Businesses across the globe have suffered a great deal because of the pandemic; while some came out victorious, others had to close down.
The ones that did survive the harsh effects of COVID-19, went through a rapid digital transformation. While Covid-19 hit, Al Masam Stationery went from a traditionally functioning business to a new-age eCommerce brand.
An ideal description of Al Masam Stationery’s business model from the pre-COVID-19 era, would focus majorly on physically delivering to buyers who belonged to the corporate world and education sector. Both of these institutions would require loads of stationery every couple of months to ensure smooth sailing. The sale of office supplies was as good as it could get, being specialists in the field for the last 30 years.
Then came the pandemic. Life as we knew it changed, and so did every aspect of running a business. With an uncertain future, Al Masam Stationery became an online stationery brand, fuelling various businesses.
Here’s a gist of what Al Masam Stationery believes happened:
- Several businesses had to close due to the lockdown
- Businesses with a bit more financial support survived the lockdown and restructured their model to suit this new world
- They either shrunk in size and/or permitted their employees to work from home
- The demand for office supplies to commercial buildings had reduced. Instead, they received a lot more work from home orders, which tend to be smaller in size than the bulk order an office would place.
- This sudden change forced Al Masam Stationery to take the inevitable steps towards a digital transformation, just sooner. This opportunity came as a blessing and Al Masam Stationery deep dived into the world of online stationery.
- By creating an expansive online presence, Al Masam Stationery was able to boost sales and improve customer engagement as well. A part of the credit also extends to their suppliers who diligently provided all necessary products and thus increasing their store size from housing 2000 items to more than 20k including top brands!
Something similar also happened with school stationery and other materials. Since the classes were held online, the number of study from home orders boosted.
Al Masam Stationery was lucky to have a team that worked day and night to make survival possible. Not only this, the business was able to get a bigger and stronger hold on the market! With people staying at home, they began exploring their creative sides and thus explored the world of Arts & Crafts during the lockdown. With this, the art supplies section of a lot of stationery stores grew bigger and provided numerous options to people. Whether it was a group of beginners or experts looking for specific art supplies, it cannot be denied that the sales rocketed.
Al Masam Stationery was lucky enough to have been picked upon as one of the better businesses to supply online stationery in Dubai during these tough times.
That said, a significant amount of credit also goes to the UAE government for letting eCommerce businesses run during the lockdown. Without their support, it would not have been possible for the online stationery store, Al Masam Stationery, to become what it is today. Their determination to aid the survival of local businesses made it easy for the likes of Al Masam Stationery to continue focusing on digital transformation and sales.
Furthermore, their continuous efforts to make sure Expo 2020 is a huge success, is helping the economy and creating wonderful opportunities for various businesses based out of Dubai. Another goal that the UAE government is trying to achieve with the World Expo is to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs. It’s great to see the government offering various attractive packages to individuals who intend on starting their businesses.
Al Masam Stationery is hoping to see a lot more businesses with healthy competition in the online stationery market in the future.
Now that the already-established businesses have had the opportunity to adjust to the digital transformation, the new ones will begin their journey as eCommerce platforms. The pandemic taught entrepreneurs to be prepared for the unknown and act quickly and smartly to combat the issues at hand.
COVID-19 brought a lot of pain with it, but it also managed to push businesses to reach their true potential.
