Dhaka Fashions

Our new marketing focus, made explicit in this plan, renews our vision and strategic focus on adding value to the fashion industry in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dhaka fashion will change its focus to differentiate itself from jus international fashion and improve the business by incorporating both local and waster fashions. The magazine will include fashion updates, entertainment, fashion shows and interviews. Dhaka fashion is a private company. IOur marketing challenge is to position our product and service offerings as the high quality entertainment magazines for the female population of Bangladesh.

Introduction to Dhaka Fashion:

Dhaka fashion will be a magazine that is completely devoted to fashion. It will cater the women in Bangladesh. Target market would probably be the teenage crowd of Bangladesh. However it will cater the upper middle class middle-aged women as well. The magazine will not only promote the local traditional fashion in Bangladesh but it will also bring home the international fashion.

Why is this magazine unique: There are not many fashion magazines in Bangladesh. And even the ones that are available they only promote the local fashion. The magazine will include on going sales at the time, including international fashion show pictures. This way they are aware of international fashion, and probably be more aware of it.

What women wear in Bangladesh?

As you may have found out by now Bangladesh is a subtropical country with a short winter. You need to wear light clothes at most times while in winter a sweater or something warm might be reasonable.

Bangladesh is primarily a Muslim and conservative country and so there are certain things one should not wear. Female visitors should maintain a conservative dress standard and avoid showing much flesh beyond head, hands, and feet. Long lightweight skirts (or trousers) with a cotton blouse tend to work best for business situations. Immodest dress may attract unsolicited attention.

A cotton lungi and a jersey called kurta are the common attire for men in rural areas. A lungi is a loop of cloth, somewhat like a very, very loose skirt or a sarong. It hangs from the waist to the ankles and is gathered in front at the waist and twisted into a sort of half knot, with the ends tucked in so they won’t unravel. If a Bengali boy wants to run, swim, fish, or play, he can pull the bottom of the lungi up and tuck it into his waist, ready for action. On special occasions, they may wear a pajama-panjabi. In the urban areas men have, however, largely adapted to western costume.

Sari is women’s universal dress, both in the cities and countryside. A sari a long piece of cloth that they wrap around their waist, tucking it in at the waist, then wrapping it around their shoulders. Usually they also wear a blouse. The top part of the sari can rest around the back of the neck or be pulled over the top of the head, leaving the face uncovered. Some girls and some women wear a Salwar Kameez.

Launched in the summer of 2000, Bibi is the longest-running, largest-circulated South Asian fashion magazine is the country and is seen as the benchmark in South Asian Bridal and Fashion publications. Bibi is a timely media company for the modern South Asian-American women who celebrates style with borders. Bibi brings forth a global sensibility in some of the aspects of female lifestyle. It includes wedding related articles, luxurious fashion and style home d�cor all infused with rich traditional culture.

Target Market: Female population of Bangladesh

We are marketing the fashion magazine to the high. Middle class society. Mainly aiming for the women. The demand for fashion magazines will be high as the magazines available in dhaka are usually locally printed versions of the Indian magazines. Dhaka fashion magazine will give it a different touch as it incorporates a variety of cultural and traditional clothes from all over the world

Teenagers are also a big target market for us. As research shows, the demands for fashion magazines are high. However there are no sources available in Dhaka right now. But Dhaka fashion is optimistic and hopes to deliver a fashion magazine to the adolescents that meet their demands well.

Market Segment Total Percent of Business

a. Private sector 70 %

b. Wholesalers 0 %

c. Retailers 20 %

d. Government 0 %

e. Other 10 %

Distribution Channels

The two most developed cities in Bangladesh are Chittagong and Dhaka. Ironically this is where the majority of foreigners are also distributed. Thus our initially marketing channels will include shops in these two cities.

Competition: The competition for fashion magazines in Dhaka is fairly low since

SWOT:

Strengths:

Starting up a fashion magazine company would have many strengths. To start off with, the level of local competition in the market will be very low. Which means there are many famous designers here in Bangladesh who will appreciate that extra bit of advertising their own label more. Research shows that there is in fact a big market demand for fashion magazines in Bangladesh. Since the cost of labor is very low in Bangladesh the production cost will be reduced, as the cost of labor would have been higher in many other countries. The company is brand new, thus has the opportunity to start fresh and have a good impression on the consumers. The company is not affected by damaged reputation.

Weaknesses:

Of course starting a fashion magazine does have its disadvantages. The company is taking a big risk when starting up a fashion magazine, as the concept of a fashion magazine is still new to Bangladesh. There is also a lack of expertise needed to operate this firm. Hus the employees will have to through training. The resources here are not high quality, and do not meet the need of our company. Thus a lot of input will have to be spent on getting profound printing equipment and software’s that are needed in order to produce the magazine.

Opportunities:

The company can go into developing a market such as the Internet. Which will attract a lot of customers since out targeted markets include teenagers and women. Both parties do spend a lot of time on the Internet, thus it will widen out target market. Merging with a renowned fashion label such as Aarong will help the company grow. Strategic alliances are another opportunity for Dhaka fashions. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor. If the company grows the way desired it will give the company an opportunity to go into new international markets. This means more revenue for the company.

Threats:

Weaknesses for starting a fashion magazine include the unstable government issues in Bangladesh. This can especially affect Dhaka fashion as it has to start from scratch and a lot of aid is required form the government. A lot of legal forms will have to be taken care of especially since it’s a private company. Also the technology that is required to produce a sophisticated fashion magazine is unfortunately not available in Dhaka. All the electronic equipments will have to be imported from foreign countries. Since a lot of the equipments and inks will have to be imported a lot of taxes will have to be paid.

Pest Analysis:

Political factors:

– Though the company will not be faced by any environmental regulations specifically, the company will faced by issues when importing and exporting items. There is a low tax that needs to be paid, 25% tax for importing raw materials. However a high corporate tax of 35% is required to be paid to the governments. Bangladesh has many international trade systems especially dealing with garments, thus it will work as an advantage for Dhaka fashion. The employment regulations for dhaka are as following: The minimum age for workers in Bangladesh is 18 years in factories and establishments. Contracts are made in the form of a letter of offer. Workers may also be engaged on verbal agreements. In government organisations and in some private organisations as well, a probation period exists for skilled or semi-skilled workers varying between three month’s to one year and during this period either party may serve one month’s notice for termination from or giving up of the job. In the private sector, the dignity of labour is ensured in accordance with the principles enunciated in the ILO convention and recommendations. Bangladesh, with a population of 128.1 million people, has a large and cheap labour force of around 60 million

Economical:

Bangladesh is one of the most closed economies in the world. Opening up trade has to be one of the pillars of future growth. There are large unemployment rates in Bangladesh. Which is an advantage as it will be easier to recue people for job vacancies. There is a low literacy rate in Bangladesh. Illiterate rate in Bangladesh is 40%, which is very high. There is also a poor infuststructure in Bangladesh.

Social:

A vast majority (98 percent) of the people of Bangladesh are Bengalis and they speak the Bengali language. Bangladeshi’s are very traditional. People are really into their traditional clothing (sari and Panjabis) that they are not very fond of the western culture. Bangladesh is primarily a Muslim and conservative country and so there are certain things one should not wear. . Not surprisingly class differentials depend heavily on child and infant mortality,a s much as on adult mortality. As fewer children of the poor survive to maturity and those who survive leave their parents’ household at an early age, the poor face a higher risk of property loss and economic decline.

Technological:

High quality printed will be needed. Bangladesh is not at the leading edge of technological research.

Marketing Mix:

Product: The product of the company is a fashion magazine. It will be dedicated completely to fashion, Local traditional fashion as well as international fashion. The aim is to get the community of Bangladesh to understand their own traditional fashion as well as be aware of fashion revolutions around the world.

Price: After considering the price of production, the price of the magazine is Tk.350. Mainly targeting the teenage crown.

Promotion: The fourth part of the marketing mix refers to process of informing your customers of your company’s products.

To make your customers aware of the magazine, there are a number of methods that will be used, these include:

-Media Advertising (television, magazines, Internet, radio)

-Personal selling (involving a sales person)

-Non-personal communication (persuasion advertising – competitions, free samples.

-Other promotional types include public relation exercises and free publicity.

The main forms of advertising that will be used to advertise dhaka fashions are: –

* TELEVISION

* RADIO

* NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

* TRAVEL TRADE PRESS

* VIDEOS

* POSTERS

* CINEMA

* EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS

* INTERNET

Place:

Place simply refers to how you will sell your products to your customers. Depending on what it is you are selling will directly influence how you distribute it, and it affects mainly those businesses that are in production.

The two main cities the magazine will be promoted are Dhaka and Chittagong. Mainly because the price is too high for other areas in Dhaka.

– It will be sold in Bookshops.

– Fashion houses

– Certain shops.

Direct to retailer: Selling to existing retail outlets. This would obviously save your company a lot of money setting up a variety of retails outlets to cover areas regionally or nationally.

However, the administration behind running a system like this would be considerable. Firstly you would have to have sales teams to consult with the retailers on new products, price and promotion. You would also have to have a method of distributing to many small outlets in which ever region of the country you are selling to: this would cost a small business quite a lot of money and effort. The financial side also needs to be considered, as you will have to administer a number of small accounts at the same time.

Direct Supply / Direct Sale

Direct selling involves selling directly to your customer; retailing, door-to-door, mail order and ecommerce all directly sell to customers. The advantage of deciding to directly sell would mean you are in direct contact will your customers and can easily detect the subtle changes which are occurring and adapt to the changes; i.e. demand for price changes or overall demand for your products. You also have complete control over your product range, how it is sold and at what price. However, direct sales can come at a price; you will need storage facilities or retail premises to sell your products directly. Shopping carts on the Internet required a degree of Internet knowledge to pull it off and building consumer confidence can prove a tricky business.

Analysis

Operating a fashion magazine company will require a lot of input. As a private company a lot of money will have to be invested into the company. A private company is a good choice as it is then less vulnerable to takeovers. Dhaka fashions will take loans from banks here in Dhaka to start up the company. The company is also looking for sponsors that will work along with the company to successfully produce the magazines. This is a good field to start a business in as the level of competition is very low. And there is a large demand for fashion magazines. Our target markets are the teenage population mainly from international schools and the upper middle class women.

The magazine incorporates both the traditional and international taste of fashion. Thus it will be appealing to a large variety of people. There are many famous fashion designers here in Bangladesh who hasn’t still got the chance to gain the recognition they deserve. Dhaka fashion works towards giving recognition to the renowned designers from Bangladesh as well as inspire the younger generation to work with fashion. Give them exposure to the fashion world, not only in Dhaka, but also to the international fashion world. Women in Bangladesh are surely very concern with how they look, thus the demand for a fashion magazine does exist. To promote the magazine a few methods will be sued. One of them is advertising them through the use of media. This method will reach out to a greater number of consumers. Bangladesh might not be the highlight in the fashion world, but it does have a rich culture that Dhaka fashion thinks can influence the international fashion. The way the Indian fashion has.

The company however will face obstacles as it starts up. For example Bangladesh ahs a low literacy rate, which will affect when it comes to hiring the employees. The software that will be used, and the skills needed to operate the machinery will not be something the workers will be exposes to before. Thus they will have to go under training. Either the company will have to hire someone to come to Bangladesh and have a workshop or they will be needed to sent abroad for the training. The machinery needed for printing the high quality magazines will be needed to be shipped to Bangladesh. Though the tax is low, the security is not very high.

Conclusion:

The market plan above is feasible. The objective of the magazine, Dhaka fashion, is to give Bangladesh an opportunity to have exposure to the international fashion as well as their own local fashion. The magazine will also help them promote their own culture on a more international level. The procedures are reasonable and realistic.

Though the company will have to get financial aid at first to start off the company, Dhaka fashion is convinced it will be a successful company as there is a demand for such fashion magazine. What sets Dhaka fashions apart from all other magazines here in Dhaka is its unique twist. It has a variety of fashion styles that appeal to many varieties of people. It goes into the local fashions and the internationally famous fashion. This can work as inspiration to the younger generation and give recognition to the current fashion designers who have not gained the recognition they deserve. The magazine will be fully in English. Which can work both as a disadvantage and as an advantage. Despite the unstable government it would be realistic for Dhaka fashion to start operating a company here in Bangladesh.