Majumder Group is a third-generation family business in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector. Initially involved in jute trading during the 1960s, the company transitioned to garment manufacturing in 1984. Today, it exports garments globally, focusing on low to mid-range products with plans to expand into high-end markets. The group is committed to sustainability, operating green factories, and improving efficiency. It also benefits from Bangladesh’s favorable geopolitical position. Despite challenges like political unrest, Majumder Group is poised to capture market share as global buyers shift away from China, aiming to contribute to Bangladesh’s $100 billion export target.
Recently we the team textile focus met with Syed M Sajjad, Director of Majumder Group, and discussed a lot of things. Some of them are given below for our readers.
Syed M Sajjad, Director of Majumdar Group said “Currently, Bangladesh is heading towards a revolution and transformation through student leadership. This movement began as a peaceful protest and culminated in a mass uprising, where many students and ordinary people sacrificed their lives. We all know that due to this movement, industries were shut down for about 6-7 days, and now an interim government has been formed with everyone’s consent. During this period, imports were halted, and we couldn’t deliver exports on time. For example, in our Majumder Group, due to the inability to export properly, we incurred a loss of about 150 million BDT, and even larger industries than ours faced even greater losses. This loss isn’t limited to just our factory but has affected the entire nation’s export earnings.”
He also added, “Amidst all this, the good news is that buyers have been very supportive in all respects and have given us extensions for product deliveries. For us, another positive sign is that we are gradually seeing buyers moving away from China and becoming hesitant to place orders there due to internal issues with their rules and regulations. In China, product costs are continuously rising, and they are also facing a labor shortage. At one time, China exported nearly 400 billion USD, but this has decreased to about 300 billion USD, and it’s decreasing further each year. So, where will these orders from China go? They will come to countries like Bangladesh, which is ranked second in exports. However, even though Bangladesh is second, its export rate from China is significantly lower. While China exports 300 billion USD, Bangladesh only exports 50 billion USD. If we consider the weight of products, Bangladesh would ranks first in exports from China, but China, even with exporting lower-weight products, remains in the top spot. This is because China captures high-value, high-end, and high-priced markets, while Bangladesh exports low-end, high-volume, and low-priced products.”
Further, he also mentioned, “We have already captured the low-end market. Now, to take over the orders moving away from China, we must quickly capture the mid-end and high-end product markets, and we need to prepare for this. In this regard, we have a geopolitical advantage that sets us ahead of other countries.
We are ahead of India because India does not get the same GSP facilities as us, and due to trade unions, large industries with more than 400-500 workers are not feasible there. Additionally, there are many Chinese factories in Vietnam, which buyers don’t view favorably. In some cases, Chinese goods have been exported through Vietnam, which has even been reported in the news. Overall, Bangladesh is gaining an advantage in this area and is situated in a favorable geopolitical environment.”
he also pointed out, “To achieve our target of 100 billion USD, we need to focus on several specific areas. First, we must ensure stability at any cost, whether political or economic, because if instability arises, we could end up like Myanmar or Pakistan, and buyers will stop placing orders with us. Secondly, we are lagging in lead time. In Bangladesh, it takes 90 to 120 days to complete an order from start to finish, whereas in China and Turkey, they complete orders within 60 days. We also need to focus on product imports because it takes 10 days for a product to reach our port from China, but it takes nearly 20 days for it to reach our factory from the port, which is far too long. In terms of exports, we cannot export direct vessels at once because we don’t have a deep-sea port. If we can manage this lead time, we can compete with Turkey and China.
Thirdly, price competitiveness is crucial. On the one hand, our costs are rising, while on the other hand, buyers are reducing prices. In this regard, we need to negotiate with buyers through various organizations to ensure fair prices. Countries like China and Vietnam have brought their efficiency close to 70%, while in Bangladesh, it’s around 40-45%, which needs to improve. Our factories are designed for large orders, but if we increase our capacity to handle smaller orders, we’ll receive more orders, and efficiency will improve. Lastly, we need to place special emphasis on sustainability. Since the Rana Plaza incident, nearly 200 green factories have been established in Bangladesh, with another 400-500 in progress. Moreover, 13 of the top 15 green industries in the world are located in Bangladesh, which creates a positive impression among buyers—this is a significant achievement.”
