Recently the Number one online retailer Kasuwa.com changed their name to Jumia. Here is the reason they gave on their website
Q. Why have you changed your name from Kasuwa to Jumia?
A. The name has changed because we want to be part of a global brand that allows us to offer more to our customers. We have seen a great demand for our products and have decided to expand and become even bigger, hence offering a wider selection of categories. We are still the same company working hard to ensure a great online shopping experience in Nigeria but Kasuwa is our former name; we are now officially Jumia.
Q. What does Jumia mean?
A. The word itself has no specific meaning but what becoming Jumia will mean for you as a customer is that you will have more variety to choose from on our website.
Q. What’s changing?
A. Just our name and our URL. Even though our new web address is www.jumia.com.ng, you’ll still reach us if you type in www.kasuwa.com. We’ll redirect you over to our new site.
Q. I have a Kasuwa account. Will I need to create a new Jumia account?
A. No, everything about your account stays the same.
Q. Is this change permanent?
A. Yes, this is permanent and we are really excited about our new name
The real gist is that the change of name may be due to a copyright infringement threat from the original owner of the ‘Kasuwa’ and ‘Kasuwa.com’ trademark.
Apparently, the brand name, ‘Kasuwa’ and the domain name, ‘Kasuwa.com’ are already registered trademarks belonging to another business registered as ‘Kasuwa Market Place Ventures’ with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria since August 2010.
And it turns out that the trademark owner has reportedly threatened to sue Rocket Internet for copyright infringement of its brand name and trademarks as well as the misrepresentation on its website, ad campaigns and across the web.
