed to be more focused on appliances than on the clothing, accessories, shoes, and other items that currently rule Pakistan’s e-commerce market. They had the option to start with these as well, but they chose to wait until it was too late.
