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1.1 Background:
Furniture industry in Bangladesh has grown rapidly from traditional cottage
based to mechanized mass production oriented industries. It is shifting its
focuses from dependency on teak for raw materials to processed wood.
Modern machineries, innovative designs and use of diverse materials made
the products very attractive locally. Now the leading brands are contributing
to the national economy by exporting to international markets.
This paper looks at Brothers Furniture. A name that is synonymous with fine
quality Victorian and Modern productions. Their mission statement is: Buying
the Future today. They guarantee very competitive price as well as complete
customer satisfaction through quality and workmanship.
1.2 Objectives:
1.3 Hypothesis:
H1: Furniture industry has got very few big players in the market
H2: Brothers Furniture is not at a very high end position in the market
H3: Brothers Furniture is the market leader of its category (mid level)
1.4 Rationale:
Understanding the extension of furniture industry and its benefits would give a broader and
clearer perspective to potential investors and existing vendors as well as the customers
New entrants to the furniture industry in Bangladesh will get insight into profitable
products and services. They will get an idea of what kind of products has maximum
coverage, which products attract maximum customers, what are the factors that motivates
customer to purchase, etc.
Brothers Furniture can perceive the extension opportunities in the market. Also, they can
assess the customer satisfaction level and needs that exist.
The collected data has scopes for further market research on relevant topics.
1.5 Scope:
The scope of the report revolves around the practical and theoretical aspect.
Practical experience and data collection from different sources will be
considered in this process and analysing this data the report will be
furnished. The report will also cover information from some books,
magazines, articles and various websites of different furniture companies of
the country and incorporation of this ideas/knowledge in the report will be
introduced as well. The report will cover following broad areas:
1.6 Limitation:
Following could be considered as the limitations of the study:
Various kinds of researches have been conducted over the years on furniture
industry. Many of those reports covered issues such as brief description of
the furniture industry, prospects and challenges of that particular business in
both global and local perspective. Leading international furniture retailers
brand IKEAs SWOT, PESTEL and Porters Five Forces model analysis gives us
a global perspective that will aide in analyzing Brothers Furniture Ltd.
A big prospect for Brothers Furniture Ltd. is e-shopping. Their website has
ecommerce functionalities with shopping cart facilities. Local and global e-
shopping models will be assessed and compared in our analysis.
4.0 Analysis of Data
P Political
E Economic
S Social
T Technological
E Environmental
L Legal
Figure 1
Political stability
Export-Import policy
Tax and Tariff policy
Trade restriction
Labor laws and labor unrest
Economic growth
Interest rates
Exchange rates
Rate of inflation
Per capita income
Labor cost
Market/Industry trends
Income level
Social status
occupation
Age
Family size
Cultural factors
Fashion trends
Automation
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter etc)
Technology incentives
Website
Supply chain management
Ease of accessibility, information and communication
Protection of nature
Business Ethics
Corporate Social Responsibility
Ethical business operation
Figure 2
4.3.1 Strength
A firms strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a
basis for developing a competitive advantage. Brothers Furniture Ltds
Strengths were searched in Section 3: Question 1 of the survey through
open ended question. The strengths are-
Strong brand name
Unique Design
Good reputation among customer
Automation in production
Software based central inventory
Imported raw materials from China
Customer database maintenance
Wide customer base
4.3.2 Weakness
The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. Section 3:
Question 2 of the survey represents the weakness of Brother Furniture Ltd.
They are-
Lack of patent protection: anyone can copy the product
Absence of high end product
Not advertised at larger scale
Poor website quality
4.3.3 Opportunity
The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities
for profit and growth. Opportunities also arise from factors influencing
consumer purchase decisions such as desire of quality, special discounts
and offers, and excellent and competitive customer service. Section 3:
Question 3 describes the opportunities.
4.4.4 Threats
Social trends showing lowered entrance of first-time buyers into the
housing market affect furniture sale. Increasing competition and
lowered disposable income are factors that motivate buyers to
purchase low price furniture, even at the cost of compromising
quality. Threats such as these, demands the furniture manufacturer to
reform its value chain, and optimize innovative technology in order to
provide good quality at lowered prices. Section 3: Question 4 provides
a good insight on the threats for Brothers Furniture Ltd.
New regulations
Respondents Name:
Address:
Contact no.: e-mail:
Date: ___/___/____ Time:
dd mmyyyy
Very High
Very Low
Neutral
High
Low
Questions
1. Bargaining power of customers is
2. Bargaining power of the suppliers is
3. Threats of new company entering the market is
4. Availability of substitute product for customers is
5. Competition between different companies is
1. Your Age
o 18-28 years
o 29-38 years
o 39-48 years
o 49-58 years
o 59 years or more
2. Your location
o Gulshan
o Banani
o Uttara
o Dhanmondi
o Farmgate
o Baridhara
o Khilgaon
o Jatrabari
o Mohammadpur
o Mogbazar
o Other [__________________]
3. Your occupation
o Private Service
o Business
o Government Official
o Not on a job right now
4. Your monthly income
o Below 20000 BDT
o 20000-30000 BDT
o 30000- 40000 BDT
o 40000-50000 BDT
o More than 50000 BDT
Thank You!