24 http://www.logisticsmiddleeast.comIn Dubai itself though,
WDC is exploring new ways
of reaching the market, such
as omnichannel logistics, given
the rise of e-commerce in the
region. “I’m very excited about
e-commerce,” says Ismatul-
laev. “I think it’s going to be a
new way in which we set our-
selves apart from other FMCG
distributors, especially in the
beauty products sector.”
The beauty of e-commercefully supply thousands of products from global brands
but we are seeing local, innovative companies increasing
in popularity. There are a lot of exciting innovations
being developed in East Asia, particularly in Japan and
South Korea, which are now becoming mainstream in
other parts of the world.”
Dubbed the next consumer hotspot, sub-Saharan
Africa is witnessing the second fastest economic growth
after Asia-Pacific, with a population expected to double
to 2.4 billion by 2050. A rising middle class and increased
urbanisation in counties such as South Africa, Nigeria
and Kenya is fueling the growth of the personal care
market.
“We are seeing consumers in Africa becoming more
sophisticated buyers, they are aware of global trends,
brands and ingredients that are available internationally
and this is resulting in an increasingly evolving market.
We are regularly launching new products in Africa to
keep up with demand. It’s a very exciting time for us,”
says Ismatullaev.
To keep pace with demand, WDC will be expand-
ing its logistics network in Africa, with plans for a
new distribution centre in Kenya. “We want to have
our logistics center, our own logistics center based in
Kenya which could service East Africa. So that’s our
future plan,” says Ismatullaev.new ways of reaching WDC is exploring
omnichannel logistics.the market, such asFAST^ FACT5,000
IN DUBAI ALONE WDC
IS HANDLING MORE
THAN 5,000 SKUS ON A
DAILY BASIS.WE ARE SEEING CONSUMERS IN
AFRICA BECOMING MORE SOPHISTI-
CATED BUYERS, THEY ARE AWARE
OF GLOBAL TRENDS, BRANDS AND
INGREDIENTS THAT ARE AVAIL-
ABLE INTERNATIONALLY”for Ismatullaev is that it pro-
vides greater accessibility. A
large part of his clients’ tar-
get market are workers in the
service sector, where time
off for personal shopping is
a hard-won luxury. “With e-
commerce a housemaid or
any office worker could shop
online and have the products
delivered within two hours,”
he says. “So e-commerce is
growing big time and at the
moment we’re only doing it
B2B, but in the near future
we’re going to roll-out B2C
operations as well.”
Logistics Middle East in-
terviewed Ismatullaev just
before the full impact of the
Middle East summer, and it
was during this period that
WDC was preparing its logis-
tics for the increase in tem-
peratures. “Summer presentsCOVER | WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
AUGUST 2019 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EAST