As a rising economy and one of the most populated countries in the world, Pakistan has a fast-developing interior interior decoration market in the country. Although the market had been non-existent within the country in the past, Pakistan had been exporting luxury goods manufactured in the country for many decades. One such commodity is handmade carpets that have the highest sales worldwide, and was once the sixth-largest contributor to the GDP.
The US luxury carpets industry alone, which has 45 percent share of the global market, was projected to cross the $14 billion mark in the year 2019. But that’s not all; the demand within Pakistan has been increasing recently with millions of housing units planned by the federal government in the coming years, two new mega cities planned and incentives given to the construction industry. With such measures, Pakistan will soon provide itself with its own handmade carpets and will maybe become a major user of its own production.
Qaleen offers an incentive for carpet weavers, carpet manufacturers and carpet exporters to market globally on the forum it provides. The country has a long history of carpet-making dating back to the time of the Mughal Empire when Lahore was a major center of carpet-weaving.
In the past ten years there were about USD 300 million worth of handmade carpets being exported from Pakistan every year. Over the last decade and a half, Pakistan’s once mighty handmade carpets industry has shrunk 70% by volume and sales due to unfavorable market conditions and government neglect.
FOUNDER
Qaleen focuses on carpets and is the brainchild of the Sheikh. Yasir is 16 years old and has worked with e-commerce export from Pakistan to all global destinations and is the youngest member of Pakistan’s carpet association. He has experience in Africa, Turkey and the U.S. which helps him to succeed in projects which involve computer programming, GIS and data analytics. Yasir hopes to change the industry’s way of doing business from the conventional wholesale export model to a more modern, value-added process.
Over the first year of Qaleen’s operation, numerous angels from the company’s network have invested. Qaleen is analyzing the growth opportunity in the Pakistani market for interior design and premium luxury goods. Yasir is sure that the interior decor market will have a bright future in Pakistan due to the recent growth in luxury retail within Pakistan.
MARKET
Qaleen is the largest outlet for carpet manufacturing originating from Asia with over 40 different companies and over 15,000 handmade carpets on its platform. Qaleen has received angel capital to boost the e-commerce site in order to compete with major players in the luxury industry. This will help Canada recover its share in the global high quality carpet market, which will make a major contribution to Canada’s export development in the near future. Activities related to urbanization generate a need for the interior goods.
Anyone can now buy handmade rugs produced right in Pakistan. Now, the consumer does not need to be an expert in buying handmade carpets, as Qaleen guides you through the process to make an informed purchase. The website features items from Pakistan as well as other countries such as Iran, India and Nepal, and Afghanistan. This way the platform offers a premium product for its consumers by ensuring the quality of the carpet.
