Epyllion spreads wings with Sailor
An entrepreneur's success story can be very dramatic and full of unexpected changes.
“This is very true in my life. I began with a very small enterprise and am still working on making it bigger,” said Reaz Uddin Al-Mamoon, managing director of export-oriented garment company Epyllion Group.
Surprisingly, Mamoon had started his career as a bank official.
His latest venture is Sailor, a local brand of high-end clothes and accessories for men and women.
Sailor opened the first outlet in Dhaka in April this year. "Now, I run five stores. The customer response is better than expected,” Mamoon said in an interview with The Daily Star.
He said he embarked on the retail business, as there is a big ready market in Bangladesh created by the growing demand of the rising middle class.
“Western retailers will come to Bangladesh soon, within the next five to seven years, because of the faster pace of economic development here. So I started the business a little earlier.”
“I plan to expand the retail chain significantly in Dhaka and other cities soon,” said Mamoon, who exports more than $180 million worth of garment products from his main business venture—Epyllion Group—every year.
On average, his exports grow 15 percent year-on-year, he said.
All garment items sold at Sailor stores are made at his own factory, but the accessories like watches, bags, shoes and belts are imported, Mamoon said, adding that Sailor has a separate set-up and management from the Epyllion Group.
So far the retail market here is not too competitive as the business is new in Bangladesh, he said.
However, the situation is likely to change soon as many export-oriented garment groups are in the process and some others have already begun similar retail operations like Mamoon.
The domestic retail market for garments and accessories is estimated to be more than $5 billion a year, according to industry insiders.
On his transformation from a banker into an entrepreneur, Mamoon said he joined the then Arab Bangladesh Bank as a probationary officer in 1989.
He said he was lucky as he was posted in the export department of the bank, where he dealt with many garment exporters and retailers.
After working there for two and a half years, Mamoon left the bank to start his own garment business on a rented property in Mirpur, with just 70 machines.
“I will say my young age and sincerity helped me a lot. A boost came from the retail giant C&A in the early years, as it had bought garment items from me. I still remember that I exported garment items worth $500,000 in the first year of business.”
His brief banking career also helped him understand the procedures of exports, he said. "So I could combine my family's business knowledge with the experience gained at the bank to become successful,” said Mamoon whose family had a jute business in Narayanganj.
Although he started with a small amount of capital and a few workers, he currently employs more than 14,000.
“I am expanding my operation significantly. I have already invested $30 million in yarn dyeing and knitting. Construction of the yarn dyeing unit started two years ago and I hope to start production soon,” he said.
Mamoon also became one of the nine directors of the suppliers' council board of the Dutch retailer C&A.
“It is a highly prestigious post for me as all the directors are nominated from across the world. Right now I am the second largest apparel supplier of C&A in the world,” he said.
Currently, Mamoon also supplies to G-Star, H&M, Marks and Spencer, s.Oliver and Next.
Epyllion Group has a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified green factory, he said.
About Bangladesh's target to export $50 billion worth of garment items by 2021, the entrepreneur said it is achievable if gas and power supplies to industrial units are ensured.
He also suggested improvement of infrastructure to help reach the export target.
Apart from the traditional EU, US and Canadian markets, Bangladesh will perform well in some new export destinations like Japan, China, Brazil, India, Chile and South Africa, he said.
“China itself has become a good market for us even though the country is the largest apparel exporter worldwide. I also export clothes to China. The demand for Bangladeshi garment items is on the rise among the middle-income people.”
“We must increase our production capacity as work orders are shifting from China to Bangladesh and new destinations with new opportunities are emerging,” he said.
Bangladesh should grab the market opportunities promptly, otherwise other emerging countries will occupy the place, he said.
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