Arong
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Aarong is Bangladesh's most popular lifestyle retail chain that began in 1978 to empower rural artisans and lift them out of poverty. It now has 20 stores across Bangladesh and supports over 65,000 artisans through fair trade. Aarong revolutionized retail with high quality crafts that blend traditional and contemporary styles. It was founded by BRAC in 1976 to pay rural women for crafts on time, and has since impacted over 325,000 people through small businesses and the Ayesha Abed Foundation's production hub.
Arong
- 1. ORGANIZATION’S PROFILE: Aarong – Bengali for ‘village fair’ – is Bangladesh’s most popular lifestyle retail chain. This ethical brand began in 1978 as a humble means to empower rural artisans to rise above poverty. Today, with 20 retail stores across Bangladesh and over 100 fashion and lifestyle productlines, Aarong supports 65,000artisans with fair terms of trade. Revolutionizing the retail industry with high standards for quality and artistry, this iconic brand blends the traditional with the contemporary in ways that never cease to win consumer appeal both at home and abroad. In 1976, when BRAC– the world’s largest development organization – engaged a small number of rural women to produce crafts, their only buyers were a few scattered retailers in Dhaka. Weeks, even months would pass between supply and payment, until BRAC intervened and established Aarong to pay the rural women for their goods on time. Over the past four decades, Aarong has carved out a unique market segment for handicrafts, reviving Bangladesh’s rich heritage and impacting the lives of more than 325,000 people through 850 small entrepreneurs and the Ayesha Abed Foundation. The foundation acts as Aarong’s production hub, where artisans find employment and access to BRAC’s holistic support.
- 2. ORGANIZATION’S BACKGROUND & HISTORY: FOUNDED: ( December 18, 1978) Dhaka, Bangladesh. FOUNDER: AYESHA ABED & MARTHA CHAN KEY PEOPLES: Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC. Dr. Mohammad Musa, Executive Director, BRAC. Tamara Hasan Abed, Senior Director, Sasi Kumar, Head of Operation, AAF. INDUSTRY & PRODUCT’S: INDUSTRY: Design, sales of clothing, accessories, jewellery, home goods, development, economic empowerment of women.
- 3. PRODUCTS: Clothing, Non-textile craft, Jewellery, Leather goods, Fabric, Footwear, Houseware. REVENUE: According to ’’Wikipedia’’ the revenue of Aarong on the year 2012 was USD 20 Million. According to a newspaper “THE DAILY STAR” on 2017 Aarong sales turnover was TK 850 core or 1 billion USD. ORGANIZATION’S VALUES: Our values are the same as those of BRAC – an organization that showed the world phenomenal progress with its holistic approach to development. With over 300,000 people across the country benefitting from our initiatives, our values remain a constant source of inspiration and pride for us. We value innovation that creates opportunities for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty. We strive to display global leadership in ground-breaking development initiatives. We value integrity, because transparency and accountability are the most essential elements of our work ethic. With clear policies and procedures, we continue to display the utmost level of honesty in our financial dealings.
- 4. We are committed to inclusiveness to ensure that we engage, support and recognize the value of all members of society, regardless of race, religion, gender, nationality, ethnicity, age, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic status and geography. We value effectiveness in all our work, which constantly challenge ourselves to perform better and to improve and deepen the impact of our interventions.