The Star's Intech : Spicing up life with Citrastore.com.my
Techie Guy
Virtual spice shop: CitraStore.com is the first virtual Indian spice
shop to be set up in Malaysia. It is also the first online store to be
developed and handled entirely by 14-year-old Kridaraan Komahan.
In.Tech managed to corner Kridaraan for an interview at his shop.Below
is Kridaraan Komahan checking some of the spices in his shop.
{ Pic Unavailable } http://www.citrastore.com.my
Spicing up life with CitraStore.com
By P. ANGELINA
IN ANCIENT and medieval times, spices were rare and precious products
used as medicine, perfume, incense, and flavouring.
The Romans, in fact, used to sail all the way from Egypt to India
between 200BC and 1200, a difficult two-year voyage across the Indian
Ocean at that time, just so they could buy pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg,
cloves and ginger from the Indians.
This is no longer the case.
Today, spices are plentiful and used mostly as flavourings. Plus,
people no longer need to travel great distances to acquire them.
Spices can now be easily purchased from supermarkets, sundry shops,
and even from online stores such as Citra Store.
At CitraStore.com, visitors will find more than 50 different types of
raw and processed spice such as turmeric, cumin, clove and curry
powder; 8 types of lentils and pulses such as white beans, black dhal
and chick peas; and more than 15 types of herbs.
Visitors will also be able to find non-spice related products such as
dried vegetables, pickles, Indian snacks and sweets, fruits, seeds and
nuts, beverages as well as sundry goods.
CitraStore.com is the first virtual Indian spice shop to be set up in
Malaysia. It is also the first online store to be developed and
handled entirely by 14-year-old Kridaraan Komahan.
The store is actually an online version of the retail store, Citra
Store Sdn Bhd which is owned and managed by Kridaraan's father, K.S
Komahan.
Citra Store which is based in Brickfields, has been in operation for
more than 30 years and is currently one of the largest importers,
wholesalers and retailers of raw and unprocessed spices, nuts, pulses,
lentils, snack food, Indian herbs and household necessities in Kuala
Lumpur.
In.Tech managed to corner Kridaraan for an interview at his shop.
In.Tech: What prompted you to create an online spice store?
Kridaraan: The main reason I created CitraStore.com was because I was
frustrated at not being able to spend time with my friends.
It all began in 1997 when I turned 10 and was made to help out in my
father's shop. My job basically involved standing in front of the cash
register collecting money from customers.
As a kid, I found this to be very frustrating because I could not go
out and play with my friends, let alone enjoy riding a bicycle in the
evenings. But there was nothing I could do about it.
Over time, I became even more frustrated and decided that I had to
start looking for solutions to my dilemma.
Then, one day, it happened. While surfing the Internet, I came across
Geocities.com, a free homepage service providing ready-made templates
to set up a website.
I was curious about this service and decided to learn more about it.
And that's when it hit me!
Why not start an online business? It was the perfect solution. The
whole world consisted of potential customers. With an online business,
my father's business would expand.
More importantly, it would also provide me with the opportunity I
needed to do something I actually enjoyed instead of just minding the
cash register all day.
Why choose the Internet as a means to expand your father's business?
Well, I've always been interested in computers, especially the
Internet. So it was only natural for me to try something that was
Internet-related.
Besides, I saw that the Internet had vast potential and the power to
change a business. I felt that this would be a great way to help my
father expand his business further.
Did you have any background knowledge in web design at that time?
Actually, I hadn't a clue as to how to go about designing a website
back then. Moreover, I was only 10 years old and was still relatively
new to the Internet.
How did you learn to create your own website if you had no prior
knowledge in web design?
Well, I learned the basic stuff by playing around with the templates
provided by Geocities.com.
It was actually quite easy because I managed to create a website in
just one day. Unfortunately, it was only a one-page website and I
wasn't very satisfied with it.
I felt that I could do more.
So, I started looking around for ways to enhance my knowledge in web
development and e-commerce.
That is one of the reasons I started attending seminars and
conferences. In fact, from 1998 to 1999, both my father and I attended
a series of e-commerce conferences, seminars and courses so that we
could learn how to turn our spice store into a virtual store.
Did the courses help?
Actually, despite attending all the courses, I found that I still
wasn't very sure about web hosting and how it related to the creation
of a website.
But this did not stop me from pursuing my goal. I decided to go ahead
and try to create my own website even though I was still not very sure
how to do it.
When did you start working on CitraStore.com, and how long did it take
you to complete the website?
Well, I started working on the website sometime in December 1999 and
it took me about two months to complete.
In fact, all the files were ready to be uploaded by Jan 27. I had also
managed to photograph and scan pictures of all the spices, pulses and
herbs that were available in my father's store by then.
The last thing I did was register the website and as soon as that was
completed, I launched CitraStore.com.
The site went live officially on Feb 2, 2000.
What programs did you use to create your website?
Basically, I used Microsoft Word to create all the webpages, and Java
and CGI programs to develop an online buying system.
I also managed to get help from a local web hosting company called
IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd to host my website.
What were the key challenges you faced in developing CitraStore.com?
My biggest challenge was in trying to promote the website. You see, I
had initially not given much thought at all as to how I would get
people to visit my website once it was online.
Secondly, I had to make sure that the website was updated regularly
and that all orders were being processed which basically meant that I
had to spent several hours every day to maintain the website.
As a student, this was not an easy task for me because it meant that I
had to divide my time between managing the website, completing my
schoolwork and carrying out my duties as a school prefect.
How did you promote your website?
I started by listing CitraStore .com on search engines, web-boards,
online forums, etc. I also tried banner exchange programmes in the
hope that it would draw more visitors to my website.
Aside from that, I tried to make my website more attractive by adding
animation and graphics.
I've also added several sections which I think might be of interest to
visitors. This includes recipes, games, chat, festivals, awards and
free membership services. Most of these services, however, are only
available to CitraStore.com members.
Members also enjoy special discounts and promotions for products
purchased online.
How successful has the website been in attracting visitors?
Quite successful, I would say. We have had more than 93,837 hits to
date and more than 100 people have signed up as members.
We have also received about 5,000 e-mail enquiries from all over
Malaysia as well as countries overseas. In fact, we just succeeded in
completing two wholesale orders from spice traders in Switzerland and
the United States.
Aside from that, we also received numerous enquiries from businessmen
in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand as well as China
who were interested in establishing supply chain links with us.
Naturally, my father was ecstatic at all the business the online store
was generating for his retail shop.
From a small shop in Brickfields, we had suddenly evolved into a
global business spice store. Customers were coming from all over
Malaysia, even from overseas.
Do members need a credit card to purchase online?
For the moment, no. As there is no e-payment system available at the
website as of yet, members do not need to have a credit card to buy
spices from us.
Nevertheless, we do plan to enable online purchases via credit card as
soon as we can find an e-payment system.
In fact, we are currently trying to work out a deal with United
Overseas Bank and Maybank to set-up an e-payment gateway at
CitraStore.com.
Until that is ready, members can use the online forms provided, send
us an e-mail or call us to place their orders. Usually, payment is
made when the products are delivered.
Are all transactions conducted online?
Well, that depends on the customers. Some customers visit the website
for information and come to the retail shop to purchase the spices
they need. Others choose to make their orders via e-mail or phone.
What are your plans for the website?
Our ultimate goal is to open an e-marketplace serving buyers and
sellers of fresh pure spices, pulses and herbs.
We are currently trying to work with eCare2com Sdn Bhd, a local
partnership formed between my father and several of his friends, to
develop the e-marketplace concept.
Aside from that, we are also looking into the possibility of listing
CitraStore.com on Mesdaq.
Enterprising teenager
It's been more than a year now since CitraStore.com went live and it
is managed entirely by Kridaraan who spends an average of two hours
every day after school maintaining the website and keeping track of
orders, while his father handles the running of the retail shop.
Kridaraan and his father also continue to attend seminars and
conferences whenever they can.
Kridaraan's passion for web design did not stop with CitraStore.com.
He continues to explore the world of web designing and has even formed
his own group, e-Citra.com.
e-Citra.com is a web designing group comprising Kridaraan and his
school friends – Ephraim Alfa Ritikos, Amirul Iman, Leong Sai Hou. The
group was formed last month.
"We had been talking about forming a group for the past three
months,'' said Kridaraan. "The only thing stopping us was our fear
that it might interfere with our studies.''
According to Kridaraan, after much discussion, however, the group felt
that starting a web design group would be a good way to kick-start
their future in IT.
"We were all very interested in web designing and wanted to explore it
as much as possible,'' he said.
Besides, with the fees received from designing websites, the boys
would be able to help pay for their studies abroad without entirely
depending on their parents' earnings.
Before forming the group, Kridaraan and his friends brushed up on
their IT skills. They did this by learning as many programming
languages as they could. They studied VBscript, PHP, ASP, CGI, Java,
C++, Flash, Dreamweaver and Fireworks.
Surprisingly, these enterprising young men have already managed to
acquire some clients. They are currently working on a project for a
company called Gladface Enterprise.
Aside from that, the group is also offering a free two-month
web-designing tutorial to anyone interested in web design. A monthly
fee of RM20 will be charged for any lessons after that time-frame.
Kridaraan's success in developing the virtual spice store and starting
a web-designing group has not gone unnoticed.
Many businessmen in the community were so impressed with Kridaraan's
efforts in taking the initiative to set up an online business, that
they actually invited the 14-year-old entrepreneur to share his
experience with others at the Tamil Internet Conference held recently
in Kuala Lumpur.
The world's largest Tamil Internet Conference which was held from Aug
26-28 at the Putra World Trade Centre, was aimed at helping Indian
entrepreneurs learn about IT and how it can be use to expand their
businesses. For more information, visit Tamil Internet.
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