Introduction:

Export leftover is a clothing brand, established around cashing in on the void that existed in the Pakistani
fashion and ecommerce industry and involves on the provision of the top of the line fashion clothing to
the people in Pakistan at an affordable price, a simple idea triggered by the need to find trendy clothes
coupled with smart marketing techniques and affordable prices took the Pakistani ecommerce industry
by storm. An idea that took birth in a small factory meeting room and executed through the shipment of
10 polo shirts, has now grown into one of the largest online clothing stores of Pakistan.

In addition to the provision of trendy fashion clothes at an affordable price, the idea also aimed at
providing a solution to another major problem that existed in the clothing industry which exported its
produce, the problem was the excess produce due to the production inefficiencies. As they say they that
everything that glitters is not gold, the catchphrase fits perfectly on the Pakistani garment industry as it
has its major contribution for which unfortunately Pakistan is famous for and that’s wastage. With
almost 3,000 industries operating to produce merchandise for international fashion brands, the excess
produce due to infrastructural and production inefficiencies was measured to be around 5 million
clothing pieces per year.

Export Leftovers was started by Umer Qamar in 2013, with an aim of providing trendy and affordable
clothing line while also providing a destination to the meaningless clothes which are left simply due to
over production. With one man’s gold, being another man’s treasure, Export Leftover’s first order was
due to the bankruptcy of a Canadian businessman who had to cancel his order at the last minute, which
prompted Umer to route his produce to the local market, which was hungry for an affordable solution to
their fashion needs.

The Science behind Export Leftovers

This is the gap which Export Leftovers filled through an innovative idea which took the Pakistani
Garment Industry by storm. The products offered by Export Leftovers are simply the leftover produce
which is not picked by the original assignee due to minor invisible defects or due to any unforeseen
circumstances. These products acted as a major breakthrough for ELo, as they were now supplying
branded clothes in the market, which was a long-distant dream in Pakistan.

Before the Export Leftovers busted on to the scene, a major market existed for imported used clothes in
Pakistan, especially in the warm clothes section. The major market existed for used clothes which was a
cheap alternative for the Pakistani population.

Export Leftovers and the use of Blue Ocean Strategy

While Pakistan has been deprived of the lavish fashion brands from around the globe due to the weak
position of the Pakistani Rupee in the global market, this weak position has acted favorably for foreign
businesses as a weak position of the Pakistani Rupee resulted in the hub for cheap labor, which
attracted a lot of foreign brands to have their products produced in Pakistan. But the inefficiency in the
Pakistani garment industry resulted in a lot of waste production. Furthermore, the absence of license
also disabled these producers to sell these branded goods under their original brand name.

The absence of affordable branded clothing in the local market was a potential audience for this
produce as the fashion friendly audience of the Pakistani Garment industry was deprived of affordable
branded clothing. This void was partially filled through used imported clothing in the market, which
most of the individuals avoided due to the lack of hygiene and the obsolete fashion statement of these
clothing lines.

The need of the economy to have quality garments coupled with export leftovers, prompted Umar
Qamar to identify this high potential market. The supply of this produce in the market not only helped in
filling this fashion gap but contributed a lot waste management of the excess produce.

The identification of this potential market did wonders for Export Leftovers as it didn’t only establish
itself as a leading fashion brand among the massed but also helped in earning some profit on goods
which were literally sold at a price which could cover the manufacturing overheads incurred in the
production of the same.

Changing Lifestyles and Youth Preferences:

Pakistan is ranked high among the countries with a major part of the population comprising of youth
ranging between the age of 15 years and 29 years. Statistically, about 32% of the population of Pakistan
comprises of youth and hence from an entrepreneur’s point of view, this part of the population does
have a major role to play when it comes to the preference or performance of the business. Although a
rise in religious radicalism and acts of terror have seen a rise in this country, the influence of the western
culture and style have also increased with almost the same frequency, with youth getting more and
more fashion conscious with each passing second.

The gap existed in the market when it comes to the presence of leading fashion brands in the Pakistani
market, the main reason which was identified for the existence of this gap was the weak position of the
Pakistani Rupee in the global market, which had a great impact on the price demanded by the leading
fashion brands for their produce and since Pakistan is classified among the third world countries having
a major portion of its population living below the line of poverty, it was difficult for brands such as Zara,
Armani Exchange and Hollister to survive.

Overcoming the Challenges of Recurring Customers

Export Leftovers was launched online back in 2013, the time when the ecommerce industry was bursting
on to the scene in Pakistan. Research suggests that the penetration of smartphone in the country is
rising rapidly with the percentage standing at 14% currently. This number might currently seem small,
but keeping in view that the major population of Pakistan being youth, these numbers seem good for a
country with a population of about 200 million. In addition to that, with the extended use of
smartphone expected in the third world countries during the next decade, Pakistan stands at 4 th position
in this list.

But despite of all the above mentioned prospects, Export Leftover still had a major issue to address. The
number of recurring customers was small for Export Leftovers, with the percentages swinging between
5% to 50%. Although the revenue levels for Elo were consistent, but this involved new customers
checking in and lesser recurring. This impacted the company’s financial planning and the reasons which
were identified for this was the lack of confidence of the Pakistani population on ecommerce.

The reason behind Export Leftover’s success was the efficient use of social media and they used that
same tool of push notifications of the same to invite existing customers and convert them into their
permanent buyers. Push notifications did wonders for Export Leftovers as they achieved an ROI of
around 5:1, which meant that if Elo spent $100 on marketing through push notifications, they were able
to earn around $500 for the same.

This helped the company to forecast its financial results more efficiently and accurately and for a
company having a dormant inventory, increased orders from existing customers was sheer gold.

Opportunity and Capitalization:

The textile industry has contributed a lot to the GDP growth of the Pakistani economy. With a total
export of around $3.5 billion, Pakistan stands at the 8 th position among the largest exporter of the
clothing market in the world. For an economy driven through agriculture, exports of the garment
industry contribute to around 8.5% of the total GDP of Pakistan.

With the major players of the industry working their sweat out to contribute to this growing sector
Export Leftovers (Elo) has worked their way out in order to maximum the returns on for these industries
as a major chunk of their revenue was left stagnant due to the excess produce which was a result of
operational inefficiencies as mentioned above.

With the boom in the information technology witnessed during the past decade, a major population of
Pakistan has now access to internet which have paved ways for the E-commerce industry to bloom in
the country. Export Leftovers cashed into this opportunity and launched its online store when in 2013,
when Pakistan was on the verge of an IT revolt. In addition to the online revolt, Export Leftovers
emerged as a winner as it appeared as the first of its type to capitalize on the opportunity. The success
behind Export Leftover was the ability to convert the meaningless rags of excessive clothing into gems
which is now loved as a streamline clothing brand in the country.

Competition Analysis
In comparison to other clothing brands operating online in Pakistan, Export Leftovers has appeared as a
winner in comparison to its peers. Market Analysis of Amazon in comparison to its competitors
(brandsego.com, brandsleftovers.com, brandspopper.com, clicky.pk) reveals that the total search traffic
of Export Leftovers on Amazon.com is 43.1% in comparison to 27% that of its competitors. However,
before Amazon came out bursting to the scene, Facebook had a major role to play in the success of
Export Leftovers, as it was the first online platform where ELo started its operations and capitalized on
the gap which existed on the Pakistani Social Media scene, which was host to the major youth audience
of the country.
Impact of Social Media on ELo’s Performance
Before the introduction of the idea, the production wastage of non-exported garments was sold at
about 1/5th of the actual price of the commodity in order to recover the manufacturing overheads
incurred in the production of the same. Umar Qamar brought life into this area through Facebook and a
business which started through a partnership between 2 people, now employees 80 people.

The success of Export Leftover can be attributed to the marketing strategy which involved the use of
Facebook to sell the idea and market the products efficiently, which the most inexpensive market tool
on offer in comparison to the audience reach that it offered, as research suggests that an increase of
almost 100 percent is recorded in customer engagement through the use of Facebook. Facebook was
also instrumental in making it big for Export Leftovers, as Elo used Facebook to bridge the gap between
them and the consumer which recorded an average customer satisfaction rating of about 4.75 on a scale
of 1 to 5.

The reach obtained by Elo through the use of Facebook has empowered them to spend more on
advertising and also to move to Instagram to grow their brand equity and use influencer marketing. The
average time spent by ELo on Facebook and Instagram is around 3-4 hours, but the growth and revenue
earned from the use of this route of marketing signifies the impact that social media marketing has on
the modern day e-commerce industry. According to research, the impact that Export Leftovers has said
to disrupt $1 billion e-commerce industry.

The impact of Export Leftovers on Pakistani Economy

The idea which instigated the formation of ELo was the management of the waste left behind due to the
excess production of garments due to the operational inefficiencies of the Pakistani Garment Industry.
The sale of export leftovers helped in management of the excess produce or wastage but was acted as a
great contributor to the Pakistani economy in terms of garment sales. The idea of selling export leftovers
to the local market was also successful as the clothes offered were not only branded but were also
affordable for the target audience.

Research also suggests that the wastage arising due to operational inefficiencies is not restricted to the
clothing and garment industry but is also present in the different sectors as well. The success of Elo in
the export leftover garment sector has encouraged them to branch out to selling other items in the
same category, such as crockery, jewelry etc.

The Impact of IT on Elo’s Financial Performance

Information Technology has found its way late in Pakistan in comparison to its neighbors India, Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh. But with the increase in smartphone use in the nation and the awarding of 3G and 4G
licenses, the use of internet is increasing exponentially within the population with Pakistan falling on the
4th place for the expected highest number of smartphone users till 2022.

As discussed earlier, Export Leftovers have relied heavily on the use of technology in the form of social
media in order to market their product and identify a potential market. The use of IT in their operations
has been a breakthrough for ELo, as they have shifted the focus of their market from brick and mortar
stores to websites and mobile apps, in order to help people, shop through the ease of their laptops and
phones.
Export Leftover’s website and mobile application has contributed greatly towards their success. With
their mobile app having a total of more than 40,000 downloads since its launch back in 2018, the mobile
app has contributed to a total revenue of around $900,000 with a sky rocketing ROI of 14,821%.

Social-Economic Impact of Export Leftovers

The major population of Pakistan falls below the line of poverty and the substantial number is classified
as middle class or the upper middle class. The cost of purchasing branded clothing lines in way out the
reach of the aforementioned, which created a gap. This gap was partially filled up by used imported
clothing which was termed as “Landa”, in the lay man’s terminology. The purchasers of the same
sometimes labelled it as a middle class’s satisfaction to wear branded clothing. Despite of being used
and a bit worn out, these are original branded clothes and if you’re lucky you might be able to find an
original Zara or Ralph Lauren in your hunt.

Despite of being branded, most of the people avoided the purchase of this clothing category, as some
termed as smelly while others simply found it “unbearable” to wear clothes which were already worn by
someone else. The products offered by Export Leftovers was helpful in satisfying the social needs of the
population within their budget constraints. People are now being enabled to enjoy branding clothing
while not putting a great burden on their pockets.

Through the introduction of a simple idea, ELo has paved way for other textile exporters in the country
to explore this potential local market. Margins for the textile industry has improved greatly they are now
being paid a much better price for the produce which they termed as almost to being a “total loss”. The
increase in profits results in an increase in income, which increases the imposition of tax revenue for the
Government. With this chain, Elo has indirectly contributed towards the betterment of the
infrastructure of Pakistan and the overall well-being of the nation.

Conclusion
An idea that started from a small industry meeting room is covering bases with each passing day. With
Pakistan being a global hub for the production of goods, the production of excessive items to cover for
minor defects is not only restricted to the clothing sector. Identifying this problem in the other sectors
too, Export Leftovers have now branched out to other sectors too, such as jewelry, crockery, sports
goods etc. which has been helpful in the waste management in these sectors as well as instrumental in
providing meaning to such valueless items.