Umar Kamar

founder of ELO (Export Leftovers)

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Umar Kamar is the founder of ELO, a company whose stated goal is to become the biggest clothing e-commerce store in Pakistan. ELO has served about one million unique customers over seven years. ELO created a brand called Polo Republica and started making things out of leftover fabric, and the brand accounts for about 40% of ELO's sales.

Early life and background

Kamar is from Faisalabad, and his family works in the textile business. His father owned a factory. He says Faisalabad contributes about 30 to 40% of the textile industry. [1]

Education and time abroad

Kamar graduated from university in 2011. After graduating, he spent a year or two abroad. He was in Edinburgh, Scotland. [1]

Return and first sales

He was not in the mood to come back. His father asked him to join the family business. He came back in 2013. He felt he could not add anything by coming in, because the company was growing and achieving good growth. [1]

He could have items made at his father's factory and sell them. His team spent six months on fits and size sampling. He was told that his orders of two or three hundred pieces were small and that there was no time for them. He says connections and family gave him an edge that he benefited from. [1]

A Canadian company the business worked with went bankrupt. The business was left with the complete stock and half of the payment. The labels and tags on the stock stopped the business from selling it to other customers. His father suggested he try selling these shirts, since he had been building his own brand. [1]

He recalls that within a week or ten days, orders reached 25 to 30 a day. The business started without a system or setup. He says the business made a loss at the start. [1]

ELO

ELO was first called Export Leftovers. The company changed its name because the old name did not resonate with the company. He says the company grew from a two person brand to over 100 people. The team has grown to about 100 people in Faisalabad. [1]

Business model

Kamar considered opportunity cost, since an item would either stay in his factory or sell in the market for 400 rupees. He says a customer gets a branded product of good quality. He says it solved a cash flow problem, gave the customer a good product at a good price, and let the business earn money in between. He says the business has run on this same approach since 2013. [1]

The range grew beyond garments. People asked him to sell their towels and bedsheets. ELO ran daily deals and flash sales. He recalls about 1,000 to 1,200 people sitting on the website waiting for midnight. [1]

Scale and customers

Kamar says sales spiked during COVID, more than he could have imagined. He describes the company as profitable. He says the company doubles its sales at least every year. He says the repeat customer ratio fluctuates between 50% and 60%. [1]

He describes the typical order size as roughly 1,800 to 2,000 rupees, which he calls very small. He says about 60% of orders come from direct sales. About 40% of orders come from social media. [1]

Pricing and margins

Kamar says ELO sells t-shirts for around 200 to 300 rupees, a price no other company in Pakistan matches. ELO also sells some XL, 5XL and 6XL t-shirts for 50 rupees. He says ELO works on razor thin margins because it wants to become the biggest. He says ELO may lead on order volume but perhaps not on revenue. [1]

Returns and policies

Kamar says ELO was the first company in Pakistan to introduce a 30-day money-back policy, in January 2014. Under the policy, customers receive cash refunds rather than voucher codes. He says he can offer a 30-day money-back guarantee because he believes in his product. [1]

He says many customer complaints are due to sizing. He says a medium in American sizing differs from Pakistani and European sizing. ELO has added size charts. He says the business wants to improve some of its return policies. He says he cannot process returns free of cost. [1]

He says the return rate rose from 5% to 10%. He recalls the industry standard return rate as 7%. He says courier companies were not able to improve their systems. [1]

Polo Republica

Asking what to do with collars, the team started making collar bags. The team made a zip case from a pocket zip. About 60% of merchandise comes from other sources. [1]

Kamar wanted to make an aspirational brand with a foreign-sounding name. He once saw a man at Eid prayers wearing a shalwar kameez with the Polo Ralph Lauren pony embroidered on it. [1]

Ralph Lauren's suppliers or its legal team sent the business a legal notice. Ralph Lauren's side also sent a legal notice in London. He says the business agreed not to use a pony logo, because it would resemble Ralph Lauren. He says the arrangement was that the name could be used but no horse could appear in the logo. He says Ralph Lauren enforces its copyright and trademark very strictly. [1]

He says the leftover model is still a grey area, because the labels are cut off. He says so far the team has covered only knits. He plans to sell only Polo Republica within five to ten years and take it worldwide. [1]

Goals and views

Kamar says ELO wants to become bigger and synonymous with everything people buy. He wants ELO to be the first place people go when they buy a t-shirt. [1]

He set a goal of zero fabric waste at his father's factory by 2022. He wants to extend the zero waste approach from one factory to the wider garment industry in Pakistan. He says he may miss profitability targets but aims to reach sustainability targets by 2022. He says nobody cares about the sustainability point. [1]

Faisalabad has no incubation centre and no angel investors visiting the city, he says. He says he sees no reason to seek funding. He has grown the company organically and without giving up control. He says he knows his customers better than most people. He says traditional e-commerce can grow about 10 times at most. [1]

He describes Pakistan as a land of opportunities because it has so many problems. He says Pakistan has no proper sports brand. [1]

Expansion to Lahore

Fulfillment and warehousing stay in Faisalabad. Customer support and content move to Lahore. He says he is moving to Lahore so he can explain things to people better. He says online brands have to be content makers. [1]

Personal life

Kamar recently got married. [1]

Timeline

2011
Graduated from university.[1]
2014
ELO introduced a 30-day money-back policy in January.[1]
2022
Target year for zero fabric waste at his father's factory.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2020-10-19 Building the biggest clothing e-commerce brand in Pakistan Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Umar Kamar?

Umar Kamar is the founder of ELO, which was first called Export Leftovers. He is from Faisalabad, where his family works in the textile business.[1]

What does Umar Kamar do?

Umar Kamar founded ELO, a company whose stated goal is to become the biggest clothing e-commerce store in Pakistan. ELO also created a brand called Polo Republica.[1]

Where is Umar Kamar from?

Umar Kamar is from Faisalabad, and his family works in the textile business. His father owned a factory.[1]

What company did Umar Kamar found?

Umar Kamar founded ELO, which was first called Export Leftovers. The company changed its name because the old name did not resonate with the company.[1]

What is Polo Republica?

Polo Republica is a brand that Umar Kamar's company ELO created, and it started making things out of leftover fabric. It accounts for about 40% of ELO's sales.[1]

When did Umar Kamar graduate?

Umar Kamar graduated from university in 2011. After graduating, he spent a year or two abroad.[1]

Does Umar Kamar's company ELO offer a money-back policy?

Umar Kamar says ELO was the first company in Pakistan to introduce a 30-day money-back policy, in January 2014. Under the policy, customers receive cash refunds rather than voucher codes.[1]

How many customers has Umar Kamar's company served?

Over seven years, ELO has served about one million unique customers. Umar Kamar says the repeat customer ratio fluctuates between 50% and 60%.[1]

References

  1. Building the biggest clothing e-commerce brand in Pakistan . Thought Behind Things , 2020-10-19.
Show the source passages (91 statements)
  1. Umar Kamar is the founder of ELO. In conversation with Umar Qamar, Founder of ELO, this episode explores e-commerce in Pakistan.
  2. ELO was first called Export Leftovers. when we started off uh as Export Leftovers
  3. The company changed its name because the old name did not resonate with the company. we had to change the name because it didn't really uh resonate nahi kar raha tha hamari company ke saath
  4. Umar Kamar is from Faisalabad, and his family works in the textile business. main Faisalabad se belong karta hoon aur everybody in my family is in textile business
  5. His father owned a factory. phir mere walid sahab ki bhi factory thi
  6. Umar Kamar graduated from university in 2011. in 2011 main university se graduate hua
  7. After graduating, he spent a year or two abroad. Us ke baad ek do saal main bahar hi raha
  8. He was in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was in Edinburgh, Scotland ke andar
  9. He was not in the mood to come back. toh mera aane pe nahi mood tha
  10. His father asked him to join the family business. my father was like yaar tera mera itna acha ek business hai, tu aa ke join kyun nahi karta?
  11. He came back in 2013. he convinced and I came back in 2013
  12. He felt he could not add anything by coming in, because the company was growing and achieving good growth. Company grow bhi kar rahi thi, achi growth bhi mil rahi thi. Main aa ke kuch add nahi kar sakta tha.
  13. He could have items made at his father's factory and sell them. main toh apne baap ki factory se cheezein banwa ke bech sakta hoon
  14. His team spent six months on fits and size sampling. 6 mahine hum logon ne ji fits banaye, ji size sampling ho rahi hai
  15. He was told that his orders of two or three hundred pieces were small and that there was no time for them. Hum log toh bhai pata nahi tere chote chote orders hain do do teen teen so piece ke toh we don't have time yaar
  16. A Canadian company the business worked with went bankrupt. ek hum Germany uh Canada ki company ke saath kaam kar rahe the and the Canadian company went bankrupt
  17. The business was left with the complete stock and half of the payment. Ab maal hamare paas 100% pada hua hai complete aur 50% paise bhi hain
  18. The labels and tags on the stock stopped the business from selling it to other customers. Hum kisi aur customer ko bhi nahi bech sakte Canada ya kahin bhi kyunke labels aur tags wagera un ke lage hue the
  19. His father suggested he try selling these shirts, since he had been building his own brand. mere walid sahab ne mujhe kaha yaar tu jo apna brand bana raha tha na aur tu apni kar raha tha toh yeh shirt-ein bech ke kyun nahi dekhta?
  20. He recalls that within a week or ten days, orders reached 25 to 30 a day. hafte 10 din baad hi na 25-30 order aa gaye din ke
  21. The business started without a system or setup. na system tha, na koi setup tha, humne kaam shuru kiya
  22. He says the business made a loss at the start. So we were actually making a loss in the beginning
  23. He considered opportunity cost, since an item would either stay in his factory or sell in the market for 400 rupees. maine toh opportunity cost dekhni thi na ke yeh ya mere factory mein pada rahega ya agar main market mein ja ke bechta hoon toh yeh 400 rupaye ka hai
  24. He says a customer gets a branded product of good quality. ek customer ko ek branded cheez mil rahi hai, achi quality ki
  25. He says it solved a cash flow problem, gave the customer a good product at a good price, and let the business earn money in between. us ka cash flow solve kiya, customer ki ek uh achi product achi price pe us ko mil gayi aur hum logon ne us darmiyan mein paise kama liye
  26. He says the business has run on this same approach since 2013. isi ko le ke hum log 2013 se chal rahe hain
  27. The range grew beyond garments. Nahi, hum garments se bahar nikal aaye the
  28. People asked him to sell their towels and bedsheets. tu mere towels bech de, tu meri bedsheets bech de
  29. He says Faisalabad contributes about 30 to 40% of the textile industry. Faisalabad contributes to about like 30 to 40% of textile
  30. He says connections and family gave him an edge that he benefited from. we cashed on that edge because connections aur family aur yeh saari cheezon ka fayda mujhe hua
  31. He says sales spiked during COVID, more than he could have imagined. jab covid aaya hai, sales spike humari ki hain, matlab soch bhi nahi sakte the
  32. He says the return rate rose from 5% to 10%. hamare jo return percentage thi woh 5% se ab 10% pe chali gayi hai
  33. He recalls the industry standard return rate as 7%. industry standard numbers aayi thi 7% ke
  34. He says courier companies were not able to improve their systems. courier companies uh apne systems improve nahi kar sake
  35. ELO ran daily deals and flash sales. phir hum daily deals aur flash sales lagate the
  36. He says ELO works on razor thin margins because it wants to become the biggest. at the end of the day we want to do razor thin margins because we want to be the biggest
  37. The stated goal is to become the biggest clothing e-commerce store in Pakistan. we want to be the biggest uh matlab clothing mein e-commerce store in Pakistan
  38. He says ELO may lead on order volume but perhaps not on revenue. Maybe volume wise we are, maybe not revenue wise
  39. He describes the typical order size as roughly 1,800 to 2,000 rupees, which he calls very small. 17, 1800, 2000 rupaye ki ek bucket size hai toh which is very small
  40. He says ELO sells t-shirts for around 200 to 300 rupees, a price no other company in Pakistan matches. we sell a t-shirt for like 200, 300 rupees yaar. Nobody does that in Pakistan
  41. ELO also sells some XL, 5XL and 6XL t-shirts for 50 rupees. Hum log 5XL, 6XL, XL ki t-shirts 50 rupaye ki bhi bech dete hain
  42. The team has grown to about 100 people in Faisalabad. the team has grown to about 100 people in Faisalabad now and we are going to Lahore
  43. Over seven years, ELO has served about one million unique customers. over the last 7 years we have done uh 1 million unique customers
  44. He says the repeat customer ratio fluctuates between 50% and 60%. we have a repeat customer ratio of about which fluctuates between 50 to 60%
  45. He says about 60% of orders come from direct sales. matlab 60% of the orders would come from direct sales
  46. About 40% of orders come from social media. Aur 40% come from social media
  47. He recalls about 1,000 to 1,200 people sitting on the website waiting for midnight. there would be like a 1000, 1200 people sitting on the website just waiting for the midnight to come
  48. He says ELO was the first company in Pakistan to introduce a 30-day money-back policy, in January 2014. we were the first company in Pakistan to introduce 30-day money-back policy in January 2014
  49. Under the policy, customers receive cash refunds rather than voucher codes. Voucher code nahi denge, paise lene hain, paise le lo
  50. He says he can offer a 30-day money-back guarantee because he believes in his product. I believe in the quality of my product. That's why I can offer 30 day money back guarantee
  51. He says many customer complaints are due to sizing. ye logon ki bahut zyada complaints hain and they are due to the sizes
  52. He says a medium in American sizing differs from Pakistani and European sizing. Ek American size ki aap medium loge woh Pakistani size se farq ho gi, European size se farq ho gi
  53. ELO has added size charts. Humne size chart lagaye hain
  54. He says the business wants to improve some of its return policies. Hum apni kuch return policies ko behtar karna chahte hain
  55. He says he cannot process returns free of cost. main returns process nahi kar sakta free of cost
  56. Polo Republica accounts for about 40% of ELO's sales. Polo Republica is 40% of our sales
  57. About 60% of merchandise comes from other sources. still 60% of the merchandise is from other sources
  58. ELO created a brand called Polo Republica and started making things out of leftover fabric. we came up with a brand called Polo Republica and we started making things out of leftover fabric
  59. Asking what to do with collars, the team started making collar bags. Collar ka kya karein? So we started making collar bags
  60. The team made a zip case from a pocket zip. ye uski pocket ki zip thi, humne usko use karke ek zip case banaya
  61. He wanted to make an aspirational brand with a foreign-sounding name. I want to make an aspirational brand because it needs to sound a foreign sounding naam ho ga toh chal jaye ga
  62. He once saw a man at Eid prayers wearing a shalwar kameez with the Polo Ralph Lauren pony embroidered on it. main Eid ki namaz pe aaya hua tha, matlab bahar hi rehta tha toh main wapas aaya toh ek bande ko maine dekha usne na shalwar kameez pehna hua aur Polo Ralph Lauren ka jo pony hai na uski embroidery usne
  63. Ralph Lauren's suppliers or its legal team sent the business a legal notice. Ralph Lauren ke hi jo suppliers honge ya jo bhi unka koi legal team jo thi unhone hamein notice bheja
  64. Ralph Lauren's side also sent a legal notice in London. London mein bhi unhone hamein legal notice bhej diya
  65. He says the business agreed not to use a pony logo, because it would resemble Ralph Lauren. we will not use a logo of a pony because then it resembles Ralph Lauren
  66. He says the arrangement was that the name could be used but no horse could appear in the logo. Aap naam use kar sakte ho but logo mein ghoda nahi aa sakta
  67. He says Ralph Lauren enforces its copyright and trademark very strictly. unhone itna zyada strictly isko woh kiya hua hai copyright and trademark
  68. He says the leftover model is still a grey area, because the labels are cut off. we are still working in a bit of a gray area kyunki label kaat dena
  69. He plans to sell only Polo Republica within five to ten years and take it worldwide. 5 years, 10 years down the line we are just going to sell Polo Republica and make it worldwide
  70. He says so far the team has covered only knits. Abhi toh hum log sirf knits ke upar aaye hain
  71. He says ELO wants to become bigger and synonymous with everything people buy. we want to capitalize the market, become bigger, synonymous with with everything you buy
  72. He wants ELO to be the first place people go when they buy a t-shirt. If somebody wants to buy a t-shirt the first thing he is going to do is he is going to go to ELO
  73. He set a goal of zero fabric waste at his father's factory by 2022. By 2022 we want to achieve ki jo mere walid sahab ki factory hai usmein zero fabric waste ho
  74. He wants to extend the zero waste approach from one factory to the wider garment industry in Pakistan. apne ek factory se phir 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and then take it over and make Pakistan sustainable, at least the garment industry
  75. Faisalabad has no incubation centre and no angel investors visiting the city, he says. na incubation center hai, na kisi angel investor ne Faisalabad aa ke mujhe kehna hai
  76. He says he sees no reason to seek funding. Why should I seek funding?
  77. He describes the company as profitable. I am making money, I am a profitable company
  78. He says the company doubles its sales at least every year. we double our sales every every year at least
  79. He has grown the company organically and without giving up control. organically kar raha hoon aur na mujhe koi tension hai, na mujhe control apna dena par raha hai
  80. He says the company grew from a two person brand to over 100 people. I have grown this company from like a two person brand to over a 100 person company
  81. He says he knows his customers better than most people. I know my customers better than most of the people
  82. He says traditional e-commerce can grow about 10 times at most. traditional e-commerce ke andar matlab you can do 10 times hoega maximum
  83. He says he may miss profitability targets but aims to reach sustainability targets by 2022. Mujhe nahi ho sakta hai meri shayad profitability woh wale targets reach na ho lekin 2022 tak main sustainability wale targets reach karna chahta hoon
  84. Fulfillment and warehousing stay in Faisalabad. So because the fulfillment and warehousing is going to be in Faisalabad
  85. Customer support and content move to Lahore. Lekin hum customer support aur content ko Lahore move kar rahe hain
  86. He says online brands have to be content makers. online brands hain they have to be content makers
  87. He says he is moving to Lahore so he can explain things to people better. uske liye Lahore move kar raha hoon taake main logon ko behtar tareeqe se explain kar sakoon
  88. He describes Pakistan as a land of opportunities because it has so many problems. it's land of opportunities because there are so many problems here
  89. He says Pakistan has no proper sports brand. sports brand koi proper Pakistan mein nahi hai
  90. He recently got married. I recently got married actually
  91. He says nobody cares about the sustainability point. sustainability wala point nobody cares about that sustainability point