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Sadakalo: Marketing of Traditional Fashion in the

Modern Fashion Industry
CHAPTER MAY 2014

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Case Analysis
Vision
18(2) 137143
2014 MDI
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/0972262914528599
http://vision.sagepub.com

Sadakalo: Marketing of Traditional

Fashion in the Modern Fashion Industry

SE

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain

Shahzada M. Imran
Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury
Moinuddin Md. Rahat Sobhan
Rakib Jafor

FO

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M
M

The Sadakalo case study is a good initiative from an

emerging economys context, realizing a missing link of
studies from the same. It is consistently observed that,
especially in garments sector, Bangladesh has attained a
significant success supplying its product to the developed
countries fashion markets. Sadakalo presents the products
on major cities by itself where the other competitors usually
export the products. However, regardless, the journey of
the associated firms is not a bed of roses; rather, the firms
need to struggle with internal as well as external constraints. The rivals may feel envy seeing the presence of
Sadakalo in some big cities; similarly, the lesson can
be shared by the competitors overcoming the hurdles
(experienced by Sadakalo). This case study lessens the
competitors effort learning some relevant lessons. In this
context, Sadakalo presents that personal, professional
and social network may commensurate to the access to
financial resources; opening a new store in Sears Tower,
for example, either may take a huge resource-base or
alternatively might use the existing networks. However,
finding out and selecting a right partner is not always
straightforwardSadakalo experienced the both extremes.
Therefore, this vibrant case study is about learning from
the success as well as from the failure.
Second, this case proves that innovativeness is a key to
success; the success we can measure with the growth rate
of Sadakalo with its other competitors such as Nipun or
Prabartanait is well ahead of them in terms of the number
of stores. Moreover, when the other competitors have been
producing almost similar products with vibrant colours,
Sadakalo adopted only two colours (namely, white and
black) colouring its productsa very risky thought though.
However, Sadakalo proved that two simple colours do
have the ability to colour a society, regardless of ageif
the designs are innovative and contemporary. The case also

presented how and why Sadakalo pulled-out one of its

outlets (Pink City, Dhaka, Bangladesh) realizing different
customer-base and interest. This is a significant contribution to existing management knowledge: flexible management that revises its decision regularly suits better than a
rigid or stiff management, especially for fashion-based
firms. However, closing the Designers Corner because of
the high administrative costs in Gulshan area conveys
the message to conduct proper costbenefit analysis
beforehand. This type of hiccup, possibly and potentially,
conveys a misleading message to the customers suspecting
the business ineffectiveness or inefficiency of the firms.
The third significant finding, and hence the lesson for
the others, is the inter-outlets distribution mechanism.
Sadakalo circulates the products that do not sell well in a
particular store. This mechanism ensures entertaining
larger customers as well as increases the likelihood of
selling items. Implicitly, this does challenge the traditional
promotion through sale concept of fashion and retail
stores. However, in a soothing manner (in Conclusion), the
current case study worries about this strategy of Sadakalo.
Hence, this study opens the debate on the efficient use/mix
of businesspromotion versus redistribution mechanism.
The fourth interesting finding of this study is the
segmentation of the customer-base. Sadakalos products
target 10 per cent of the total market share of males which
is around 80 per cent for femalesthis is reflected too by
their floor design in an outlet, while the rest is occupied by
household and decorative items. For the male customers,
as the case study claims, Sadakalo produces Fatua and
Panjabi only. However, some business analysts argue why
Sadakalo does not penetrate the male segment with Western
dresses such as t-shirts, blazers, ties, cuff-links and so on
with its black and white feature. Similarly, female
customers are increasingly showing their interest towards
Western dresses; but, Sadakalo does not entertain them
with shirts or skirtsagain with monochrome appeal.

Case Analysis l

138

Sadakalo: Marketing of Traditional Fashion in the Modern Fashion Industry

SE

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Mohammad Alamgir Hossain

School of Business
North South University
Bashundhara, Dhaka-1229
Bangladesh

Day. Among them some occasions demand presence or

prominence of specific colours in clothing, for example,
black and white in International Mother Language Day,
white and red in Bengali New Year, and red and green in
both the occasions of Independence and Victory Day. As
such, Sadakalo has a natural disadvantage of not being able
to use so many colours to take advantage of various
occasional demands.
However, in spite of the built-in weakness, Sadakalo
was able to succeed to establish itself as a unique brand
portraying style, sophistication and beauty using only two
colourswhite and black. This apparently impossible feat
was possible because of strong determination and ingenious
design concepts by the founder Ms Shahin and her design
team. Sadakalo went ahead going beyond from mere two
colours to more theme-based concepts and sometimes
blending Western fashion aspects with traditional one
using creative shades of black and white. This is the core
strength of Sadakalo.
Budget allocation for promotional activities (only 34
per cent of annual revenue) seemed inadequate. If Sadakalo
increased its promotional activities may be more people
would be attracted towards its products, especially those
people whose favourite colours are black, white or both. In
that sense, Sadakalo may not be utilizing its full potential
and thereby losing opportunity to capture more market
share. Moreover, Sadakalo can expand its business to other
divisional cities, such as, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi,
Khulna and Barishal, by opening outlets at appropriate
locations.
Bangladesh is surrounded by India (more specifically
the Indian state West Bengal) on three sides. Due to this
geographical proximity, many of the cultural aspects of
Bangladesh are pretty similar to those of West Bengal.
Thus, some clothing styles are very similar as well and
there is a demand for Indian clothing in the local market.
That is why imported Indian clothes may always be a threat
to the business of Sadakalo. In fact, this is a major reason
why Sadakalo had to close its outlet in the Pink City of
Gulshan, Dhaka.

Hence, the current study opens the need and prospect of

further research.
The journey Tahsina began in 2002 took 12 years to
catch attention of the academic researchers; however,
readers can capture the lessons from Sadakalo from the
stated case study. Therefore, this case offers significant
contributions for managers. Similarly, the why and why
not questions prominent in its practices have significant
values to offer to the practitioners. Furthermore, it offers a
practical implementation of the general management
theories while creates a number of potential debates on
prior theories. Overall, it is a good reflection on business
concepts.

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The case is based on traditional fashion industry of

Bangladesh with a particular focus on Sadakalo. Sadakalo,
founded by Ms. Tahsina Shahin, is a retail chain making
traditional clothing for men, women and children and
selling the clothing to people who mostly belong to the
middle income group. Sadakalo has been established based
on a unique business concept of making clothing using
only two colourswhite and black (sada and kalo in
Bengali); that is how its name came into being.
Two major market segments of Bangladeshi fashion
industry are traditional and Western. Traditional clothing
demand by men mainly includes panjabi-payjama, kurta,
fatua and lungi; whereas women commonly choose
between saree and shalwar-kamiz. As for Western clothing,
typically men wear shirt-pant, t-shirt, suit, etc. and women
wear tops-skirts, t-shirts and leggings.
Traditionally, Bangladeshi people used to prefer tailormade stitched clothing for years. But this perception has
been changing due to increasing tailoring cost, on one
hand, and availability of fashionable ready-made clothing
by local brands at reasonably cheaper prices, on the other
hand.

ER

Case Analysis ll
Introduction

Brief SWOT Analysis

Demand for traditional clothing rises typically during
national, religious and cultural occasions, such as, Eid
festivals, Puja festivals, Bengali New Year, International
Mother Language Day, Independence Day and Victory
Vision, 18, 2 (2014): 137143

Right Moves
Sadakalo first introduced identical design concept for
family members by coming up with dresses with similar
design theme for both parents and children, and also for
couples. The team of designers always makes reasonable
effort to collect design ideas from various sources and
brings constant variations in design.
In 2004, Sadakalo used renowned media personalities
Ali Zaker and Sara Zaker for the opening of its third outlet
in Bailey Road and that shop experienced immediate
success. Bailey Road is famous for its theatres, boutiques

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Shahzada M. Imran, Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury, Moinuddin Md. Rahat Sobhan and Rakib Jafor
and restaurants attracting numerous media personalities
and people in general who love culture and value our
tradition the most. This location was so appropriate for
Sadakalo that it opened another outlet (sixth one) at the
Navana Bailey Star Market in Bailey Road in 2008. This
outlet has been the most popular so far.
There is a popular saying Keep your friends close, and
your enemies closer. Sadakalo exactly did that when it
joined with Deshi Dosh. Deshi Dosh is a flagship outlet of
10 major domestic brands selling similar kinds of products
with similar price ranges. So, this will help Sadakalo
observe the moves of nine major competitors from a close
distance.
In 2009, it was first time for Sadakalo and also for any
Bangladeshi fashion house to open an outlet in a foreign
land, at Jackson Heights of New York, USA. Jackson
Heights is a popular area for Bangladeshi people living in
New York to shop and hang out. Sadakalo opened another
outlet in Florida, USA next year. In the hope of opening
more outlets in USA, Sadakalo came to an arrangement
with Bangla Trading, a company that participates in fairs
year-round throughout USA.

139

Table 1. Recommended Change in Product Range

Particulars

Existing (%)

Mens wear
Womens wear
Childrens wear
Others
Total

35
35
25
5
100

Suggested (%)
25
60
10
5
100

Wrong Moves

M
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It is very important to identify a good match between the

demand of the locality and the traditional value or
philosophy of Sadakalo before opening an outlet. Sadakalo
failed to do that when it became too ambitious and decided
to open an exclusive outlet in Gulshan, called Designers
Corner, the first of its kind in Dhaka, showcasing clothes
of 10 eminent designers of Bangladesh and abroad and
selling dresses at exorbitantly high prices. Sadakalo made
a similar mistake opening an outlet in Gulshan at the Pink
City shopping mall which is a popular market for imported
clothing. Eventually, those two outlets were shut down due
to continuous bad performance.

ER

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Sadakalo depends on over 100 suppliers for 50 per cent

of its production requirements. It should make an active
effort to reduce its dependence on outside suppliers for two
reasons. First, there is a higher chance that a competitor
may get hold of a design idea and imitate that design before
Sadakalo launches its product in the market. Second, the
in-house production facility will give Sadakalo management better control and more efficiency ensuring improved
quality.
Now a days, online stores are becoming more and more
common, especially using social networking sites such as
Facebook, in addition to having personal websites. Some
are only present online without having any physical showroom. Sadakalo may utilize the information technology to
be present in the online community going beyond geographic limitations and virtually reach out to any place in
the world.

FO

Shahzada M. Imran
School of Business
North South University
Bashundhara, Dhaka-1229
Bangladesh

Recommendations

According to the data given in the case, 85 per cent of the

local men demand Western clothing and rest 15 per cent
traditional clothing. In contrast, 80 per cent of the womens
wear demand is covered by traditional clothing and only
20 per cent by Western. It is also mentioned in the case that
70 per cent of the Sadakalo customers are women and
30 per cent are men which is obvious from the traditional
clothing demand by these two genders mentioned above.
Moreover, as majority of Sadakalo customers belong to the
age group of 3049 years, focus on childrens wear should
be less. Considering above facts, Sadakalo should think
about changing its product range focus as recommended
in Table 1.

Case Analysis lll

From a (female) entrepreneurial perspective, the founder
of Sadakalo, Tahsina Shahin creates an example in
Bangladesh. Starting from one outlet, Sadakalo has now
extended its presence outside Bangladesh. Hence, Sadakalo
represents the footprint of Bangladeshi fashion styles in
world market, competing with other big brands. Similarly,
exposing this case to the researchers and practitioners is a
great effort. Moreover, examining a firm from overall
management and marketing perspectives as well as with
presenting both achievements and challenges of the
company is comparatively exceptional and worthwhile to
discuss. The significance of this novel case study to
managerial practice is enormous. The case clearly outlines
the purpose of Sadakalo. The key issues for this case are as
follows:
Following the law of diminishing marginal effort, starting a business takes more effort than that for the next one.
First of all, Sadakalo was unique and innovative selecting
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Sadakalo: Marketing of Traditional Fashion in the Modern Fashion Industry

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Zaker; they have participated in her promotional photo

session which worked as the turning point for Sadakalo.
As Ms Tahsina has good business network, her business
expanded to international market; for instance, Sadakalo
exports its products to New York and Florida. Hence, the
case presents a very good example of promotional aspects
of an entrepreneur.
This case study also presented a significant lesson for
the practitioners. Prior studies found that e-commerce
reduces market entry costs for firms and search costs for
customers. Likewise, current entrepreneurs including
Sadakalo adopt click and mortar style of business model.
When Aarong (the biggest in this market segment) sleeps
Sadakalo still remains in the business because of its
e-commerce presence (limited scale). Tahsinas higher
academic qualifications also helped her in this regard; she
learnt the information system (IS) use in retail business
while she applied flexible management styles with quick
reflection from theories. This is the learning process we
always expect and appreciate. I would say Sadakalo and
this case study are complimentary; Tahsina applied
academic theories in her business while this case study
presents a real-life success story to the future students. In
conclusion, though Ms Tahsina attracted significant
attention in fashion market the spirit of the case, I believe,
predicts qualitative market-research in future from
Sadakalo so that it comes up with more innovative designs
according to its customer need, in order to sustain in the
competitive retail fashion market.
Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury
Atomix System Limited
Bashundhara, Dhaka-1229
Bangladesh

FO

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its first store; they chose a location where midrange earners

do live and university-going people do visit; not a financially rich or poor locality. As a result, Sadakalo to be
accepted by the huge middle income customer groups of
Bangladesh. Hence, Sadakalo is smart selecting and then
targeting its customers. It has been observed in retail
fashion that many firms just had to leave the market
because of the poor choice of business location; the selection of a store is largely dependent on the environment
where it operates, as well as on the other factors including
demographic and existing competition. Sadakalo was the
only brand in this market-segment in Rifles Square; therefore, it enjoyed a huge competitive advantage initially
which would have driven them for the future stores. This
case study is expressive telling us the Sadakalo story.
The current case study put a good effort explaining the
products and the rationale for those products; readers from
any range can easily grasp the story and the moral. It is
complimentary to the case study that Sadakalo considered
making not only gorgeous but also fashionable clothing
and gift-items, and more importantly, which would create a
completely different sense of brand image with only black
and white colours. Hence, it can entertain customers with
simplicity; simplicity is a not-so-practiced business advice
to the entrepreneurs, Sadakalo is one of the rare. Moreover,
it produces its products from cotton, not using silk or so.
Therefore, consumers use the product for daily use which
in turn develop a sense of ownership among the customers
to this brand; that eventually positively affects the loyalty
of the customers. Moreover, the products for parents or
friends are simple but touchy, and are different (or sometimes unique) to the competitors. Hence, some products
from Sadakalo are the obvious choice for specific customers in some occasions. For instance, Sadakalo produces
mugs with your date of birth and horoscope; hence, it
leaves you, as a customer, no choice but to pick one for
your friendit creates a sense that the mug is designed and
manufactured only for your friend! Once again, the case
study is comprehensive in this regard.
This case study presents another weapon to the success
of Sadakaloits continuous effort on promotional strategy.
Some companies rely on advertising as the only aspect of
promotional activity. However, Sadakalo spends only 34
per cent of its annual revenue as the promotional expense
(which includes advertisement and newspaper features),
but Ms. Tahsina Shahin also introduces summer clearance
sale during mid of the year which attracts many potential
customers, resulting with a good amount of revenue as
well. This strategy is a proven practice in developed
countries; let us see how it works in Bangladesh.
The public relation and networking aspect: Ms Shahin
developed and utilized a good relationship with two famous
celebrities of the country, Mr Ali Zaker and Mrs Sara
Vision, 18, 2 (2014): 137143

Case Analysis lV
This case demonstrates the image of a successful
Bangladeshi fashion house Sadakalo by focusing on its
plans, challenges and strategies. The case emphasizes on
the activities that allow Sadakalo to continue to build its
reputation in Bangladeshi fashion market. Moreover, the
case also shows some challenges faced by Sadakalo for its
sustenance in the fashion market of Bangladesh.
The case illustrates Sadakalo as one of the successful
fashion houses of Bangladesh which relies on some competitive and absolute advantages. First of all, Sadakalo
focuses on being different and unique, the exceptionality
and combination of the two colour products keep them
different from all other traditional local brands. The idea of
creating black and white clothes, at a time when everyone
else was focusing on vibrant colours allowed Sadakalo
to attract significant number of consumers who are

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Shahzada M. Imran, Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury, Moinuddin Md. Rahat Sobhan and Rakib Jafor

FO

Challenges of Sadakalo
Further study of the case illustrates various issues which
can act as barriers for the growth of Sadakalo. These issues
are as follows:
At present, Sadakalo only focuses on traditional products in the line with different cultural festivals. Therefore,
it is unable to sell an appropriate volume of clothes

IA

SE

throughout the year. Secondly, its poor marketing strategies and low budget make them unable to increase expected
sales.
A successful fashion house like Sadakalo should provide
at least two discount sales throughout the year to show
brand loyalty to the regular customers and attract more
customers. However, Sadakalo offers only one summer
sale throughout the year, which allows them to collect a
good amount of revenue. Therefore, it can be believed that
more promotional or discount sales would allow Sadakalo
to be famous and earn more revenue in future. Moreover, Sadakalo has very poor budget for promotion and
advertisement purposes which is 34 per cent of the yearly
revenue. It has no strategies to create website or provide
advertisements on social networking websites. As a result,
Sadakalo has flat sale all over the year except the major
festivals such as Eid-ul Fitar and Eid-ul Azha. Another
reason for the poor sale is due to climate change. Sadakalo
has no strategies to make different clothing products
according to diverse seasons; climate plays an important
role in the demand of clothing products. The case also
states that Sadakalo is relatively immobile in the country.
They are only concentrating in Dhaka city (recently started
also in port city of Chittagong), the capital of the country.
However, there are large numbers of potential customers in
other cities as well. Lastly, due to globalization significant
changes influenced the fashion industry and turned the
market more challenging and competitive for Sadakalo.
However, Sadakalo has not adapted these global changes
as they are only focusing on traditional products which can
reduce the market share of Sadakalo in the long run.

ER

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culture, tradition and fashion conscious people. Sadakalos

innovative designs and continuous development of products is one of the key factors for their sustenance. Moreover,
cultural and festive events play important role for Sadakalo,
as a significant amount of revenue is earned from the
festivals such as Eid, International Mother Language Day,
Durgapuja, Victory Day, Independence Day, Bengali New
Year (Pohela Boishakh), Birthday and Wedding anniversaries. Sadakalo has implemented strategies and proactive
plans for these occasions as a result it enables it to maximize sales. One of the important reasons behind the success
of Sadakalo is the location of its sales outlets. Most of the
stores are situated in prime and populous locations, such
as, Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Uttara and Banani. These places
are convenient and well known to the customers; as a result
in a short time Sadakalo became famous and successful.
Sadakalos reputation and brand value increased after the
formation of Deshi Dosh which reflected an image of
top 10 local brands of the country.
Closer observation of the case shows a few reasons
behind the continuous growth of Sadakalo. The first reason
is the team dynamics and coordination among the various
sectors of production, development and retail. Sadakalo as
a fashion house has keen and organized structure which
enables it to focus on products and introduces new market
strategies such as introducing identical dresses for parents,
children and couples. In addition, continuous survey and
observation enables Sadakalo to be aware of the change in
trends and taste of people. To be competitive and efficient
often senior designers attend international garment fairs to
learn and collect new ideas from the global market and
designers are also responsible to visit the retail stores to
predict the demand for designed products. Secondly, the
brand produces only traditional clothes which reflect the
culture and tradition of the country. Due to such vibrant
and specific product segmentation, Sadakalo is considered
to be one of the first choices of Bangladeshi people for
occasions such as Bengali New Year (Pohela Boishakh).
Products that are required in these kinds of occasion are not
imported from abroad and local competition is relatively
low as a result local people rely on brand like Sadakalo.
Lastly, sustainability of quality and innovative traditional
products in the fashion industry makes Sadakalo reputed
and well known to people.

141

Suggestions
The challenges identified in the case can create critical
issues for the continuous success and growth of Sadakalo;
therefore, necessary steps should be taken to solve these
issues. Some suggestions are provided below to address
the above issues.

products which are required throughout the year

instead of focusing only on few occasions and
festivals.
facilities like loyalty card to be famous and attract
more customers. As a result, the brand value and
market reputation will increase.
advertisements which will allow them to promote in
different social networking websites, newspapers
and magazines. Currently, Internet advertising on
social networking website is considered to be the
Vision, 18, 2 (2014): 137143

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Sadakalo: Marketing of Traditional Fashion in the Modern Fashion Industry

changes and produce products accordingly. Thus,

this will enable it to have balanced sales all over the
year.
in the country and avail its products in the potential
cities which carry more prospective customers.
ion market. As a result, it will be able to increase the
variety and choices to attract more customers by
opening different sections for traditional and global
products with the key concept of black and white
clothing products.

IA

ER

M
M

This case states the positive factors that are the reasons
behind the success of Sadakalo and also shows some
challenges. The suggestions indicated above could be
helpful for Sadakalo to make strategies to achieve future
goals, objectives and improve current condition. Overall,
the case provides important implication for the entrepreneurs, marketing practitioner and policy makers.

Conclusion

same time analyze internal and external environment to

achieve its objectives. Such strategic plans have made the
brand name renowned not only in Bangladesh but also in
the fashion industry of the USA. The case clearly establishes
this in a way the overall operation process is followed in
Sadakalo, the quality of the products, establishing the
brand value by holding the core colour theme of the brand
in the heart of every design, the flat ladder, and coordination
between formal and informal teams which stimulate
competitiveness of the brand.
Deeper analysis of the case gives us two underlying
factors for the success of the brand, thereby making the
brand more renowned and famous to its customers can be
attributed to the following: The first one is the brands
strong sense of its own created identity and the product line
up of the brand. The identity lies in the name of the brand
SADAKALO which means white and black. The brand
has never produced any dress that has more than the two
colours, white and black. Secondly, the brand makes only
traditional dress. These two underlying factors are not only
visible in the products of Sadakalo but also the employees
of the brand strictly respect these two factors and count
them as an obligatory rule to follow values in their everyday
work. Thus, it is very clear from the case study that
organizational success depends on the core value and more
importantly if the organization keeps its core work value in
the heart of its every day work. These two underlying
factors behind the success of Sadakalo also points out the
difference between Sadakalo and other fashion houses that
are operating in the Bangladeshi market and other countries
around the world.

SE

most effective way of advertisement as a large

number of audiences can be informed with relatively
low cost.

Moinuddin Md. Rahat Sobhan

Itelglobe Limited
City Road, London EC1V 2NX
United Kingdom

FO

Case Analysis V

This case depicts the wonderful picture of a renowned

Bangladeshi fashion house Sadakalo by highlighting its
major activities and strategic plans. The case highlights
major strategic plans taken by Sadakalo for becoming one
of the most famous and prestigious brand names in
Bangladeshi fashion industry. The case also brings out
positive and negative challenges faced by Sadakalo in the
competitive market.
The case clearly outlines the purposes of Sadakalo. It
was established in 2002 by a young and innovative
entrepreneur with a spirit of creating a local brand, which
will make traditional Bangladeshi dress only. Over the
years, the brand has made its own reputation in the
Bangladeshi fashion industry. The brand has successfully
produced many unique and innovative designs that attract
customers attention and take place in customers mind as a
symbol of authentic design and quality. The institute, on a
regular basis, is working hard to bring new and innovative
design in the market to attract new customers and at the
Vision, 18, 2 (2014): 137143

Problems Identified in the Case

Short-term problems: In the short term, the first problem is
the decision whether to increase the budget allocated for
promotions. Currently, Sadakalo spends only 34 per cent
of its yearly revenue for promotional purposes. The second
problem is that Sadakalo earns most of its revenue from
two religious festivals instead of generating revenue
throughout the year. Sadakalo earns most of its revenue
(which is around 45 per cent) from the two major religious
festivals: Eid-ul Fitar and Eid-ul Azha.
Long-term problems: Further analysis on the case gives
us another scenario that clearly depicts the problems
Sadakalo might have to face in the near future. The case
states that despite continuous success of Sadakalo as a
well-known brand name in Bangladeshi market, the brand
may lose its market share. The Bangladeshi fashion market
is becoming competitive day by day as new brands are
coming into the market. In addition, the over saturated
market of Dhaka city might impose a problem for Sadakalo.
The case clearly illustrates the purpose of creating the
brand and its brand value. Due its brand value, the company

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Shahzada M. Imran, Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury, Moinuddin Md. Rahat Sobhan and Rakib Jafor
is very reputed in the Bangladeshi market. Reputed
companies like Sadakalo are trend-setters in their own
areas, and leaders in their own field themselves face
difficulties to make changes in the current systems and
mind set. Such resistance to change might affect the overall
business activity in the long run.

143

marketing purposes. Currently, major promotions

for Sadakalo include advertisements, discounts and
newspaper. Most importantly, Sadakalo does not
advertise its product on TV channel since it is
expensive. But Sadakalo has never tried other less
expensive media such as Internet marketing, e-mail
marketing and marketing through Facebook, SMS
marketing, etc. for running its different promotional
activities. The above-mentioned media are less
expensive than TV channels but those media have
the ability to reach target customers more effectively
than TV advertisements. In addition, Sadakalo can
introduce loyalty card for the frequent customers and
offer discounts, this will help Sadakalo with customer retention.

Decision Criteria

SE

The decision criteria for both long and short run are
primarily focused on increasing the current sale and
increasing the brand image through innovative marketing
media.

FO

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good strategy for a short period of time, but in the

long run when the market becomes more saturated,
market share of Sadakalo could decrease significantly. Similarly, if Sadakalo decided not to expand
its operation throughout the country, the decision
may cause a decrease in the overall revenue for the
same reason.

standard, Sadakalo has to change its operational process in some areas. To name an important one,
dependency only on the physical stores and not
developing an online store of its own when the number of Internet users is increasing continuously in
Bangladesh. Like the first and second option, the
third option will help Sadakalo to increase its market
share and to generate more revenue than before.
My proposed solutions to the problems identified in the
case analysis are limited to the following:

strong delivery network is another solution through

which the brand can promote its products to customers. Opening a physical store will take a lot of
time and at the same time, huge cost is involved with
such activities. Opening an online market area in
shortest possible time will not only help Sadakalo
reach its customers in the short term but it will also
help the brand fulfil its long-term goals. People of
this era like to shop online as it is hassle free and
less time consuming; therefore, there is no doubt
that people of Dhaka city will love to use the online
facility. In addition, people who live outside Dhaka
city can also purchase products from the online
market and can receive the product at home without
travelling to Dhaka.

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for marketing and runs other promotional activities,

other competitors can grab customers attention
through innovative marketing. In addition, this
decision could fade out the brand name from the customers mind, as the marketing media Sadakalo is
using at the current moment is unable to grab the
attention of mass customers.

Options and Evaluations

The points discussed above regarding different

marketing concepts, dedicated online market, and strong
delivery system require additional investment. In the short
run, the financial perspective might be a factor that
Sadakalo needs to consider. But if Sadakalo looks upon the
above options considering the companys long-term
objectives, future growth and long-term sustainability
those options might give Sadakalo the expected outcome.
Rakib Jafor
Panacea Systems Ltd
Nasir Trade Center, Dhaka-1209
Bangladesh

Vision, 18, 2 (2014): 137143

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