Assignment

On
Retail Management
Topic: The Development of Chain Shop Retailing in
Bangladesh: A case study on SHWAPNO Superstore
Submitted To:
Mahathy Hasan Jewel
Assistant Professor
Department of marketing
Jagannath University

Submitted By:
THREE MUSKETEERS
4th Year 2nd semester
6th Batch
Jagannath University

Date of Submission: September 13, 2015.

 Group Name: THREE MUSKETEERS

Group Leader: Md. Helal Mridha

Serial Name ID No. E-mail
No.
01. Md. Helal Mridha 115494 helal0103@gmail.com
02. Md. Mokshadur B-110204049 moksed.tilok@gmail.com
Rahman
03. Mohammad Amzad B-110204111 kobi.tarkotha79@gmail.com
Hosen
04. Md. Famtiaj Islam B-110204112 rajarianhereicome@yahoo.com
Miltu
 Executive Summary

Shwapno is a part of ACI Logistics. The ultimate objective of Shwapno is to ensure

access to a broader range of people of Bangladesh. It has a special focus to serve the
different income group of the country by providing services that are convenient,
affordable and reliable.

This report mainly focuses on the retailer business as a whole and Shwapno place in
this competitive industry. Through the report we have tried to do a comparison between
Shwapno and Agora and find out the competitive advantages of each of the company.
In the end, I have suggested some recommendation that Shwapno can implement to
maintain their competitive advantage be a market leader in the industry.

The report is containing a comparison between Shwapno and Agora in terms of their
branding. There the comparison based on visibility level, area covered by the company
and other branding issue.

The report also portrays the industry through Porters’ Five forces model. The state of
the industry is best portrayed through the model. The threat of new entrants is low due
to the shortage in spectrum and bargaining power of suppliers is also low.

If one studies the comparative analysis of the market, it can be seen that Shwapno has
already built brand equity among its customer. Thus far, it has been able to hold on to
its leadership without doing much.
 Contents
1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
2.0 History of Superstores and Retail Industry in Bangladesh ........................................... 1
3.0 Organizational Overview .................................................................................................. 3
3.1 Mission of Shwapno ............................................................................................................. 3
3.2 Vision of Shwapno ............................................................................................................... 3
3.3 Values of Shwapno............................................................................................................... 4
3.4 History of Shwapno ............................................................................................................. 4
3.5 History in Dateline ............................................................................................................... 6
4.0 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 6
4.1 Retailing ................................................................................................................................ 7
4.2 Retail mix.............................................................................................................................. 7
4.3 Growth of Retailing Chain Stores ...................................................................................... 7
4.4 Customer Value ................................................................................................................... 8
4.5 Customer perception ........................................................................................................... 9
4.6 Customer Satisfaction ......................................................................................................... 9
4.7 Customer’s perception of service quality ........................................................................ 10
5.0 STP Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 11
5.1 Segmentation ...................................................................................................................... 11
5.2 Targeting ............................................................................................................................ 11
5.3 Positioning .......................................................................................................................... 12
6.0 Market Analysis ................................................................................................................ 12
6.1 Market Share ..................................................................................................................... 12
6.2 SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................................. 13
6.3 BCG Matrix........................................................................................................................ 14
7.0 Overall Strategy ............................................................................................................... 16
7.1 Product Portfolio ............................................................................................................... 16
7.1.1 Special and imported products of shwapno .............................................................. 16
7.2 Store Location .................................................................................................................... 17
7.2.1 Outlets .......................................................................................................................... 17
 7.2.2 Decoration .................................................................................................................... 18
7.3 Customer Membership Card ............................................................................................ 19
7.3.1 Reasons ......................................................................................................................... 20
7.3.2 Types Of Loyalty Program ......................................................................................... 20
7.3.4 Walk in Loyalty Program ........................................................................................... 20
7.3.5 Corporate members .................................................................................................... 20
7.3.6 How to become a Member of Shwapno ..................................................................... 20
7.3.7 Terms& Conditions ..................................................................................................... 21
7.4 Pricing Strategy ................................................................................................................. 21
7.5 Promotional Strategy ........................................................................................................ 22
7.5.1 Advertising ................................................................................................................... 22
7.5.2 Sales Promotion ........................................................................................................... 24
7.5.3 Internet Marketing ...................................................................................................... 25
7.5.4 Public Relation............................................................................................................. 25
7.5.5 Direct marketing ......................................................................................................... 26
7.5.6 Personal Selling ........................................................................................................... 26
7.5.7 Strategy to Introduce New Designs in the Lifestyle Category ................................ 26
7.6 Customer Service ............................................................................................................... 28
8.0 Inventory Management .................................................................................................... 28
9.0 Competitor Analysis ......................................................................................................... 29
9.1 Meena Bazaar .................................................................................................................... 29
9.2 Agora................................................................................................................................... 30
9.3 Niche Market Competitors ............................................................................................... 31
10.0 Research Strategy ............................................................................................................ 31
10.1 Primary Data Source ....................................................................................................... 31
10.2 Secondary Data Source ................................................................................................... 31
10.0 Research Findings ............................................................................................................ 31
10.1 Demographic Findings .................................................................................................... 31
10.2 Qualitative Findings ........................................................................................................ 33
11.0 Recommendation.............................................................................................................. 34
12.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 36
13.0 References ......................................................................................................................... 37
13.1 Website Links................................................................................................................... 37
13.2 Books & Journals............................................................................................................. 37
14.0 Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 38
Section-1: Demographics Analysis ........................................................................................... 38
Section-2: Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 39
1.0 Introduction
ACI group is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh with interests and stakes
in varied fields. Previously, ACI was called Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). ACI was
founded after Bangladeshi investors in ICI managed to obtain majority stakes in ICI‟s
Bangladeshi operations.

SHWAPNO, a concern of ACI group established in 2008 is an integral part of the overall
ACI group. It represents and exemplifies ACI‟s commitment to bring about a better
Bangladesh and be a catalyst to change the lives of millions of individuals for the better.
SHWAPNO, with its 46 retails stores, situated in strategic positions around Bangladesh
is the largest retail chain in the country with over 35% markets share of the growing
1500 crore taka retail industry. Retail industry in Bangladesh has huge scope since only
2% of the entire population is served by the retail industry. ACI‟s retail arm has carved
an enviable name for itself in the market place. Through its meticulous and analytical
top management and innovative marketing strategies, SHWAPNO has been able to
achieve a dominant position in the market place. Even though the other retail chain,
Agora and Meena Bazaar have had long established presence in the Bangladeshi
market, neither has been able to achieve the broad reach and brand equity that
SHWAPNO has been able to.

This study will look int the varied strategies developed and implemented by SHWAPNO
to achieve its dominant position in the marketplace. Some of the strategies were
developed as a result of market dynamics, while others were developed as a result of
desperation. An in depth study of strategies used by retail chains have not been done in
Bangladesh previously. The increasing importance of the retail industry to the
Bangladeshi economy and its growing penetration into many aspects of people’s lives
demands a thorough study on this subject matter. Overall this report will discuss the
development of chain shop retailing in Bangladesh.

1.0 History of Superstores and Retail Industry in Bangladesh

The retailing industry in Bangladesh is fragmented and undeveloped compared to its
South Asian counterparts. However, this structure is changing due to the globalization,
economic and trade liberalization, changing patterns of consumers’ shopping behavior,
the growth of urbanization, substantial increase of middle class consumers, and the
government’s liberal attitude towards foreign imported food products, and the growth of
organized superstores (Hussain & Ara 2004). Siddiqui, Hasan and Ahmed (2006)

1
explored five types of retail shops in Bangladesh; (1) Roadside Shops (Traditional &
Unstructured), (2) Municipal Corporation Markets (Traditional & Unstructured), (3)
Convenience Stores (Traditional & Unstructured), (4) Supermarkets (Organized and
Structured), (5) Superstores (Organized and Structured). These superstores offer nearly
20,000 products of different kinds with the main focus on food items — ranging from a
wide variety of fish, meat, vegetables to fruits, bakery, dairy and grocery items, also
offer a vast array of other household, personal care and miscellaneous products
(Siddiqui, Hasan & Ahmed 2006; Munni 2010). According to these authors, the high-
income urban consumers in Dhaka favor supermarkets and superstores, as they are
willing to pay a higher price for having the choice of quality products and at the same
time they want to have the complete shopping experience.

The first initiative in opening superstore was taken by Rahimafrooz, which introduced
Agora, a chain superstore around a decade ago (Munni 2010). Now the annual turnover
of the superstores stands at around Tk. 15 billion (Tk. 1500 crore), with 30 companies
investment in more than 200 outlets (Munni, 2010). The prominent superstores of
Bangladesh are, Agora with four outlets, Meena Bazar with nine outlets, PQS with five,
Prince Bazar with two, Nandan with five and Swapno with 70 outlets, and Bangladesh
Rifles (BDR) with 11 outlets (Munni 2010). It is expected that the rise in the superstores
will diversify the choices of consumers and boost their spending. Besides, the wet
markets, or the traditional and unstructured markets (known as kacha bazaar) will also
improve its quality and services following in the footsteps of supermarkets (Munni
2010). Compared to the retailers in the kacha bazaar, where commodities are sold
mostly in unhygienic condition, the superstores offer hygienic foods at competitive
prices (Munni 2010). Though there is an enormous amount of potentiality in terms of the
growth of the superstores, the contribution of superstores are small in overall retail sales
of Bangladesh. According to Bachmann (2008), Thomas Reardon, a researcher from
Michigan State University stated, “Bangladesh is part of a fourth wave that just barely
has emerged in the last few years.

The diffusion of supermarkets will be quite slow for the fourth wave, compared to the
first three waves. The reason is that the key socioeconomic changes necessary for a
change in the retail environment are happening in Bangladesh at a pace much slower
than, for example, in India.” This can be better interpreted from the fact that Sri Lanka
with a population of over 20 million people has 240 supermarkets, while Dhaka with its
15 million inhabitants does not even have 50 such stores (Bachmann 2008). Despite its
massive growth over the past ten years, the retailing sector has not expanded
structurally due to lack of attention from government and public funded bodies and lack
of academic researches (Datta 2010).

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 2.0 Organizational Overview
ACI logistics is a Strategic business unit of the larger ACI Company. It has over 46
outlets spread over Dhaka city. Outside of the capital, SHWAPNO has strong presence
in the form of franchises and dealer operations. Before going into detail about
operations and the history of SHWAPNO, a brief overview of ACI is necessary.

ACI was previously known as ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited. It was a

subsidiary of world renowned multinational company, ICI Plc, and was also a listed
public limited company under Dhaka Stock Exchange. In 1992 ICI Plc divested its
shareholding through a management buyout and the company name was changed from
ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited to Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited.
ACI Formulations Limited, a subsidiary of ACI, became a public listed company through
direct listing.

Since then, ACI has diversified into four major strategic business divisions which include
Health Care, Consumer Brands, Agribusinesses and Retail (Unknown, 2014).

ACI is one of the most renowned and largest conglomerates in Bangladesh. Its
emphasis on improving the lives and standard of living of the people of Bangladesh has
been widely documented. ACI strives to be a beacon of integrity and honesty in the
society. As a result, SHWAPNO was able to leverage the strong brand recognition and
trust the populace had on ACI to their advantage.

ACI consists of many strategic business units and subsidiaries (given below). Moreover,
in recent years, ACI has joined hands with foreign companies and formed strong
partnerships with them.

3.1 Mission of Shwapno

Shwapno’s mission is to enrich the quality of life of people through responsible
application of knowledge, skills and technology. Shwapno is committed to the pursuit of
excellence through world-class products, innovative processes and empowered
employees to provide the highest level of satisfaction to its customers.

3.2 Vision of Shwapno

Shwapno was launched with a vision to change the lifestyle of Bangladeshi consumers.

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 3.3 Values of Shwapno
❖ To deliver success we have a clear set of values & beliefs.
❖ Impeccable integrity - We are honest, transparent and ethical in all our dealings.
❖ Passion to win - We deliver what we promise by bringing the best in all of us.
❖ Delightful experience -We win the hearts and minds of our employees and
consumers by offering relevant quality, value and service.
❖ Living an enterprise culture - We believe in trust, truth and teamwork.
❖ Making a better world - We compassionately contribute to the community we live
in.
❖ Continuous improvement - We constantly learn and innovate to create new
paradigm.
❖ Count every paisa - We treat every taka spent as our own for creating value for
our consumers.

3.4 History of Shwapno

The concept behind SHWAPNO is quite old. Dr Dowla believed that people in
Bangladesh were eagerly yearning for a one stop solution place providing them with
reasonably priced and quality products. He wanted to champion the needs and
aspirations of the growing middle class of Bangladesh. To make his dream a reality, Dr
Dowla acquired the services of experienced marketing guru Mr. Asif Iqbal (Iqbal, 2014),
Mr Asif Iqbal had acquired extensive experience working in Unilever; where he was a
marketing manager responsible for miraculous turnaround of some of Unilever‟s top
brands, and Robi Axiata: where he was head of the marketing department.

Upper management at SHWAPNO felt that Mr Asif Iqbal was the right man to make
their dream a reality. In keeping with the high ambitions of the top management, Mr Asif
Iqbal came up with a business plan to rapidly open 70 SHWAPNO branded outlets
across the country. In 2008, SHWAPNO retail brand was officially launched.
Unfortunately, things went downhill from then onwards. The initial plan to launch 70
outlets was immensely ambitious and ACI did not have the knowledge and the expertise
in the field to support such an endeavor.

ACI also did not have the proper management information system to coordinate the
activities of such an endeavor properly. So, for the first year, SHWAPNO carried out its
operations in a disjointed and ad-hoc manner. Supply chain, the most important element
in the value chain was underdeveloped causing products required by outlets to often

4
come weeks after requests were made. Millions of dollars‟ worth of merchandise were
wasted and lost over mismanagement by the distribution staff. Moreover, to make
matters worse, the outlet lacked basic products which any person shopping there would
look for.

Asif Iqbal, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company realized that he made a
grave error in diving into the industry completely unprepared. One variable he missed
was the SHWAPNO‟s positioning was a bit premature. The retail industry in Bangladesh
is in its infancy. Agora a subsidiary of Rahimafrooz, introduced the populace to the
concept of retail back in 2001 (Unknown, Rahimafrooz Superstores, 2014). Contrary to
what is seen in the west, In Bangladesh rich and upper middle class individuals are the
customers who usually frequent superstores. SHWAPNO‟s lower positioning did not
resonate with the target market that preferred shopping at wet markets where bargains
could be made.

Management at SHWAPNO went back to the drawing board. What resulted from the
intensive brain storming session was that almost half of the retail outlets were closed
and international consultants were hired from India to introduce SAP enterprise
resource planning software companywide. The enterprise resource planning software
was an outstanding improvement over the previous standalone system. With this
software, the company was able to streamline processes across the entire department.
Stock information, sales transfer order, accounts payable, journal entries, sales
information, purchase order, goods received note etc. were now all handled from this
single software. Every department in the company from HR to Finance had up-to date
information on the company at their fingertips. SAP completely transformed the
operations of the company. The immediate boost in the company‟s bottom line was
measurably noticeable. However, the software had one major problem; it could not
provide real time up-to date sales data. To solve this problem, ACI logistics requested
the services of ACI‟s MIS department. MIS department came up with software termed
EPS which was capable of providing up-to the minute sales information from each of
ACI logistics

SHWAPNO‟s outlet scattered across the country. The software was also able to
generate customized reports to aid in management decision making.

The company’s performance began to take a turn for the better from then onwards.
Unfortunately, the company’s performance was not satisfactory enough to overcome the
massive debt acquired from the banks to fuel the initial impressive expansion during the
company’s infancy. Compounding interest payments and the management’s inability to

5
solve the problem forced Mr Asif Iqbal to call it quits, after less than 2 years in the helm
of the company.

What followed then onwards were a rapid succession of executive directors who were
unable to turnaround the performance of the company. SHWAPNO‟s fortunes truly
turned around when ACI‟s top management hired Mr Sabbir Hasan Nasir to take the
helm of the company. Mr Nasir had a stellar career at Bata, Unilever and Otobi. He was
widely renowned as a guru of retail and marketing. Mr Nasir, a graduate of Institute of
Business Administration, Dhaka University was responsible for turning Otobi from a
relatively unknown small enterprise to a juggernaut in the furniture industry with
revenues of 550 crore and operations in at least a dozen countries. His
accomplishments look even more impressive when considering that he was made CEO
of the company in only his mid- thirties. He carved a reputation for himself enviable to
people twice his age. He immediately set upon changing the fortunes of the company.
Half of the staff at the firm was given the “pink slip”. Operations were streamlined, lines
of authority were strengthened and new proactive individuals were hired. SHWAPNO
realigned its strategy with its vision and mission. As a result of his effort and the hard
work of the staff at SHWAPNO, SHWAPNO became the largest retail store in the
country with over 35% market share within a short period of time.

3.5 History in Dateline

The Mother Company (ACI Limited) Started its Journey in 1940

1940: ICI Plc UK Started Operation

1968: ICI plc commissioned manufacturing plant in Nararyanganj

1973: Incorporated as ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited

1982: Mr. M AnisUdDowla joined as Managing Director

1992: ICI Plc divested its shares to local management and ACI came into existence

2008: ACI Logistics Ltd. is launched with the dream to change the life of Bangladeshi
Consumers with the Brand Name “SHWAPNO” in the form of retail chain.

4.0 Literature Review

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4.1 Retailing
Retailing entails the business activities involved in selling goods and services to
consumers for their personal, family, or household use. A retailer is one who stocks the
producer’s goods and is involved in the act of selling it to the individual consumer, at a
margin of profit. Retailing is the last stage in a distribution channel, which contains the
businesses and people involved in physically moving and transferring ownership of
goods and services from producer to consumer (Berman and Evans, 2009).

The retailing landscape has changed significantly during the last two decades. The
retailing industry in the world has converted from the domestic market-based traditional
market format of the past to large scaled franchising and establishment of brand names
(Kim et al., 2012). Income, technology and lifestyles of consumers are changing, even
from whom they buy are changing. The location or the place where they buy is
changing; the shops are opened closed according to the convenience of the buyers.
The purchasing function has gained great importance and the desires, expectations and
preferences of consumers have been changing rapidly in the competitive markets due
to factors such as globalization and technological change recently. Changes in
technology bring new attitudes to buying products and services and to better
organization of the supply chain (Londhe, 2006).

4.2 Retail mix

To implement a retail strategy, management develops a retail mix that satisfies the need
of its target market better than of its competitors. The retail mix includes the decision
variables retailers use to satisfy customer needs and influence their purchase decisions.

Elements in the retail mix include the types of merchandise and services offered,
merchandise pricing, advertising and promotional programs, store design, merchandise
display, assistance to customers provided by salespeople, and convenience of the
store’s locations. (Kent, Tony, Ogenyj, Omar, Retailing 2003,434)

4.3 Growth of Retailing Chain Stores

Clarence Saunders developed the concept of self-service grocery chain store with his
“Piggly Wiggly” stores in Memphis Tennessee in the USA in 1961. It was a huge
success and later on he started to offer franchises of his store. Pretty soon some other
companies such as the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea company of Canada and US
followed the business in the year 1920 [1]. At present, there are many world renowned

7
superstores spread around the world serving billions of customers and making huge
profit of this business. To name a few of them, there are Wal-Mart, Safeway, SPAR,
ALDI, Netto, Lidl etc. Also in Bangladesh supermarkets have successfully made a
breakthrough in the urban lifestyle with the idea of “all essential commodities under one
roof.” From the concept of global retailers such as Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Sears, some
private organizations have established the retail chain store services in Bangladesh.
Rahimafrooz Superstores ltd. (RSL) was the first one to launch the first ever retail chain
in Bangladesh in the year 2001. In the meantime superstore market in Bangladesh has
proven itself as a highly competitive and unmerciful business place to get into but also
highly profitable business to do if you can play it right so did many such as “Shopno”
with their 70 stores around the country with 30 stores outside Dhaka while sharing the
dominance of Dhaka city with giant retail stores as Meena Bazar, Agora and Almas.

With the passage of time retail chain stores including small and big ones have been
expanded remarkably in Bangladesh as people are becoming time conscious and they
do not have enough time to spend for shopping. In the large cities of Bangladesh like
Dhaka, it is very difficult to move from one place to another place for shopping purposes
due to traffic jam. So, majority people want to shop all kinds of goods from a particular
departmental store at a time so that they can save their time, money and energy. Due to
high level of awareness, most of the educated customers are quality conscious and
service conscious. So they want to purchase the goods where they get the quality
products, better personnel services and hassle free environment.

4.4 Customer Value

Marketing-orientated companies attempt to create customer value in order to attract and
retain customers. Their aim is to deliver superior value to their target customers. In
doing so, they implement the marketing concept by meeting and exceeding customer
needs better than the competition. (David Jobber, Principles and Practice of Marketing,
1995, 11)

Attracting and retaining customers can be a difficult task. Customers often face a
bewildering array of products and services from which to choose. A customer buys from
the firm that offers the highest customer perceived value – the customer’s evaluation of
the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer to those
competing offers. (Armstrong/Kotler, Marketing: an introduction, 2005, 16).

8
 4.5 Customer perception
The definition of perception can be said as the process in which a person select,
arrange and interpret stimuli, these stimuli are filtered and adjusted to become one’s
own view of the world. Even though exposed to the same thing, in the same
environment, two persons will never experience the same. (See e.g. Schiffman and
Kanuk). We live in a world today where we daily are exposed to millions of different
stimuli; different smells, sounds, tastes, sights and textures. Our brain takes in and
processes only a small number of all these stimuli. (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard and
Hogg, 2006, 36)

The whole perception process is made up by three stages, the exposure stage, the
attention stage and the interpretation stage. The brain takes in the stimuli in the
attention stage and interprets the stimuli, according to our previous experiences and
desires, in the interpretation stage. Ultimately, these three stages form our perceptions.
(Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard and Hogg, 2006, 36).

It is only when the customers’ perceptions of the business, the products and the
services are known that you truly know whether or not the business is going in the right
direction. All interactions that occur between the customers and the business will
ultimately affect the customers’ view and image of the business. Excellent customer
service is far from enough, for example, if the store is located far from the customers
and on a place where there are no parking places outside these aspects will affect the
perceptions. Selling top class products is a prerequisite for many stores in order to keep
customers, but if the staff is unfriendly, the store will eventually start to lose its
customers. All what customers see, hear and experience is linked together and forms
their overall perception of the business, this is why it is essential for the case company,
Sisustus CASA, as well as for all businesses to know the customers perceptions.

The meaning of customer perception is most often used in the content of how
customers perceive the quality of the service they are offered. More widely speaking
customer perception is also the customers’ overall picture of the company, including
company image, expectations, external influences, service quality etc.

4.6 Customer Satisfaction

According to Hasemark and Albinsson (2004) cited in Singh (2006:1) “satisfaction is an
overall attitude towards a product provider or an emotional reaction to the difference
between what customers expect and what they actually receive regarding the fulfillment
of a need”.

9
Kotler (2000); Hoyer & MacInnis (2001) also define satisfaction as a person‟s feelings of
pleasure, excitement, delight or disappointment which results from comparing a
products perceived performance to his or her expectations.

Satisfaction means the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need or
expectation. Furthermore, Customer satisfaction can be a measure of how happy
customers are with the services and products of a supermarket. Keeping customers
happy is of tremendous benefit to companies. Satisfied customers are more likely to
stay loyal, consume more and are more likely to recommend their friends to the
business.

Ciavolino & Dahlgaard (2007) suggest that “customer satisfaction can be defined as the
overall evaluation of the service performances or utilization.” Customer satisfaction can
also be measured using some questions like, considering all your experience of
company X, how satisfied are you in general on a scale from completely satisfied to
dissatisfied? Another question could be to what degree did company X fulfill your
expectations? On a scale of much less than expected to much more than expected? (
Ryan et al 1995). According to Hoyer & MacInnis (2001) satisfaction can be associated
with feelings of acceptance, relief, excitement and delight.

Customer satisfaction can be achieved by improving service quality. Ciavolino &

Dahlgaard (2007) contend that service quality is the measure of service levels based o
the attributes of the core product. Such attributes include; Facility layout- display of
products, clean environment, clear labeling. Other attributes can be Location, Process -
queue management, waiting time, express checkouts, supermarket operation hours,
delivery time, additional services like parking, parent & baby facilities, and
loyalty/membership cards, Product- variety of groceries, durability, merchandise quality
and Merchandising.

4.7 Customer’s perception of service quality

Quality has been defined as the consumer’s overall impression of the relative inferiority
or superiority of the organization and its services (Zeithaml et al., 1990; Taylor and
Baker, 1994). Perceived service quality is an attitude of a consumer judgment on the
overall service. Perceived service quality results from a comparison of consumers’
expectations with their perceptions of the service actually delivered by supplier (Kangis
and Voukelatos, 1997) e.g. providing services which are not provided by others; positive
word of mouth to others about the service overall the customers are found to be
satisfied with services of the bank.

10
 5.0 STP Analysis

5.1 Segmentation
Shwapno’s target market is mainly the upper middle class, middle class and affluent
segments of Bangladeshi society. By leveraging Gemcon group’s extensive experience
in agriculture, Shwapno has focused extensive attention on providing their consumers
with high quality organically produced and sourced perishable products. It has defined
the market mostly on the basis of Demographic and Psychographic segmentation. Here
the combination of quality and price under various brand names offers value to the
consumers for their money. They are offering their product basically for the people who
prefer a convenient place for daily grocery shopping from where they can have their
work done.

People who want to buy products on the go come and buy a variety of necessities from
Shwapno. For the people who like to have day to day stuff at cheaper rate are mostly
welcome here. Elderly people who cannot move to lots of places at a time can easily
find there necessities here for example variety of food items, including organic products,
prepared foods and herbal products. Again, even though they want to sell their products
to the whole country, they specifically target the people of average income level. People
with distinctive mix of benefits are the main customers here. They charge much lower
than the regular price. They also believe that they are providing fresh products with
many more other advantages like clean, air conditioned place with carts etc.

5.2 Targeting
Income-sensitive marketing seeks to target business's services or products to
consumers of particular income and economic status. This strategy shapes the prices
Shwapno charge for the goods and services as well as the marketing campaign itself. It
has eighteen branches, including Khulna and Chittagong. Shwapno occupies a large
floor space on a single level and is situated near residential areas in Dhaka city in order
to be convenient to its target consumers. Its basic appeal is the availability of a broad
assortment of goods under a single roof at a moderate price. To maintain a profit,
Shwapno attempts to make up for the low margins with a high sales volume. Moreover it
also sells higher margin items.

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5.3 Positioning
The overall environment for Shwapno is changing rapidly from a product oriented
atmosphere to customer oriented atmosphere where emphasis is put on satisfying all of
the consumers’ needs. Overall image of Shwapno is not influenced by friendly
environment and comfort ability. Rather it depends on product quality, product variety,
branded products, high price, reasonable distance, outlet birthday, super saving offer,
special day offer, seasonal campaign, discount, membership cards, neat and
cleanliness, specious and fast shopping. Shwapno has also concentrated heavily on
providing consumers with greater convenience.

As a result, it has recently launched free home delivery service and ordering through the
internet in order to take advantage of the booming ecommerce business in Bangladesh.
In store communication and branding are other strong points of Shwapno. This retail
chain also places high emphasis on visual merchandising, in store placards and
banners to entice customers to purchase their products. Wet markets situated near
every neighborhood. Just like Shwapno, Agora too is struggling to turn a profit in this
market. Agora and Shwapno are performing dreadfully in comparison. However, both
this retail companies have advantages that make them near competitors.

6.0 Market Analysis

6.1 Market Share

According to the BSOA (Business Supermarkets Owners’ Association), currently there
are 121 supermarkets in the country. However, the industry is largely dominated by
three major players – Shwapno (59 Outlets), Agora (13 Outlets) and Meena Bazar (18
Outlets). Once a key competitor, Nandan, now holds just two stores.

In terms of distribution network and competitive prices, Swapno has entrenched itself as
the market leader, whereas, Agora and Meena Bazar are viewed as market leaders in
terms of quality and services.

12
With rapid urbanization, the industry is expected to grow by almost 15 times its current
size by 2021. Positive economic externalities such as generation of employment via
SMEs, higher food safety and security, price stability, and inclusive business
development are expected to accompany this growth.

6.2 SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is an examination of an organization’s internal strengths and
weaknesses, its opportunities for growth and improvement, and the threats the external
environment presents to its survival.

13
 STRENGTHS
• Good Inventory Management
System
• Focus on organic products
• They are able to respond very
quickly.
• They are able to give really good
customer care.
• Shwapno can change direction
quickly if we find that our marketing
is not working.
• They have low overheads, so we
can offer good value to customers.
WEAKNESS
• High operating costs
• Reliance on vendors to source
products
• They have a small staff, with a
shallow skills base in many areas.
• They are vulnerable to vital staff
being sick, and leaving.

OPPORTUNITY
• Changes in social patterns,
population profiles, lifestyle
changes, and so on.
• Our business sector is expanding,
with many future opportunities for
success.
• Government wants to encourage
local businesses.
• Their competitors may be slow to
adopt new technologies.
THREATS
• Developments in technology may
change this market beyond ability to
adapt.
• A small change in the focus of a large
competitor might wipe out any market
position Shwapno achieve.

6.3 BCG Matrix

The growth share matrix was developed by the Boston Consulting Group in the 1960s,
and went on to be one of the most popular strategic tools ever created. This was a time
when the conglomerate ruled, and the growth share matrix was a tool that allowed the
potentially unwieldy organizations to categories their business into an orderly two-by
two matrixes. The matrix categorized business on the market growth rate and the
businesses relative market share. Essentially, the growth share was a tool that
classified businesses into one of four categories and prescribed advice by these
categories. The advice was based on the dynamics of the learning curve.

A cash cow business is one which enjoys a high relative market share in an industry in
which the growth rate has slowed. Cash cows tend to require minimal investment and
generate free cash flows that can be invested in other businesses such as stars and
question marks. With the exception of low future growth prospects, cash cows are
beneficial to any business portfolio.

14
A star business is one with a high market share in a high growth market. As with cash
cows, star businesses are expected to have a lower cost structure than their lower
market share competitors.

A dog business is defined as one where the growth rate in the market is slow and the
relative market share is low compared to the leading competitor. Because of this low
share, such businesses are often expected to have a higher cost structure than industry
leaders.

A question mark business is seen as an opportunity. With a question mark business, it

is uncertain whether increasing market share will be obtained, turning the business into
a star, or the market will mature and slow, turning the business into a dog. As a result, it
is argued that the primary objective of such businesses should be to gain share rather
than maximize short-term profitability.

In terms of BCG Matrix theory, SHWAPNO is the star business retail store. SHWAPNO
has the most high growth rate and high market share among all retail chain stores of
Bangladesh.

15
 7.0 Overall Strategy

7.1 Product Portfolio

Products in SHWAPNO are separated into three master categories; Vegetable, Fruits,
Meat and Grains, Company Goods and Non Food divergence. The company has tens
of thousands of stock keeping units in their portfolio. To make sense of all of these
SKUs, each article has its own unique number and description. Moreover, each master
category is further subdivided into category, subcategory and type category. These
subdivisions great aid the decision making of management and help them to make
sense of thousands of disparate SKUs.

7.1.1 Special and imported products of shwapno

Dr Sajjad Zohir, director of the Economic Research Group said, “Many Bangladeshis
have been exposed to outside tastes if they have been abroad, and some prefer
supermarkets if they do not like too much bargaining.” He also believes supermarkets
have an emerging social function, “It’s a place where couples can spend time together
for recreation.”

However while local products are quite reasonably priced, the cost of imported items in
Bangladeshi supermarkets is exceptionally high, even by international standards.

Imported Fruits at shwapno Superstore in Dhaka, Bangladesh

16
 Cornflakes and Mueslis at shwapno Superstore in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Imported Dairy Products at Shwapno Superstore in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Imported Canned Food at shwapno Superstore in Dhaka, Bangladesh

7.2 Store Location

7.2.1 Outlets

17
SHWAPNO outlets are entirely operated by ACI logistics. SHWAPNO outlets are built
on rented places. This handicap makes it very difficult to select ideal locations to build
outlets. SHWAPNO is the largest retail company in Bangladesh currently holding a
share of 35% of the retail industry. Inaugurated in 2008, SHWAPNO now has over 46
outlets and 1600 employees spread across the country.

Compare to other organization that is involve with super shop business like Agora,
Meena Bazar Shwapno is in first position in every aspect. Shwapno has 47 outlets all
over 17.

Bangladesh, and day by day the no. of outlets is increasing. Market share of Shwapno
is 35% in modern retail system.

The biggest advantage of Shwapno is that, different age and different income group
people are the target people of Shwapno that is the main uniqueness as Shwapno.

7.2.2 Decoration

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Decorations of Shwapno outlets are different than any other super store. Shwapno
always try to decorate their outlet in a different way to attract the customers then their
competitors. Like- they decorate their new outlet with balloons and much colorful
materials.

7.3 Customer Membership Card

Shwapno Loyalty Card” Is a token gift to a customer for entering into the Shwapno
family. The purpose of Shwapno Loyalty Program is to give a justified reason to our
customers for visiting our outlets and retain with us for lifetime.

19
 7.3.1 Reasons

To make the shopping experience more special by providing better customize service.
For our Privilege Members.

7.3.2 Types Of Loyalty Program

Currently we have 2 types of Loyalty program-

• Walk In Loyalty Program.

• Corporate Loyalty Program.

7.3.4 Walk in Loyalty Program

• Walk in Loyalty Program is for the customers who enroll in the outlet by shopping
minimum Tk2000 worth products.
• Walk in members will get their membership card from the outlet.

7.3.5 Corporate members

• Corporate Loyalty Program is a special Program only for Corporate Houses.

• Under this program a total employees of a particular corporate house becomes our
member.

7.3.6 How to become a Member of Shwapno

A customer can be a member of ‘Shwapno’ by following these simple steps:

Note: A member can enjoy the benefit of membership after 24 hours of his/her
enrolment

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 ❖ Point accumulation System for Walk-in / Regular Member

Instant 20 points for every new

walk-in/ regular member

❖ Point accumulation System for Corporate Member

Member Point Never Expires!!

7.3.7 Terms& Conditions

➢ Members will accumulate point in each purchase based on their basket size.
➢ After becoming member you will acquire 1 point for every 100 Taka basket.
➢ Once a member collected 100 points and walk-in member will get the discount of
75 Taka. A Corporate member will get 100 Taka discount from his 100 point.
➢ Since Shwapno Loyalty Card is a family card it can be used any member of a
family.
➢ For our members we customized our services in all nationwide Shwapno outlets.
➢ One member can accumulate and redeem his/her points in any of our outlets.
➢ First time card is Free but for lost card, a member has to pay Tk 50 as the card
re-processing charge.

7.4 Pricing Strategy

Compare to other super shop price of the products in Shwapno is less. The main reason
is that Shwapno usually collect their products directly from whole seller and another
important reason is VAT .Shwapno usually pays the government VAT themselves for

21
that reason they take less price from the customers. Lower price than regular market is
the most competitive advantage for Shwapno.

Shwapno is constantly working to bring better value, quality and service to its customers
by providing the highest grade products at the best prices. The opening of our newest
outlet will not only make the lives of residents and office-goers in the area more
convenient, but also bring them the higher standards that we pride ourselves for.

7.5 Promotional Strategy

Promotional mix is basically a combination promotional tool used for specific product or
a group of product. Elements of promotional mix include Advertising, Direct marketing,
Internet marketing, Sales promotion, Publicity, Personal selling. SHWAPNO Lifestyle
mainly uses Advertising, Internet Marketing and Sales promotion.

7.5.1 Advertising
The advertisement basically informs the consumer about qualities and price of good and
this makes purchasing easy for the consumers. SHWAPNO mainly use newspaper and
bill board as their advertising tools. SHWAPNO basically thought that by regular
advertising they can sell their products directly to the middlemen’s which actually
eliminate middlemen charges. Which is actually ensures higher profit and lower prices
to the consumers. Another reasons for advertising is to attract consumers by the quality
of the products that are advised. If the consumers are convinced that the quality is the
same that is advertised, they continue buying. SHWAPNO lifestyle always concern
about their qualities and they always try to provide what they promised as they have
their own skilled designers and production house.

22
Promotional activity of Shwapno is totally different from competitors. From the above
picture we can see a unique promotional concept which is recently made by Shwapno.
Shwapno always tries to connect with their customers with different occasion. So they
always make different advertisement based on different occasion. From their unique
advertisement it is highly noticeable.

Billboard and newspaper helps the consumer to save time. As the consumer has
already been the consumer is not required to spend time in getting the products.
SHWAPNO advertisement policy basically provides knowledge about the new designs
of the commodities to consumers and thus consumers consume those products and
increase their lifestyle. SHWAPNO lifestyle has started their advertising from last
Pahela Boisakh for their own design. They did photo-shoot at Savar for pohela boisakh
and at Bandarban for Eid Ul Fitre in very beautiful location. SHWAPNO Art manager
thought that this location will match with the cloths design for the bill board. Because of
the bill board SHWAPNO got huge response from the customers. After using bill board
Shwapno able to sell their punjabi and salwar kameez got double than ever before.
Billboard actually played image creator role. Shwapno was successful to hit on that part
very efficiently.

SHWAPNO initially thought about only billboard but later they went for catalog for their
lifestyle too. From the last Eid-Ul-Fitre SHWAPNO started catalog promotion. Catalog
was introduced mainly for the in house promotion. Catalog will basically help customer
to save their time by having look at a glance at the product picture with price quotation.
After starting catalog promotion it gave huge sales as it became so popular among
customers.

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SHWAPNO started to give newspaper advertisement from the last pohela boishak.
Newspaper ad also got huge response from the customer. SHWAPNO gave ad to
Prothom-Alo newspaper initially. The attractive picture by SHWAPNO model got good
customer focus.

Those numbers make one thing crystal clear television advertising is still the most
pervasive and powerful tool for reaching our consumers. For small businesses,
however, the barriers to using TV ads can be daunting; airtime can be very expensive,
and good commercials are difficult and costly to create. As SHWAPNO have already
gone for TVC ad from last Eid Ul Fitre and got good response from the customer. Later
on they have also decided to do TV ad once again for the coming Eid Ul Azha.

As there is some disadvantage of advertisement which SHWAPNO had to face.

Advertisement carries a big expenditure which is actually increase price of the product.
Last Eid Ul Fitr SHWAPNO had to face this problem because of the over price of their
Punjabi and Salwar kameez. They did photo shot for their Punjabi and salwar kameez
for the bill board, catalog and newspaper which was very costly. As a result they had to
increase their product price to balance their cost. Another problem rise when customer
bought Punjabi but couldn’t match what they saw in the advertisement. It actually
created negative impression on their brand image.

7.5.2 Sales Promotion

Sales promotion is basically marketing technique that attract customer to take a specific
action such as make purchase. Example of sales promotion may include coupons, free
trial periods and discounts. Recently SHWAPNO lifestyle is going to arrange a
clearance sales event from 18th September, 2014 where they will offer up to 80%
discount for the customers. This clearing sale is mainly arranging to clear the old stock
and also to engage customers for repeat consumes. For this discount offer SHWAPNO
makes some extra promotional tools to know the people their offerings. They are going
to pestering some selected areas. Initially they thought about postering

but later on they decided to for leaflet. Poster can create cheap impression upon
customer. They arrange 24 banners for their clearance event. For each outlet they
arrange two banners for their outlet. Then they make some dangler to hang in the outlet.
Dangler will basically make to enhance the decoration and to give a bit excitement
among customer regarding the clearance sale. They also made a plan to make some
colorful t-shirt for their sales person. These t-shirts will be printed with discount offer
package. These colorful t-shirts will catch the customer’s attention which can

24
manipulate for the purchase. SHWAPNO mainly doing this sales promotion event to be
unique than their competitors, so that customer can recognize or identify where to go.

7.5.3 Internet Marketing

The Internet’s dominant role in our lives means that it has become more than just an
optional enhancement to the existing plans of effective marketing campaigns. Online
branding and marketing strategies are now mandatory for the exposure and success of
any organization. Internet marketing is important because it align with the way
consumers make purchasing decisions. Internet marketing enables you to build
relations with customers and prospects through regular, low-cost personalized
communication, reflecting the move away from mass marketing. Internet marketing
enable us to be open for business around the clock without worrying about worrying
about store opening hours or overtime payments for staff. SHWAPNO mainly use social
networking site facebook. They have their own facebook page. They upload all the
photo shoot pictures, packages and offerings in their facebook page. So that customer
can choose their products from their house through social networking site. Catalogs are
also given in the facebook page. From the catalog customer can see price and size
details which will help them to select product within their budget. Marketing products on
the internet costs less than marketing them through a physical retail outlet.

7.5.4 Public Relation

Public relations have the power to reach a large audience, giving your business the
platform it needs to really shine and allows you to attach credibility to any product or
company. Consumers today are more cautious when spending. That’s why having
credibility is so essential to a successful business. Because PR and advertising are very
different things, consumers are likely to give credibility to your business when they see it
mentioned in the media compared to when they see your ads or billboards. Studies
show that PR has 7 times more credibility among consumers than advertising.
SHWAPNO did public relation marketing for their Malibagh outlet where they spread
their space for only lifestyle segment.

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 7.5.5 Direct marketing
Direct marketing is about making direct contact with existing and potential customers to
promote your products or services. Unlike media advertising, it enables you to target
particular people with a personalized message. Direct marketing can be cost effective
and extremely powerful at generating sales, so it is ideal for small businesses. Direct
marketing uses a variety of different methods. Direct mail, mail shots and leafleting are
widespread, and other forms of direct and integrated communication are growing in
popularity. Telephone marketing, mobile marketing, email and texting offer more
opportunities to reach the target market. As SHWAPNO is going to make Eid clearance
event where they have arrange 70,000pcs leaflet for the customers which will enables
them to target particular people with a personalized message.

7.5.6 Personal Selling

SHWAPNO doesn’t go for personal selling tools as they think that its customer reach is
limited through personal sales. As a result they think it will need extended time period to
create product awareness. Particularly if you don’t use other forms of advertising sales
representative have to cover up one region or place at a time. SHWAPNO thought that
as a sales representative you can only talk to twenty five potential customers per day
and put together 3-5 presentation. Sometime personal selling is in addition costly,
particularly when bearing in mind the sales representative salary, bonus, commission as
well as travel time.

7.5.7 Strategy to Introduce New Designs in the Lifestyle Category

Management at SHWAPNO saw the huge impact the Non Food category had on sales
and immediately went to the drawing board to improve the category. SHWAPNO‟s initial
launch was a disaster which plagues the company to this day. The brand image of

26
SHWAPNO has taken a blow from which it is yet to recover. Introducing new designs
and products manufactured by SHWAPNO was one way the company sought to
improve sales and improve the brand image of SHWAPNO.

New designers were hired from prominent design houses of Bangladesh and the
company put substantial effort to promote SHWAPNO‟s new brand in the lifestyle
category which came to be known as SHWAPNO Life. Initially, the designers focused
on creating ladies clothing, but now, SHWAPNO life encompasses products for women,
male and children. SHWAPNO‟s designers continually churn out new designs which
have captured the imagination of the Bangladeshi public. SHWAPNO life currently is the
second highest selling brand in the market after Aarong. This miraculous achievement
was made possible by the huge reach afforded by SHWAPNO‟s outlets and the intense
marketing campaign in the form of billboards, TVCs that served to increase the brand
awareness and recognition of SHWAPNO.

It should come as no surprise then that Lifestyle is the most important category in the
Non Food divergence master category and constitutes the largest segment of revenue
in this master category. 58% of the sales in the Non-Food master category are
composed of the Lifestyle category. SHWAPNO life brand has served to improve the
brand image of SHWAPNO immensely. It will take time to banish the image of the past,
but SHWAPNO is well on its way to becoming one of the most recognized brands in the
country.

Mr Sabbir Hasan Nasir who was previously the CEO of Otobi has extensive and
unmatched experience in the furniture industry. He used his expertise to introduce a
new furniture brand, SHWAPNO Home to enhance the shopping experience and
convenience of consumers shopping at SHWAPNO. This new brand has had erratic
sales since its inception. Furniture is a high involvement and high priced product
category. Furniture industry is riddled with competitors which makes it extremely hard to
compete in this industry. Furniture category has huge potential to increase the revenues
of SHWAPNO. Sale of single furniture in an outlet can immensely improve the outlet‟s
monthly financial performance. SHWAPNO is trying to increase convenience of its
consumers by increasing the number and variety of products available at SHWAPNO
outlets. SHWAPNO‟s furniture are moderately priced which appeals to its target market.
In keeping with its brand identity, SHWAPNO strives to introduce furniture that is trendy,
but, yet highly functional.

27
 7.6 Customer Service
Good Customer service in a retail store goes far beyond making that one sale to that
one customer. Shwapno develop customer-friendly policies, train their employees to
provide excellent customer service skills. They also are creating customer loyalty,
dealing with disgruntled customers and other customer relation advice.

8.0 Inventory Management

The present ordering and inventory system requires each of SHWAPNO‟s outlets to
send a sales transfer order based on present days sales to the head office. The
procurement department at the head office then compiles all the demand data from the
outlets and instructs the field procurement teams to purchase the demanded products
from the suppliers. Procurement teams, after purchasing all the required products,
deliver them to SHWAPNO‟s three distribution centers located at strategic positions
across Bangladesh. The management at the distribution center in turn generates and
provides a Goods Received note to the procurement department acknowledging the
transfer of goods. From this point on, the distribution centers sort the products
according to each outlet’s demand as presented by the sales transfer order.

After sorting the products according to outlet demand, the distribution centers deliver
the demanded products to all SHWAPNO outlets. Lastly, each outlet generates and
delivers a Goods Received note to the relevant distribution center acknowledging the
receipt of goods.

SHWAPNO recently has embarked on implementing various businesses and marketing

strategies for each of its master categories. In the VFMG master category, SHWAPNO
has introduced live chicken and live fish products and concentrated on providing
consumers with formalin free products.

In the Non- Food Divergence category, SHWAPNO has introduced products designed
by its own design team, products that can be purchased in interest free installments and
lastly, SHWAPNO has also introduced furniture products to boost sales.

Strategies in the company goods category are limited mainly with increasing gross
profit, improving space utilization, introducing new products and designing cross
promotions with other categories.

SHWAPNO has a valuable business prospect, but it needs to overcome many obstacles
to fortify its place in the industry. It has entered too many unrelated markets without

28
proper expertise and preparation, it struggles with high employee turnover, its
management information system is in shambles, it is operating at a loss due to
increasingly compounding interest payments to banks for the funds acquired during its
initial expansion phase, it operates without standardized business process, its
employees often lack job descriptions, it suffers from system and real time stock
mismatch, it has started many new product categories that are lacking in product depth
and product line, and lastly it suffers from poor image in the market even though the
present quality of service offered by the company is way above industry standards.
SHWAPNO can truly become a world class organization if it overcomes all these
hurdles in the near future. However, in terms of revenue, ACI Logistics SHWAPNO
currently holds third position behind ACI pharmaceuticals and ACI consumer brands.

9.0 Competitor Analysis

Contrary to popular belief, SHWAPNO’s main adversaries are not Meena Bazaar and
Agora, but wet markets situated near every neighborhood. Just like SHWAPNO, Agora
and Meena bazaar are struggling to turn a profit in this market. Agora and Meena
bazaar are performing atrociously in comparison. However, both this retail companies
have advantages that make them near competitors to SHWAPNO.

9.1 Meena Bazaar

Meena bazar is a part of the larger Gemcon which is one of the largest conglomerates
in the country. Gemcon group is mostly famous for its Kazi tea and Bellissimo ice cream
brands. Meena Bazaar has 18 outlets spread across Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna.
(Bazaar, 2014).

Meena Bazaar’s target market is mainly the upper middle class, middle class and
affluent segments of Bangladeshi society. By leveraging Gemcon group’s extensive
experience in agriculture, Meena Bazaar has focused extensive attention on providing
their consumers with high quality organically produced and sourced perishable
products. Meena Bazaar has also concentrated heavily on providing consumers with
greater convenience. As a result, it has recently launched free home delivery service
and ordering through the internet in order to take advantage of the booming ecommerce
business in Bangladesh. In store communication and branding are other strong points of
Meena Bazaar. This retail chain places high emphasis on visual merchandising, in store
placards and banners to entice customers to purchase their products. Their branding

29
also succeeds in providing a consistent image of the brand. Lastly, Meena Bazaar has a
very efficient inventory management system which allows it to keep system and real
time stock mismatch to a minimum.

Meena Bazaar’s operations in the retail industry are fraught with difficulties irrespective
of its advantages mentioned in the previous operation. According to research conducted
by ACI logistics research team, Meena bazaar is operating at a steep loss, with only 3
of its outlets making operating profits. The company’s fixed costs are enormous. Also,
since they rely on vendors to deliver all their perishables (excluding organic products)
and protein products, quality control for these categories become extremely difficult.
Consumers of their products have often complained about the quality and the freshness
of their products.

9.2 Agora
Agora is an initiative of the renowned Rahim-afrooz group that first introduced the
people of Bangladesh to the concept of super market retail stores back in 2001. Agora
has around 13 outlets spread across Dhaka and Chittagong. Since they have had a
long established presence in the market, consumers usually relate super market
shopping to Agora. Moreover, the enviable reputation for integrity, honesty and trust
enjoyed by Rahim-afrooz in Bangladeshi society encourages to people to shop at
Agora. In terms of product displays in their outlets, Agora is way ahead of their
competitors. In the retail industry, proper display of products is vitally important to
ensure sales. Agora’s in store communications are quite advanced when compared to
what SHWAPNO usually implements. Lastly, Agora’s greatest advantage is that it has
developed processes in a structured manner, which has enabled them to develop
effective key performance indicators for success in the industry.

Agora was a relative latecomer in implementing enterprise resource planning software.

This lack of ERP has had an adverse impact on their performance. Even though, Agora
has had the longest presence in the market, they have failed to attain the share of the
market as large as SHWAPNO‟s. Similar to Meena Bazaar, Agora is also highly
dependent on vendors for their perishable and protein products. Thus, similarly, Agora
also has a hard time maintaining the quality of some of their products. The inventory
management system at Agora is also inefficient. System stock and real stock mismatch
vary widely, which hinders management from making effective decisions.

30
 9.3 Niche Market Competitors
Other than Meena Bazaar and Agora, all the other retail market competitors in the
industry serve niche segments.

Lavender, Dhali, Unimart and Dedar are all small players in the market. These retail
firms concentrate on providing consumers with wide assortments of imported products
at high prices. Their business models depend on selling high margin items. Local
products in these stores are rarely highlighted. Most of the people who come to these
stores hail from affluent areas of Dhaka city. Another strategy these companies use is to
fill their stores with an abundance of products to increase sales. Given their high
emphasis on serving high end consumers with exotic and expensive needs, these
stores usually lack properly developed perishables, commodities and protein
assortments. However, these stores enjoy high popularity and are operating with very
healthy profits.

10.0 Research Strategy

Methodology describes the manner in which data is collected, analyzed and interpreted.
The data that will present in this paper would collect from primary and secondary data
source. The sources are mentioned below:

10.1 Primary Data Source

In this report, the primary data source would be raw data gathering from own
observation. The primary data source that will be used in this report is data obtained
through practical involvement with interviews of related consumers and respondents.

10.2 Secondary Data Source

Secondary data includes reviewing articles and internet for the completion of the
organizational part. To give the report a better look, secondary data is also collected
from different brochures, newspapers and consultation and some interview sessions.

10.0 Research Findings

10.1 Demographic Findings

31
The demographic analysis will indicate the amount of male and female took part in the
data collection process and what part of the population were male and female is
analyzed through the demographic analysis. Apart from the gender aspects such as the
education, age limit, profession etc. are also analyzed in the demographic analysis to
give better information about the finding

❖ Proportionate amount of male and female:

Male 19 38%
Female 31 62%
Total 50 100%
Participant

Here the table and graph indicates that most of the respondents were the female which
was about 62% of the respondents in the survey. It may indicate the more amounts of
female consumers of Shwapno Superstore than males.

❖ Variation in the age limit of respondents:

Age Frequency Percentage

Below 24 8 16%
25-40 35 70%
40-55 5 10%
55 And Above 2 4%
Total 100 100%

The age variation of the respondents’ shows the most of the people on which the survey
was conducted are middle aged (25-40). The table and graph shows that about 70% of
the respondents are middle aged and thus Shwapno has a huge pool of middle aged
consumers.

32
 120
100
80
60 Frequency
40
Percentage
20
0
Below 25-40 40-55 55 And Total
24 Above

10.2 Qualitative Findings

❖ When the respondents were asked about the store environment of the
Shwapno superstore they visit regularly the customer of Shwapno stated that the
store environment they face is quite soothing and is facilitating to have a better
customer experience. Most of the respondents who visited Shwapno were of the
similar answer that they found the store environment of the organization to be
user friendly and had the capability to offer better customer experience.

❖ About the environment of the Shwapno superstore a group among the customers
of Shwapno stated that the store environment is the arrangement of different type
of products in different section. It enables the customer to find out the products
they are looking for. Along with that around another group of customer who
visited Shwapno replied that they prefer the standardization process of the
products that makes it easier for them to find the products and other respondents
gave generalized answer which was not specific.

❖ So, from the analysis regarding the store environment it can be said that the
overall environment of the stores are facilitating towards customer purchase and
the process and the features of the store environment is able to instigate
customer buying decision and so on.

❖ The design of the store also had diverse opinion in case of three of the
organizations. For example a group of respondents' of Shwapno stated that the
store design is decorative and is easy and adequate in nature. Another group
added that the store should be open to standardization of the store design.

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 ❖ The regularity of the customers were also measured as a group of customer of
Shwapno, some consumers stated that they tend to visit the store due to the
loyalty that has been created over the years and also the location is convenient
with them.

❖ Most of the respondents stated that they mostly buys foods, cloths, and cosmetic
products from Shwapno superstore.

❖ From data analysis we have found that most customers buy from Shwapno
because of lower price and better quality of products.

❖ We found that some customer has complain about the slow work execution of the
employees of Shwapno.

❖ From the respondents replies we found that most customers suggest to open
online shopping for the products of Shwapno.

So from the data analysis we will recommend necessary recommendations for the
development of Shwapno superstore.

11.0 Recommendation

➢ Faster Work Execution: To get proper success in any particular work, faster
work execution is needed to a great extent. If the execution gets faster then it
will be very profitable for the company.
➢ More Potential Corporate Visit: Sales officer should visit more corporate
offices to get the potential clients.
➢ Increase Response in E-mail: To expect the work to be done in time and share
information among all the employees, quick response towards the mail has to be
increased and all the personnel should open the mail link the whole day and has
to go through them often.
➢ Following of Company’s Written Policy: All the decision should be made
based on the company policy. If that is done and problem occurs in the future
then we can always depend on the company policy.

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➢ Responsiveness: If the employees find themselves more serious and focused
towards work then it will be more profitable for them as well as for the
organization.
➢ Update Software: If the software is updated, the work can be completed in a
faster way.
➢ More Marketing: The Company’s name has been changed few months ago, so
it is important to do proper marketing. Immediately the company should create a
new logo of the company.
➢ Filling up Recent Vacancy: The sales dept. should go for recruitment process
for the vacancy position in order to make work effective.

➢ People in Bangladesh basically follow renowned actor or actresses as fashion

trend. Whereas, SHWAPNO introduced new faces to their advertisement in
billboards. Rather doing that SHWAPNO should introduce popular character for
their billboard advertising modeling. It will help them to grab a new customer
base.

➢ There are some disadvantages of sales promotion as it makes customers and

traders more price sensitive not only for the promoted brands but also for other
brands as well in the same product category. Consumers wait for the promotion
deals to be announced and then purchase the product. As from the 18th
September SHWAPNO discount offer can create negative impression upon
customers. Customer may think that either the product is lower category or
outdated. Some customer may be used to with discount offer while they may
always wait for discount offer. So discount offer should always give once a year
not more than that. Otherwise customer may use to with these offers.

➢ Online shopping is considered to be a very helpful way of buying products

through the internet especially during the holidays. Nowadays, and with the
help of the new technology and the support of the internet, people from all
around the world started to purchase items online by simply sitting in their
homes. SHWAPNO can also open online store so that people can give order
for purchase in sitting home. In our country there are exists some online store
and they are doing very good business through online sell for example:
Kaymu.Com, Balazza fashions etc.

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 ➢ Direct marketing has some disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages is
demand from customers to end unwanted contact from companies. Customers
don’t expect spam or junk mail on daily basis. Customer also doesn’t expect
Telemarketing as it is also unwanted communication for them. That is why
SHWAPNO didn’t go for any mail related direct marketing promotion for their
lifestyle.

12.0 Conclusion

Initially during its inception, SHWAPNO had a rocky start. Only under the stellar and
inspiring leadership of the current Executive Director Sabbir Hasan Nasir has
SHWAPNO been making inroads to realizing the dreams and aspirations of its
founders.

Much of SHWAPNO recent success rests with the innovative business strategies
employed by the company. The company entered the industry much later than its main
rivals and even with this handicap they have been able to capture by far the largest
market share (35%). The retail industry is undergoing massive changes. SHWAPNO
needs to remain dynamic to secure its present dominance in the market into the future.
However, SHWAPNO faces many challenges in the near future. Specially they big plan
for their lifestyle products as it is giving highest Gp then other category. Though they are
doing some promotional activities for lifestyle but they should come up with even more
ideas for their promotional mix.

If SHWAPNO is able to overcome all the difficulties mentioned above, there is no doubt
that within a short period time, the company will have insurmountable advantages in the
market. The only threats to SHWAPNO dominance in the future will come from foreign
retailers trying to encroach on the Bangladeshi market.

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13.0 References

13.1 Website Links

➢ http://shwapnobd.blogspot.com/p/membership.html#top
➢ http://prnewsbd.com/6449/new-shwapno-outlet-opened-in-banani/
➢ http://lightcastlebd.com/blog/2015/02/market-insight-supermarket-industry-
bangladesh
➢ http://www.academia.edu/9757768/Segmentation_Targeting_and_Positioning_str
ategies
➢ http://www.aci-bd.com/sub_logistics.php
➢ https://www.facebook.com/AciLogisticsShwapno
➢ http://www.acilogistics.com/
➢ https://www.facebook.com/Shwapno.ACILL
➢ http://www.online-dhaka.com/1_8_17507_0-agora-bd-super-shop-dhaka-city.html
➢ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Agora/115244298555419

13.2 Books & Journals

➢ Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, “Principles of Marketing”, 12th Edition.
➢ Appelbaum, Robert, Dishing It Out: In Search of the Restaurant Experience
(London: Reaktion, 2011).
➢ Andaleeb, Syed Saad, and Carolyn Conway. "Customer Satisfaction in the
Restaurant Industry: An Examination of the Transaction-specific Model." Thesis.
Sam and Irene Black School of Business, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College,
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, 2006. Print.
➢ Cronin, J. and Taylor, S. (1992), “Measuring service quality: a reexamination and
extension”, Journal of Marketing, Vol.56, July, pp. 55-68.
➢ "Family style". Dictionary.com (Unabridged). Retrieved 2nd August 2012.
➢ Lewis, R.C. and Shoemaker, S. (1997), “Price-sensitivity measurement: a tool for
the hospitality industry”, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly,
Vol. 38, April, pp. 44-7
➢ Datta, PR 2010, ‘An Examination into Customer Relationship Marketing and
Customer Retention in Grocery food retailing in Bangladesh: Proposed Research
Agenda’, International Trade & Academic Research Conference (ITARC),
London.
➢ Hussain SS & Ara F 2004, ‘Bangladesh Retail Food Sector Report 2004’, Global
Agriculture Information Network (GAIN), Report No. BG4001, USDA Foreign
Agricultural Service, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, India.

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14.0 Appendix

(Development of chain shop retailing in Bangladesh: A case study on SHWAPNO)

Dear participant,

A warm welcome goes to you at the beginning for being cooperative

with us. We are the students of Jagannath University, Department of Marketing and we
are conducting a Research on SHWAPNO Superstore. We are conducting this
interview as a partial requirement for our report making and we ensure you that all the
data given by you will be held confidential and will be used only for academic purpose.
We will be thankful to you for this cooperation.

Section-1: Demographics Analysis

1. Name (Optional):_____________

2. Gender:

 Male
 Female
3. Age:

 Below 24
 25-40
 40-55
 55 And Above
4. Educational background:

 Primary
 High school
 College
 Graduation
If others specify: ---------------------------

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5. Occupation:

 Student
 Service holder
 Business
 Others (Please specify)……………

6. Family income:

 Below 20000
 20000-39000
 40000-59000
 60000-79000
 above 80000

7. Phone No (Optional):_____________

Section-2: Survey Questionnaire

1) Have you made any purchase from Shwapno superstore yet?

 Yes
 No
 No answer

2) Frequency of visiting Shwapno branch per month?

 Less than 1
 1 to 3 times
 3 to 8 times
 8 to 12 times
 Above 12 times

3) What kind of products actually you are purchased from Shwapno super shop?

 Clothing (Fashion house/Boutique)

 Accessories
 Foods
 Cosmetics

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  Gift items
 Others (Please specify)……………

4) What is main reason that you typically visit Shwapno outlet?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………

5) Do you like the promotional activities of Shwapno?

 Yes
 No

6) Do you think that Shwapno is good enough for shopping?

 Yes
 No

7) In your opinion, which one of these two is more beneficial?

 The traditional approach

 Modern retail business approach

8) What are the core advantages you are receiving from Shwapno?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

9) What are the drawbacks of Shwapno?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

10) Do you think that Shwapno have a bright prospect in near future in Bangladesh?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

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