Sustainable Architecture » Marketing

The Footprints of Fabric Wholesale: Azam Cloth Market

admin — Fri, 06 May 2022 18:44:31 +0000

The shopkeepers of Azam Cloth market pride themselves on, and they like to stress this vehemently, being a part of ‘the biggest cloth market in Asia.” While snaking your way through the many winding alleys lined with shops of various sizes you do tend to lose track of both time and space. The market is a collage of many small interlinked bazaars where the daylight doesn’t always seep in and the damp musty odor of history prevails.Situated in the walled city of Lahore, the Azam cloth market is the hub that has been handling wholesale distribution of cloth and ready-to-wear for the last six decades. From khaddar to silk, ready- to-wear to clothing fabrics, casual wear to bridal wear, the market has something for every apparel retailer.According to Mohd Amjad Sheikh, who has been in the wholesale apparel business since 1974, the Azam cloth market caters to a wide customer based both in Pakistan and abroad. “Retailers from all over Pakistan, Dubai, and UK visit us for their stock purchases. However, the recent security issues have had their impact on the business. Our customer base from India and Afghanistan has dwindled to almost zero. We hope once the situation improves retailers from all neighboring countries will find it comfortable to visit us.”The merchants of the market are well versed in the history of the place, and every shopkeeper can recount how when the market was created and named. There was a small market near Wazir Khan Mosque; in 1953 when a road had to be widened the market was shifted to its current location by General Azam who gave his own name to the market. Over the decades, the small market extended and now has numerous interlinked blocks or bazaars all dealing in wholesaling of various types of clothing fabrics and lines.How many interlinked bazaars are there in the market? There is no consensus as such but gathering from the comments of various shop owners the number must be somewhere between 15 and 20′It’s an Institution.’All the bazaars of Azam market are linked and managed by a board of directors. “You won’t find a more well managed institution in Lahore. We have our own constitution with a specific set of rules. Every bazaar has its own president who in turn is answerable to the president of the board. Elections of the board are held every three years to elect resident of the board. Security and administrative decisions made by the board are binding upon the market community,” the business community of the market proudly spells out details of the ‘institution.’ Fire extinguishers, security guards and clean lanes show an active involvement of the board that runs on self-help basis. Every shop owner pays monthly charges of about 200-300 rupees to form a combined pool that helps meet the maintenance expenses.Nawab Bazaar: The oldest block of Azam Cloth MarketWhile it is difficult to explore every bazaar in a single visit, every first time visitor should stroll in the Nawab bazaar to get a feel of the place. Nawab bazaar is the first and the oldest block of Azam cloth market. Its open cool spaces invite the customers to linger and shop at their own pace. The shop owners are friendly and there is an overall ambiance of good cheer.’What’s in the name?’Two different versions prevail in the market about the history of block’s name. One interesting story traces origins of the name to the first generation of business men who started their businesses in this market.According to this version, this first generation of wholesalers liked to arrive late in the markets and opened their shops around noon. So people started calling them nawabs (nawab connotes a laid-back almost royal attitude) and the market came to be known as Nawab bazaar.Javed sahib, the president of Nawab bazaar, however, strongly disagrees: “My, father, Haji Nawab Deen, was the first generation of wholesalers who established businesses in this block, and the bazaar is name after my father,” he states.Whatever the real history of the name, the different versions add to the aura of antiquity surrounding the market.It’s a Man’s WorldThe wholesale business is dominated by men. Not only there are no female shop owners but you encounter female customers. Occasionally you can run into a lone female retailer traversing the narrow alleys of the market. Razia is one such brave woman I met while combing through the glittering, colorful shops of women’s apparel.”I have nine children and my husband is a ‘home-tailor’ who works at his clients’ places. To make ends meet, I have started this business. I purchase ready-to-wear female kurtis from this market and my husband takes them to his clients’ houses and sells them. We get to save 100 to 200 rupees on every kurta. It isn’t much but it helps,” Razia explains her ‘business model.’First Time visitorsWhether you are a retailer, a casual visitor, or a customer who wants to get good bargains, try to heading for the market between 9:30 am to 10:30 am. This is the time when the traffic is not too heavy and it is still quiet in the throbbing, congested lanes of the market. Visiting the market early will save you half of the hassle of long traffic jams. The other half, while going back, you will have to bear. Another advantage of visiting the market early is that once you are there you can shop at leisure and will even have time to haggle with the shopkeepers. As the day advances the business activity picks up pace, the market gets too crowded.Parking your vehicle is now easy as there is a huge parking plaza near the market. However, the plaza doesn’t have a lift and once you park the car you will have to walk all the way down and then walk all the way up to get the car. It is bit of an exertion and would help if you are in the mood for some exercise.Azam Cloth Market is surrounded by many other wholesale and retail markets, and while you are there you can have quick round of the other markets and schedule your next visit to one you like.

The Reason Why Email Marketing Is Still The Best

admin — Fri, 06 May 2022 18:43:00 +0000

Digital marketing is great hype today. New methods and techniques to conduct the marketing are being devised every day. Amidst all this, it is easy to assume that email marketing is an obsolete process.We may consider it as it is no longer being used or isn’t fetching desirable results.However, you couldn’t be more wrong.Email marketing is still widespread today. It is, in fact, becoming more successful with time. But what makes it such an appealing marketing technique, despite being so old?Well, let’s find out.Here are the reasons why people are still in love with email marketing:1. Low CostThe biggest reasons why emailing continues to remain one of the favorites is the cost factor. It has a very low cost involved. All you require is an operational email ID, and you are ready to start working on the email marketing tactics.Sometimes, people start buying bulk email addresses. However, it is quite rare. Mostly they send emails only to people who genuinely subscribe to the site themselves.An emerging practice is to use software for automating the generation and sending of emails. However, this cost is often less compared to other modes of marketing.There are neither any print charges involved, nor do you need to pay fees for the advertisements space like space on television and newspapers. Overall, email marketing remains one of the cheapest modes of marketing.2. Only for the customersMost marketing techniques involve users who may have never interacted with the brand. Some types of digital marketing tactics target users who have shown similar interests in their actions, as seen on Facebook and Google.However, email marketing is the only marketing mode where the users themselves ask to be part of the company’s subscribers.Companies get email addresses of the users either when they subscribe to the newsletters or when they register to their website.Taking advance approval from customers ensures that emailing effort is more visible and effective compared to other marketing methods.3. Target your audienceOne of the big merits of the email marketing is that it allows you to target a particular segment of your audience.Since companies usually obtain email addresses by subscription or registration, they also capture their basic information about the customer like name, gender, age, location etc.This information could be utilized in creating targeting emails.For instance, if your company has a great offer for students, you can send emails to users who are less than 24 years of age. And, if your company is offering discounted prices on women apparels, then you may consider targeting females instead of men.Users can also notice the pattern that they receive only those emails that are relevant to them. Thus, apart from saving a lot of resources, the company is also able to create a trust factor between the customer and the brand.4. Ask them to make a moveOne-way marketing despite having a broader reach suffers from a very critical drawback, i.e., lack of interaction. Even if you pitch the best of your marketing ideas, yet the user is free to ignore them.In simpler words, you just cannot compel users to make an effort for paying heed to your offer. However, small efforts can definitely pay off.Email marketing allows you to put in those efforts. By introducing a simple “call-to-action”, you can ask the users to visit your website and see what you have to offer.Having call-to-action also saves you from the trouble of giving too much information in the mail itself. Thus, in the email body, you can simply include the most-appealing content.5. Saves you the effortApart from being cost-effective, it is one of the simplest marketing methods around. One does not require any high-end software, no huge team or a separate department.All you need is the required hardware and a few professionals who know the job.There is always a scope for better software and tools to be used in email marketing.However, people mostly prefer the simple format, since it is majorly the content that decides the effectiveness of an email. The lack of complexity allows you to focus completely on creating an appealing email content.6. See your scoreA salient feature that makes the email marketing technique a desirable one is the metrics. Most traditional marketing methods have no or poor metrics, like radio, television, and newspapers.However, in email marketing, despite being decades old, you can get all the measurements you need.Also note, to identify the performance metrics, you would require appropriate email software.A right software will tell you everything correctly, right from the number of emails that were actually opened to the ones that redirected the user to your website.These results could give you insights into what is and isn’t working for your campaign.7. See instant resultsOne great benefits of using email marketing is that it allows you to perceive instant results. As soon as you send an email, the user would either receive it or be notified about it. Most people check their emails within 24 hours.Thus, whether or not the user decides to take your offer, you get to see the real results the next day.Most other marketing methods require some days or even weeks to bear results. But email marketing can get you the results before the date changes.Some people argue that such hasty marketing is counterproductive, but that is utterly false.8. No boundariesEmail marketing being a prominent part of the internet marketing, it does not have any boundaries set by geography.While this is true for any digital marketing method, the email marketing is the true alternative to the traditional marketing methods like print and television.The difference is you can target customers globally belonging to various countries, genders, age groups, professions etc.The more range of customers you choose, the bigger will your potential customer base would be.ConclusionEmail marketing, despite the negative stereotype, is both alive and productive even today. As discussed above, there are loads of speculations that make people fall in love with it.Though there are other marketing methods may beat the email method in one or two ways, overall, it is still one of the most effective and accessible marketing methods across the globe.