Supermarkets seek government support for sustainable growth

Supermarkets seek government support for sustainable growth

Supermarkets seek Government Support for Sustainable Growth:

For the supermarket industry in Bangladesh to prosper, analysts say there needs to be sufficient policy assistance and a level-playing field.

They also emphasized the need for a value-added tax (VAT)/tax solution.

They were speaking during a roundtable on December 6 in the capital titled “Ensuring Sustainable Growth in Supermarket Industry” organized by Dhaka Tribune, in association with Meena Bazar.

The event was chaired by Reaz Ahmad, executive editor of the Dhaka Tribune.

Kazi Inam Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association, said that the consumers must pay VAT of 5%, which rose from 1.5% in multiple phases.

 

Kazi Inam Ahmed

 

Kazi Inam Ahmed:

‘The share of supermarkets still 2% of total retail sales for the past 20 years but have huge potential to unleash’ – Kazi Inam Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association

The consumer does not pay VAT while purchasing goods from the open market, which is a factor in the supermarkets’ competitiveness.

“The main objective of our supermarket business is to provide consumers with a shopping experience in a beautiful and safe environment where food, fresh fruits and vegetables can be found under one roof, but people don’t want to go to supermarkets because of the extra VAT,” he said.

 

Reaz Ahmad

Reaz Ahmad:

‘It will not be unusual to have at least 10,000 supermarkets in Bangladesh compared to the country’s population if they get proper support’ – Reaz Ahmad, executive editor at Dhaka Tribune

Reaz Ahmad, the executive editor at Dhaka Tribune, said that over the past two decades, the supermarket has reached the stage it is today due to the sincerity of the entrepreneurs and also become highly appreciated at the consumer level.

“The share of supermarkets is still 2% of total retail sales for the past 20 years but has huge potential to unleash,” he said.

Nusrat Jabeen Banu, additional commerce secretary, said that the Ministry of Agriculture has the Agricultural Marketing Act which mentioned how to manage the supermarket and contract firm.

 

Nusrat Jabeen Banu

Nusrat Jabeen Banu:

‘Supermarkets should conduct business by maintaining ethics and goodwill as the consumers always prefer safe and secured products with fair price’ – Nusrat Jabeen Banu, additional commerce secretary

“We are ready to give adequate support to grow the sector. If the supermarket authority provides us with their demands, problems, and specific support in writing, surely, we will consider them with high priority,” she added.

AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general at the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection, said that Bangladesh is a country of 170 million people and its per capita income range was also growing and considering that, the contribution of supermarkets is still insignificant, he added.

 

AHM Shafiquzzaman

AHM Shafiquzzaman:

‘Supermarkets should inform consumers about details of the importers, retail price, and Customs information regarding imported products’ – AHM Shafiquzzaman, DG of Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection

The primary reason for this is the lack of trust and there are also differences in the prices between supermarkets and open markets.

Md Reazul Haque, deputy director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), said: “Our suggestion to the supermarket owners is to keep following these things; mandatory licenses of 229 products, BSTI certificate and the information of importers if the products are imported, price tags and to check if BSTI logo is there or not.”

 

Md Reazul Haque

Md Reazul Haque:

‘Our suggestion to supermarket owners is to maintain mandatory licenses of 229 products, BSTI certificate, info of importers if products are imported, price tags and check if BSTI logo is there or not’ Md Reazul Haque Deputy Director at Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI)

Md Selim Reza, CEO, Dhaka North City Corporation, said: “There is an issue of trust.

 

Md Selim Reza

Md Selim Reza:

‘There is an issue of trust. However, price variation is very normal in the economic system of our country because maintaining ethics is the main challenge here’ – Md Selim Reza CEO of Dhaka North City CorporationMostak Hasan Md Iftekhar, founding chairman and general secretary of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said that 5% extra VAT for consumers is discriminatory.

 

Mostak Hasan Md Iftekhar

Mostak Hasan Md Iftekhar:

‘There are many regulations to ensure food safety in Bangladesh, but their proper coordination has not yet been possible’ Mostak Hasan Md Iftekhar, Founder chairman and GS, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority

Md Amin Helaly, vice-president of FBCCI, said that the supermarket is a new addition to the business sector and policymakers should take initiative to create more opportunities in this sector.

 

Md Amin Helaly

Md Amin Helaly:

‘The sector should move forward with its vision by adapting the challenges and building trusts. FBCCI is always ready to support this sector’ – Md Amin Helaly, vice president at FBCCIMalik Talha Islam Bari, director of Unimart, said that the industry can rise to the top if gets policy support and supermarkets will sure to grow if they get that.
Malik Talha Islam Bari

Malik Talha Islam Bari:

‘An industry can rise to the top if gets policy support and supermarkets will sure to grow if they get that’ – Malik Talha Islam Bari, director of Unimart

Khandaker Nur-E-Burhan, chief operating officer (COO) of Agora Limited said: “One of the challenges is that we are not able to balance between revenue, profit margin, and operational cost as 5% VAT is applicable on nearly 60%-65% of our products for which we can’t offer consumers a level playing field,” he added.

 

Khandaker Nur-E-Burhan

Khandaker Nur-E-Burhan:

‘One of the challenges is that we are not able to balance between revenue, profit margin, and operational cost as 5% VAT is applicable on nearly 60%-65% of our products’ Khandaker Nur-E-Burhan COO of Agora Ltd

Mahadi Faisal, head of marketing, Shwapno (ACI Logistics Ltd), said that the size of the retail business is Tk325,000 crore with around 1.8 million shops.

 

Mahadi Faisal

Mahadi Faisal:

The media can promote this sector more prominently’ Mahadi Faisal, head of marketing, Shwapno (ACI Logistics Ltd)

Galib Farrokh Bakht, COO, Pran-Daily Shopping, said that there is no policy regarding the area-based rent of commercial and other space though the rent accounts for 4% to 5% of the total cost.

 

Galib Farrokh Bakht

Galib Farrokh Bakht:

‘There is no policy regarding the area-based rent of commercial and other space though the rent accounts 4%-5% of total cost’ Galib Farrokh Bakht, COO of PRAN-Daily Shopping

“Moreover, we have to pay Tk12-Tk16 per unit for electricity bills while normal shops pay it as per residential rate,” he added, saying that electricity bills account for 2%-3% of the total cost.

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal, head of expansion, brand and online, Meena Bazar, said that they want a level-playing field for all.

 

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal:

We want unified rules and regulations to follow which will ease the business’ – Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal Head of Expansion, Brand and Online at Meena Bazar

“Respect all rules and regulations. We want unified rules and regulations to follow which will ease the business,” he added.

Dr Sahadev Chandra Saha, director (enforcement) of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said that supermarkets should start contract farming across the country which will ensure the consumers fresh and organic food products.

Dr Sahadev Chandra Saha

Dr Sahadev Chandra Saha:

‘Supermarkets should start contract farming across the country which will ensure the consumers fresh and organic food products’ – Dr Sahadev Chandra Saha Director (Enforcement) at Bangladesh Food Safety Authority

 

‘Policymakers should act by understanding their needs. The supermarket also has a role to play here, and the association should be proactive like the British Retail Consortium’ Engr M Liaquat Ali Asia Regional Director, United Certificates Services Limited

Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury

Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury:

‘We have to focus on home grown products, reducing transshipment cost, warehouse cost, equipment cost to reduce overall cost’ Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, Professor at North South University

 

Zakir Hossain

Zakir Hossain:

‘The supermarkets played a vital role during the Covid-19 and we started home delivery for the first time’ Zakir Hossain, GS at Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association

Kazi Inam Ahmed further said that they have to come up with a coordinated strategy and the Commerce Ministry should take the guardianship. “We all have the same goal; we want safe food at a good price in a safe environment. If this sector gets proper policy support, it can move forward to fulfill the goal,” he added.

MTI strategises for Dhaka Tribune in Bangladesh

MTI strategises for Dhaka Tribune in Bangladesh

Dhaka Tribune Editor-in-Chief Zafar Sobhan, MTI Consulting Bangladesh Country Director and Senior Consultant Saima Mazhar, Dhaka Tribune Publisher Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed and Head of Operations Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal

MTI Consulting have been closely working with Dhaka Tribune in several key areas since 2018 starting from setting DT’s long-term Vision, Mission and Values followed by re-organising DT and appointing key resources to bring about the desired change.

The project also included bringing policies and processes into place along with revamped performance management system with setting SMARTER KPIs. The Board and Management Review Committee continuously improve the process by incorporating structured and methodical reviews on a regular basis, with critical inputs.

‘Strategic Changes are driving revenues, curbing costs, and focusing on sustainability and profitability in parallel to the country and economic situation, both of which have been quite vulnerable in the last couple of years due to the outbreak of COVID.’ Dhaka Tribune has effectively laid out and implemented brand strategies to increase its brand leverage and take the newspaper to the next level.

Recently,

The newspaper launched a new state-of-the-art website to attract more readers and foster loyalty to the DT brand.
Dhaka Tribune Publisher Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed said: “Our constant effort to take our newspaper to the next level has allowed us to make numerous positive changes which will certainly allow pave the way to gain our desired leadership position.”

MTI Consulting, an internationally networked boutique management consultancy, has carried out 680 projects across 49 countries in the last 25 years. MTI’s practices include Strategy, Operations, Re-organising, Performance Management, Digital, and Analytics. MTI Consulting with a 17-year history in Bangladesh has worked with many local conglomerates and industry verticals

Dhaka Tribune is one of the leading English Daily which envisage being the leading platform for news, views and ideas that will give Bangladesh a prosperous, progressive and powerful presence among nations and provide the readers with the most in-depth, insightful and intelligent news coverage and analysis.

Meena Bazar now in Mugda

Meena Bazar now in Mugda

Meena Bazar, one of the SBUs of Gemcon Group, has been ensuring excellent customer service by providing thousands of quality products for 20 years.

The country’s renowned superstore brand Meena Bazar inaugurated its 22nd outlet in Mugda on Tuesday.

This outlet started its journey with a space of 1500 square feet right next to Mugda Police Station on South Mugdapara Road.

The Mugda outlet is the sixth franchise outlet. The outlet was inaugurated by the respected investor of Mugda outlet Gazi Nezam Uddin and the Head of Expansion, Brand & Online of Meena Bazar Ahmed Shoaib Iqbal.

Moreover, Meena Bazar Expansion and Corporate Sales General Manager Md Razibul Hasan, Operations Head Shameem Ahmed and other officials of both parties were also present at the opening ceremony.

Due to rising commodity prices in recent times, this new outlet ensured market-best prices of daily necessities to maintain a seamless relationship with customers to improve the quality of their livelihoods.

Besides, Meena Bazar delivers all household essentials to the customer’s doorstep of Mugda and its surrounding areas including Manda, Basabo, Kadamtali, Maniknagar, Gopibag, Saidabad, Kamalapur and other locations within 90 minutes.

At present, millions of customers in Dhaka and Chittagong with 21 outlets are enjoying the uninterrupted service.

Mugda outlet will be no exception. Fresh vegetables and daily grocery products will be easily available under one roof at affordable prices in Mugda. Always determined to provide the best service to its customers by ensuring a hygienic and well-maintained air-conditioned environment.

Customers can also enjoy Home Delivery by ordering through Meena Bazar’s hotline number 01933117755.

Transforming Customer Experience with AI-powered Chatbot

Transforming Customer Experience with AI-powered Chatbot

Transforming Customer Experience with AI-powered Chatbot:

Infobip, a global cloud communication company and a leader in omnichannel engagement, recently hosted an exclusive live webinar on how enterprises can transform Customer Experience (CX) with an AI-powered chatbot. The event brought together industry leaders from Bangladesh across sectors including BFSI, Retail & e-commerce, and Digital Natives.

The virtual forum began with a presentation by Nafiz Al-Amin, Customer Success Partner, Infobip Bangladesh, on striking a balance between humans and AI in CX. Nafiz also demonstrated how an AI chatbot can reduce operational customer service costs using automation, improve sales results drastically and increase customer satisfaction.

Live Fireside Chat:

Following that, Infobip held a live fireside chat with Md. Abul Moshad Chowdhury, Head of Information Technology, Sheltech Brokerage Limited in which he revealed how customer experience automation has helped Sheltech Brokerage increase customer loyalty and retention. He also highlighted how Infobip’s WhatsApp channel has contributed to boosting customer engagement and retention. The session was moderated by Mehmudul Haque, Senior Account Manager, Infobip Bangladesh.

The session concluded with a panel discussion on “Role of Automation in Improving Customer Experience”. The discussion featured Rashedul Hasan Stalin, SVP – F. Head of Digital Banking, Payments and Partnership Business, BRAC Bank; Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal, Head of Operations, Meena Sweets & E-Commerce, PR & Communication, Gemcon Group; Sadia Haque, Founder, ShareTrip, with A Z M Fouz Ullah Chowdhury, Head of MFS, ONE Bank serving as the panel moderator.

The discussion shed light on the crucial role of AI chatbots in eliminating communication friction, personalizing conversations, and most importantly, improving conversion rates. It also discussed the massive implications of automation for improving customers’ experiences in terms of data-driven decision-making and cost-efficiency. Also, the panelists shared their CX automation experiences in their respective industries. Finally, they explored how to balance automation and customer service to meet the business goals and create the ideal customer experience.

Experts: Policy support, level-playing field crucial for supermarkets to do well

Experts: Policy support, level-playing field crucial for supermarkets to do well

Experts: Policy support, level-playing field crucial for supermarkets to do well

In order for the supermarket industry in Bangladesh to prosper, analysts say, there needs to be sufficient policy assistance and a level playing field.

They also emphasized the need for a VAT/tax solution.

They were speaking during a roundtable on Tuesday in the capital titled “Ensuring Sustainable Growth in Supermarket Industry” organized by Dhaka Tribune, in association with Meena Bazar.

The event was chaired by Reaz Ahmad, executive editor of the Dhaka Tribune.

President of the Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association Kazi Inam Ahmed said that consumers must pay VAT of 5%, which rose from 1.5% in multiple phases.

“The consumer does not pay VAT while purchasing goods from the free market, which is a factor in the supermarkets’ competitiveness.

Our supermarket business’s main objective is to offer consumers a shopping experience in a beautiful and safe environment, where they can find food, fresh fruits, and vegetables all under one roof.

“But people don’t want to go to supermarkets because of the extra VAT,” he said.

The supermarkets in Bangladesh were the first to introduce POS, barcodes, ensured quality and quantity and played a role in return policy and price stabilization.

He also mentioned that importers have to pay 70%-175% tax on refrigerators, along with facing issues such as high space rent in prominent areas, electricity bills, etc.

Nusrat Jabeen Banu, additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the Ministry of Agriculture has the Agricultural Marketing Act which mentioned how to manage the supermarket and contract firm. According to this law, supermarkets must operate accordingly.

AHM Shafikuzzaman, director general of the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, said that there is a lack of trust among the consumers regarding the products of the market.

In this regard, he mentioned the recent situation in the egg market.

He also said that to gain trust, supermarkets should work on sourcing traceability.

“They should inform the consumers about their sources of products,” he added.

Reazul Haque, deputy director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institutes (BSTI), emphasized that consumers should verify the presence of mandatory licenses, price tags, and the BSTI logo.

Md Selim Reza, CEO of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), said that there is a lack of trust, limitations of laws, and also an unethical mentality. “These should be resolved,” he added.

Sahadev Chandra Saha, director of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said that supermarkets should take preventive measures in SCM and also should ensure the traceability of sources of products, consumers and suppliers, and also introduce recall systems.

Amin Helaly, vice-president of the FBCCI said that supermarkets are a new addition to the business. Everyone should work to unleash their potential.

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal, head of expansion, brand and online, Meena Bazar, said that they want a level-playing field for all.

“We respect all rules and regulations. We want unified rules to ease the business,” he added.

The speakers also said that the annual business of supermarkets is worth Tk3,000 crore.

The government should work to solve the infrastructure problem.

The government may raise the workforce in monitoring and source a workforce based on PPP if needed.

They also urged on modernizing the supermarkets and if done, it would connect 2.7 million new employees, 1.4 million farmers, and a 20%-30% rise in income.

According to the Bangladesh Super Market Association, currently, the share of supermarkets is 2%-2.5% in total shopping and the number of outlets is around 300.

It is one of the most potential sectors of business in Bangladesh.

Zakir Hussain, general secretary of Bangladesh Super Market Association, Malik Talha Ismail, director of Unimart, Mahadi Faisal, head of marketing of Shwapno, Khandaker Nur-E-Burhan, COO of Agora, Galib Farrokh Bakht, COO of Daily Shopping, Engr M Liakat Ali, director of United Certification Services Ltd, Rejaul Karim, member of BFSA, Mostak Hasan Md Iftekher, founding chairman and general secretary of BSFA, Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, professor of North South University also spoke at the event.

Insight,Business Deep Dive

Insight,Business Deep Dive

Meena Bazar Brand, and Meena Bazar’s eCommerce Strategy With Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal, GM, Brand, Communication, and Business Development, Meena Bazar:

SSL credit banner

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal, General Manager of Brand, Communication, and Business Development, Meena Bazar, on Meena Bazar’s brand and communication strategy, Meena Click and Meena Bazar’s eCommerce ambition, digital payment, the business of retail, and the art of marketing and communication.

Future Startup

Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. What is your background and what are you working on?

Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal

I have been working at Meena Bazar for almost nine years now. Previously, I worked at Grameenphone. After leaving GP and before joining Meena Bazar, I went to the UK to do my MBA from the University of London where I studied Marketing Management. I returned in 2009 and joined Meena Bazar.

Meena Bazar, a relatively smaller retail chain at that time, was at the beginning of a new phase. The company had already conceived an expansion plan.

Although I studied Marketing Management, initially, I joined in a different role in the training and development department as Manager, Training, and Development.

We had about seven outlets at that time. Overall supermarket business was a nascent concept in Bangladesh. In fact, the age of supermarket business in Bangladesh is about 18 years. The people with domain expertise in supermarket business was in short supply. Hence, training and development was an important department for Meena Bazar in order to scale the business.

The department was responsible for preparing and improving the skills of salespeople and store managers, which was particularly critical during that formative phase.

Since I had foreign exposure and a degree in Marketing Management, I used to train staff and store managers on customer service, developing customer service framework, working on different modules and other relevant aspects.

After working for a year in that department, I moved to my core function which is brand and communication. I started as Manager, Brand, and Communication for Meena Bazar. Currently, I look after the Brand, Communication and Business Development as General Manager.

I work with different vendors such as Pran, Unilever, GSK, Shajeeb, and others to launch joint promotional campaigns.

Most of the promotions that you see from us, such as 10% discounts on a particular product or 5% on another, these are not our promotions per se, these discounts come from our vendor partners. We ensure that it reaches to our customers so that they purchase these products.

One of my responsibilities is to bring these sorts of communications by working with our partners.

Generally speaking, we have two priorities at brand and communication department at any given time. One is to increase footfalls in our stores which means growing the number of customers visiting our outlets daily; and secondly, increasing the basket size of our existing customers through offers and promotional campaigns.

Apart from regular communication works, we also look at how we can build the lasting relationship with our customers. Over the past years, we have successfully introduced Meena Bazar Club Card, a membership platform for Meena Bazar customers where we currently have over a hundred thousand members. We launched it in 2012. It has been growing consistently since then.

We also launched Meena Bazar website, www.meenabazar.com.bd, in 2012. We were the first grocery chain in the country to launch a fully dynamic e-commerce website in Bangladesh. Our ecommerce endeavor has evolved over the years. Recently, we’ve rebranded our ecommerce platform to www.meenaclick.com.

Besides Meena Bazar, our parent company, Gemcon Group, operates another retail chain called Gourmet Bazar. I and my team also look after the branding and marketing of it.

We have two Gourmet Bazar outlets: one at Banani and another at Gulshan. Both of the outlets are very well received. Our Banani Gourmet Bazar has a community-centric positioning. We have been able to establish it as an event-based, community-centric outlet. It has a nice coffee section, a grocery section and it attracts different types of people. On the other hand, our Gulshan branch has made its mark as a premium grocery shop.

These are some of the things that we do. Apart from these, there are regular campaigns and promotional activities. There are a lot of events these days that warrant for our attention. We also run event-specific promotional campaigns.

As a supermarket, we sell products of other brands. We do have some home brand or private label brands such as tissue, water, and a few others, but mostly we aggregate brands. Bring them under one roof and in the process offer convenience to our customers. Consequently, when it comes to communication, we often require to walk a tightrope and find a balance that serves my purpose as well as delivers the result.