Aarong is one of the leading retail chains in Bangladesh operating under BRAC, the largest non-profit in the world. It was established in 1978, with the mission to provide income-generating and social development opportunities for poor rural women, while also protecting and promoting Bangladeshi handicrafts. Aarong operates production units in rural and semi-urban areas as a part of its social enterprise model and provides the market linkage through its own retail outlets. All profits generated through sales are ploughed back into expanding opportunities for more low-income producers and to cross-subsidize BRAC programmes for the ultra poor, health, education and livelihood development. Aarong received recognition as a Superbrand in 2009, and remains the market leader in the Bangladesh fashion industry.
Competitive
landscape
When Aarong first opened in 1978,
the only handicraft marketing outlet and competitor was Karika. Today, Aarong
is the leading brand of its own kind in Bangladesh, particularly at the
department store level, product range and retail footprint. However, at the
individual product level, Aarong competes with thousands of different retailers
who make products similar to those found in Aarong stores, but very few of them
maintain fair trade practices like Aarong. In the future, Aarong’s biggest
competitive threat is the potential influx of foreign retailers from India who
benefit from a lower cost of manufacturing as they utilise more efficient
production methods and do not provide extensive worker benefits.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF AARONG:
Aarong is competing with all rivals on differentiating features as -
1. WIDER PRODUCT SELECTION: Aarong’s product designs has brought consumer
attention back to the products and styles that are indigenous to Bangladesh,
its designers blending the traditional with the contemporary in a manner that
has won instant consumer appeal, starting a revolution in trends that has now
been taken up by countless other boutiques and stores. Aarong’s product designs
focus on the diverse types and textures of crafts and patterns that have been
passed along from generation to generation among weavers and artisans in craft
hubs around the country.
Aarong also plays the role of protector and promoter of traditional
Bangladeshi products and designs. It houses an extensive design library where
remnants of our rich craft heritage, such as Nakshikantha art and Jamdani
patterns, have been widely researched and archived for present as well as
future use.
2. HIGHER QUALITY THAN ANY RIVALS: Aarong's Total Quality management team
tightly controls and mantain the quality of all their products. The customer
have guarantee to get the good quality of deshi brand product and also they get
the post purchase facilities like if they found any problem with the product
they can return the product and can get back the money but they have to do it
within one month after purchase. Aarong made up mind to make a good competition
in the market of creative work and they producing export quality product to
capture the highest market share in handicraft industry. Aarong is competing
with not beyond the country they are competing in abroad that’s why they have
outlet in London. Other companies are trying to compete with them and recently
are getting enough close to them.
3. BRAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OF AARONG: Competitions run through Facebook
and other social media platforms are the latest way brands hope to win consumer
affection.
Now the company is hoping to tap into the cultural zeitgeist of the times by
using a competition for its fans to become the "face" of the brand,
run through social media and augmented reality.
The sheer volume of campaigns run as social network competitions suggests
the competition-through-social-network route is now a mainstream marketing tool
for Aarong.
4. CSR ACTIVITIES: As a support entity of BRAC, a significant portion of Aarongs earnings go directly into financing the NGO’s development programmes in healthcare, education as well as economic and social development. During their 30th anniversary, they arranged an exhibition to celebrate. In the opening ceremony Mr. Abed chairman of BRAC awarded 8 women for their excellent work in nakshikantha. Giving award to those poor women AARONG is trying to encouraging poor people to make them self unique in their own unified field.
Reference:
http://www.aarong.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarong
