Multi-brand store concept lifting up female entrepreneurs

It has been more than two months since Evana Nasrin has opened an outlet named Mokam in a shopping centre in Dhanmondi.

The 150-square-foot shop houses women's clothes, sarees, kurtas, jewellery, cosmetics and some food products. The items are showcased in a way that apparently gives an idea to a shopper that all the products are owned by the shop operator.

A curious look inside the store however tells a different story. The shop, Mokam, has three brands owned by three women entrepreneurs.

They are selling their products in a common space disregarding competition for customers' attention -- a relatively new phenomenon in the capital where commercial space is too expensive to bear for many small businesses and start-ups.

"This is beneficial for small entrepreneurs like us. By sharing space, we can display our products and brands without the high investment needed to open a store," said Nasrin, owner of Evana's Crafts, one of the three brands at Mokam at Anam Rangs Plaza at Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

It all started several months ago, when Nasrin found a suitable space to showcase her products for further her business.

But the monthly rent of Tk 50,000 was beyond her means. She approached two other women entrepreneurs to share the space and the expenses and they jumped in.

Today, the three share costs for the store based on the ratio of space they use.

"We, the small entrepreneurs, do not have huge capital and opening a store requires a lot of investment that most of us cannot afford," said Shabnam Rose, owner of Shokher Gudam, another brand that has displayed sarees and hand-made jewellery in the space.

The prices of each square foot of commercial spaces are almost double that of residential spaces in many areas in the densely populated Dhaka, said a Farhaduzzaman, marketing in- charge of Eastern Housing.

A senior official of another realtor said the prices of commercial space start from Tk 10,000 and go up to Tk 100,000 each square foot depending on location. 

"When we share space, it reduces our cost and risks. It all becomes affordable for us," Rose said.

Irin Hoque Ivy, chief executive of a multi-brand store Kayara, said it requires Tk 15-20 lakh to open a shop in relatively popular shopping areas in Dhaka and it is not possible for young entrepreneurs to arrange the capital.

Through her five outposts of Kayara, nearly 100 women entrepreneurs are displaying their products, mostly clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and bags, on payment of rent, service charge for the space and other costs.

Sales persons sell items of all entrepreneurs, marking brands in sales receipts to keep records, and proceeds from sales are credited to the accounts of entrepreneurs at the end of the month, she said.

Ivy signed up for this type of store in 2016 at the capital's upmarket Banani neighbourhood with the capital she got from her family.

Some 22 women fashion designers, including Ivy, put up their products for display in the store under their respective brand names.

Today, Kayara has five showrooms: four in Dhaka and one in Chattogram.

"This is a win-win for both of us," said Ivy, who offers space to small entrepreneurs.

She said several women entrepreneurs who started with Kayara have gone on to open their own stores later.

Anyone with the ability to make 40-50 clothing items can start join a multi-brand store.

"The more multi-brand stores there are, the more the women entrepreneurs will be benefited," she said, while calling for easier bank loans for female entrepreneurs.

Many women entrepreneurs are becoming loan defaulters for the high cost of doing business, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue.

Multi-brand stores can reduce the cost of business and enable many women entrepreneurs to succeed as such store will help them compete and market their products better in a competitive environment.

"This is good for customers too as they get a number of brands in a single store."

The government has a lot of land and it can offer space to women entrepreneurs in groups at nominal rates, Khatun said.

Hasina Newaaz, vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, demanded the government establish a market in each district so that women entrepreneurs can showcase their products.

Both Evana and Rose said Mokam has so far been good for their business.

"The responses that we have seen have been beyond our expectations. We did not need to inject funds to bear the expenses of our store since the day we opened," Evana said.

Rose said she is reinvesting the proceeds of sales to expanding her business.

She said they also market their products online. 

"But physical presence of a store is important for growth as only a certain community can be reached through online marketing," Rose said.

Evana, who has also put her brand in another multi-brand store at Rifles Square in Dhaka under the same concept, said she plans to open more branches of Mokam as space-sharing with other reduces her cost while enabling her to expand her business.