Bangladeshi Handicrafts Success

Bangladesh handicrafts are always appiciated to the Global Market having some limitaion of marketing and communication gap bangladeshi handicrafts are not still remarkable above the possibility to increase domestic & global reach
Despite the fact that global exports of handicrafts took a big hit in the last 16-18 months, following the global slowdown, Gujarat based Self Employed Women?s Association (SEWA) has drawn expansion plans for its premium handicraft brand ?Hansiba?, which it had launched last year, along with aiming for a sales growth of 40 percent year-on-year.

Actually, those dark days, was the period when SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre (STFC) started diversifying by spreading its wings in to new overseas neighbouring markets like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Alongside it will also strengthen its presence in India by opening eight more stores in India, to raise its store count to 11.

Also, in the pipeline is an exclusive line of fabrics and apparels; ?Sabaah?, which will be exclusively retailed in the international markets. In a bid to reduce the impact of global slowdown, it will directly approach international retailers rather than through intermediates. In the previous fiscal, exports were down by 50 percent, which prompted STFC to take this decision. Fibre2Fashion spoke exclusively to Ms Reema Nanavaty, Director, Economic and Rural Development, SEWA, who spared her valuable time to speak to us and told about the future plans of Hansiba brand and the initiatives taken by SEWA.

We began this informative session by asking her to divulge the expansion plans of Hansiba, to which she said, ?STFC has traversed a significant distance along the path of building a successful business organization model, a company owned by the women artisans themselves as a sustainable business enterprise. STFC is now clear on the future journey. It needs to communicate the USP of ?Hand Embellishment? successfully through the brand ‘Hansiba’.

?STFC has gained considerable experience in the retail market through both B2B and B2C businesses and feels that it is the right time to start focusing on marketing embellishments. STFC?s marketing focus is now to communicate STFC products, more so as ?Wearable Art?, rather than a garment. STFC?s proposed strategy will focus on the ethnic / ethno modern women?s apparels, home furnishings and gifts /accessories in the high end premium market, the mainstream fashion market and staple products market. STFC is entering into the high end premium market segment by co-branding with the labels and designers or design houses.

?The strategy is to market the embroideries and designs so as to ensure better remuneration to the artisan women. STFC plans to achieve 100% growth in business turnover in the next three years. In addition to this, there are initiatives like launching our crafts in neighboring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan under the brand-name of SABAH. (SABAH is a noun in Urdu language, whose dictionary meaning is early morning breeze, which also denotes freshness.)

We than asked her about the market segment targeted by ?Hansiba? to which she said, ?We have three price segments; Premium collection, Special and Festive collection and a collection for Teenagers. In addition, we also have a collection of apparels, home furnishings, accessories, stationary & gift articles. The market segment targeted by Hansiba collection encompasses all the ranges; high-end premium market, the mainstream fashion market and the staple products market.?
Next we asked her what steps were taken by Sewa to reduce the impact of the slowdown on the handicraft sector, to which she replied by saying, ?With a view to demonstrate the strategy of inclusive growth and development and also as a response to the economic slowdown and the two major global crisis; financial crisis and climate crisis, Hansiba has come up with a new line of production and collection. SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre?s approach is to equip the women artisan shareholder in mitigating the two crises by accessing new markets and by building new skills.

?To reduce the impact on the lives of its members, The STFC, a company of more than 15,000 women artisans and garment workers hasn?t resorted to subsidies and bailouts. Instead, it has forged a unique partnership between its shareholders – the rural women artisans and garment workers and international organizations such as the Alliance Fran?aise and international designers Graham Hollick and Corine Forget. Through this unique thread, local traditional skills connect to new global markets, safeguarding the lives and livelihood of the shareholders of STFC. This innovation is known as ?Ananta?, which is an informal workers journey to becoming secure, empowered artisan.

?Ananta, or the flamboyant stitch, has not only created the finest designs and embroideries for an international market, but has secured the lives of thousands of rural women artisans. Through Ananta the world will recognize our skills, which is providing its members with livelihood and security. We will not only host a fashion show highlighting the cause, but will also screen films, hold workshops, have dance performances and showcase the collection of garment and home furnishings made by the artisans of STFC, thus connecting local to global.

?Hansiba thus demonstrates a brand that is owned and managed by the women artisans themselves and for every purchase of Rs. 1.00 made by a consumer, Rs 0.65 goes directly in the hands of women artisans. Hansiba strives to market the skill base of the artisans which is the only source of income and livelihoods for the households. This in turn helps in maximizing earnings to the poor rural artisans, reduces migration and also improves education of their children?, she concluded by saying.