Mausummery, founded in the year 1997, designed and manufactured lawn (lightweight cotton) clothing in Lahore, Pakistan. As the lawn industry became more competitive and the product became homogeneous, the company wanted to focus on service excellence to differentiate its brand and achieve higher sales and market share. The company had opened a number of its own stores in the hope of providing outstanding customer service. However, mystery shopping research had shown the company stores performing poorly relative to the competition, despite the sales training. The CEO and COO had to decide how to handle the situation moving forward.
This case features the challenges of a start-up website in the used car market in 2015 as its founding partners assess potential sources of profitable growth and ways to maintain their competitive advantage. Founded in Pakistan, PakWheels.com was a vertically classified automotive portal. The case goes on to illustrate how PakWheels.com successfully revolutionized the used-car trade channel by bridging the gap between the traditional retail channel of car dealers and buyers. Key discussion points of the case revolve around the turning point of PakWheels business, namely retention of users while sustaining the current business model, identification of key strategies for scaling up and monetization, and response to competitive threats to safeguard its market position. Through assessing these options and discussing this case, students will learn about strategic problems faced by online portals as well as how these unique businesses create value for end users.
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