Introduction:

Aarong Bengali for village fair is Bangladeshs 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
15 retail stores across Bangladesh and over 100 fashion and lifestyle
product lines, Aarong supports 65,000 artisans 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 worlds 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 Bangladeshs 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 Aarongs production hub, where
artisans find employment and access to BRACs holistic support including, maternal health care,
hygiene awareness and subsidized latrines, micro-credit, legal aid, day care and education for
their children.

From clay pots to diamond jewellery, and silk and cotton fabrics to brass and leather
merchandise, Aarongs vast range of innovative products, backed by a robust supply chain and
distribution network, makes Aarong truly a household brand in Bangladesh. Its growing presence
outside of Bangladesh through fair-trade networks and the online shop continues to broaden
the market for Bangladeshi crafts globally, creating more opportunities for artisans to protect
their age-old art and livelihoods.
Background of the
Organization:
With the vision of enlightened, healthy and democratic societies
free from hunger, poverty environmental degradation & forms of
exploitation BRAC started its journey in 1972 after the
liberation war. Aarong established 1978; Aarong is a fair trade
organization. Aarong dedicated to bring about positive changes
in the lives of disadvantage artisans and underprivileged rural
women by reviving and promoting their handicraft. It is reaching
out to weavers, potters, brass workers, jewelers, jute workers,
basket weavers, wood carvers, leather workers & more. Aarong
embraces and nurtures 65,000 artisans, 85% of whom are
women. Today, Aarong has become the foundation upon which dependent co-operative groups
and family-based artisans market their craft, in an effort to position the nations handicraft
industry on a world patron appreciation and acknowledgement.

Today few urban consumers will argue that Aarong is the local Mecca for DESHI handicraft.
Aarong product designs has bought consumer attention back to the products and style that are
indigenous to Bangladesh, its designers blending the traditional with the contemporary in a
manner that has won instant consumer appeal, starting a revolution intent that has now been
taken up by countless boutiques and stores. Aarongs present design focus on the diverse types
and textures of crafts and patterns that have been played along from generation to generation
among weavers and artisans in craft hubs around the country. Aarong means a village fair it
symbolizes fairness in the global village. Aarong works as the marketing arm of BRAC. Its
objective is to provide a stable and gainful source of employment for the poor rural people.

Aarong's Timeline
1978 Opened its first retail outlet in Dhaka, Bangladesh
1982 Established the Ayesha Abed Foundation, a network of production centres
1983 Opened a retail outlet in Chittagong, Bangladesh
1985 Opened a retail outlet in Sylhet, Bangladesh
1987 Entered the export market
1995 Opened a retail outlet in Khulna, Bangladesh
1999 Participated in its first international fashion show
2001 Launched a retail franchise in London, United Kingdom
2003 Launched its sub-brand Taaga, womens western fusion wear
2008 Celebrated its 30th anniversary with an exhibition series and fashion gala
2011 Opened its flagship outlet in Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2012 Opened a retail outlet in Comilla, Bangladesh
Relationship between BRAC & Aarong:
The women Aarong employs are among the countrys most
disadvantaged. Through Aarong they have been offered a
way out of destitution and degradation where before they had
none. And the benefits that they received extend well beyond
simply the wages they earn of their products, since every
single woman who works in Aarong- owned product
facilities is also a beneficiary of BRACs multifaceted
development programs. As a support entity of BRAC, a significant portion of Aarong earnings go
directly into financing the NGOs development programs in heath care, education as well as

economic and social development.

Logo:
The logo of Aarong is the image of a peacock. It is rally eye catchy and beautiful because of the
glowing, luminous, diversified colorful patterns in its tail. Through this logo Aarong
communicates that its products are as eye-catching and as unique as a peacock. Moreover, it
wants to emphasize on its natural, eco-friendly products through the symbol. There are two
colors in the Aarongs logo. One is black and another is
orange. Black represents professionalism and orange
represents energy.
Mens Product:

Maanja

Fatua T-shirt

Shirt Traditional sandal

Womens product:

Traditional Western
 Night Ware Bag sandal

Childrens product:

Clothe s
Sandal Toy

Baby set
 What is CSR? :
Corporate social responsibility, often abbreviated
"CSR," is a corporation's initiatives to assess
and take responsibility for the company's effects
on environmental and social well being. The
term generally applies to efforts that go beyond
what may be required by regulators or
environmental protection groups.

CSR may also be referred to as "corporate citizenship" and can involve incurring short-
term costs that do not provide an immediate financial benefit to the company, but instead of
promote positive social and environmental change.

CSR Practice in Bangladesh:

Apart from the benevolent social services by
some business firms, the new concept of CSR
is an emerging one. In the context of
Bangladesh, it is more relevant for the export-
oriented industry. Globalization has made CSR
practice an imperative for Bangladesh business.
Awareness and sense of necessity for practicing
CSR is becoming more and more pronounced
as the country has to adapt itself to the process
of globalization. But the overall status of CSR
in Bangladesh is still very meager. Lack of
Good Governance, absence of strong labor
unions or consumer rights groups, and inability
of the business community to perceive CSR as a survival pre-condition in export and PR
investment local market constitute some of elements undermining the evolution of CSR
practices. Some untoward incident like boycott from the importer has taught the local business
community about the immense importance of CSR and adoption of this modern and competitive
practice is gradually increasing in Bangladesh.

CSR in Bangladesh can also contribute a lot to community development. The corporate house
can develop the community by creating employment, providing primary education, contribution
to infrastructure development like road and high-ways and addressing environmental concerns.
This is more relevant for a country like Bangladesh where the government interventions in these
fields being augmented by corporate alliance can go a long way in developing the economy,
society and environment.
Aarong Ayesha Abed Foundation (for rural
women)
Ayesha Abed Foundation (AAF) is an organization that
aims to provide avenues for employment and income
generation for under privileged rural women. It is an
enclave for women, formed to uplift them economically,
through their work as producers, and also socially, through
their development into entrepreneurs. The foundation
provides an appropriate working environment, financial
and technical assistance, and training to develop the
women skills in various crafts. The foundation was
established to commemorate the memory and work for
late Mrs. Ayesha Abed, a co-worker and wife of the Founder and Chairperson of BRAC. The
work that is done in the foundation is a testament to her commitment to the issues of education,
training and employment opportunities for deprived women, It was she who in 1976 initiated all
the present major activities of AAF in Manikgonj.

The AAF aims to work with the most underprivileged women in the society. These women are
often the most neglected and are in need of much assistance and support. The AAF plays the role
of a facilitator. The women are placed in an enabling environment, with other women of similar
socio-economic backgrounds. They are trained and then given the opportunity to generate
income. One of the major challenges that these women have to face is that they are marginalized
and they, on their own, have no way of becoming part of the economic system. This is where the
AAF steps in, helping such marginalized women out of their peripheral existence in society, and
giving them the opportunity to become involved in sustainable enterprise.

The AAF is closely interrelated with other programs especially BRAC Development Program
(BDP) and Aarong. The women workers of the AAF come from the BDP organized village
organizations. Working at the AAF thus gives the women access to other BRAC programs. All of
the AAFs finished products are sold through Aarong, which additionally provides designs, raw
materials and financial support to AAF.
 Go Green Save Environment:
Environmental development and the social, economic and humanitarian development of poor,
destitute, retreated, disadvantaged, and oppressed population of the society. Sitting in an office
environment, it is hard to visualize how our activities are impacting on the environment. Issues,
such as air pollution, global climate change, deforestation, landfills, water availability,
biodiversity, chemical pollution and soil erosion, seem very distant and unrelated to the activities
we undertake at work. It is now recognized that climate change and carbon management is a
critical issue that must be addressed through innovation and intricate collaboration. However, we
all make decisions everyday that contribute to these environmental problems and we all have a
responsibility to ensure that our everyday decisions and operations contribute as little as possible
to these broader environmental issues.

Aarong believes in sustainable development of the society & environment. Nevertheless the
centre for every effort of Aarong is the establishment of poor women and children
socioeconomically to create and enabling condition to enjoy the civic, political, economic and
cultural rights.

Aarong every year sponsored many program about

the environment and for the protection of the
environment. It helps to campaign for training the
youth men and women which makes a great CSR of
the society.
 Dont Dump it Recycle it
Construct a primary recycling station in a central
location within the office of Aarong. This will
encourage customer to leave their garbage to
dustbin place for all recycling material in one
area.
Every desk has a paper recycling box. Staff
should empty their paper bins into the central
recycling station which is to be centrally located
in office.
Recycling Paper is in everywhere at every office
& outlets.

To start a recycling program, determine which material Aarong want to recycle, find
someone to pick up the material, put recycling bins
around your office, and get staff to participate.
That is "all" there is to it. Having commitment
from its management to encourage customer.

Creating a Paper Reduction

Campaign:
Offices use a lot of paper, so they are a prime target for
waste reduction. A paper reduction campaign is a focused
effort
to
promote paper reduction by using less paper,
reusing paper where appropriate, and

Paper can be used for

making envelope
Aarong Reuse envelopes by and send them
through the mail again whenever possible. We understand that many businesses do not like some
types of activities in used envelopes for reasons of corporate image. However, Aarong makes
various beautiful paper envelops and wrapping papers for the customers to attract the customer
and makes a message that paper can be used for making many beautiful necessaries. Aarong sell
this reused labels for envelopes, which have a discrete message at the bottom explaining that this
envelope was reused to save trees.

Say No to Child
Labor:
In Aarong child labor is prohibited. Minimum 14 years
old who will be treated as young labor. Under 14 years
aged worker are children so it will be counted as illegal
action if Aarong hire or appoint children. Under
Bangladesh labor code 2006 it is punishable if any
organization hire child as a labor. But there is some
exceptional case. Any child attaining the age twelve
may be employed in light work which is not dangerous
to his health and development or which will not
prevent him from his education. Girls under 15 years
of age are preferred in the foundation, as they work for less wages, are more likely to be
unmarried with no children or domestic responsibilities, and cause no labor problems.
Certification of fitness should be approved by a registered physician to prove whether the young
person is fit or not.

Aarong sometimes organized free campaigning for the poor and needed children to help them.
Sometimes the company gives donation to

them and sponsored many charitable foundation for the

needed and poor children.
Youth Employment can be Better Employment
In Aarong there is part-time job opportunity beside the study. The salary here increases with the
experience. And not to wait for better-paying job after completing studies.

The opportunity of work part-time or in contract is available at different outlets of Aarong as a

sales executive. The organization has the opportunity to work part-time or contractual for both
men and woman students.

Part-time job opportunities are available also at different arrangements like month-long
International Trade Fair. University students are getting preferred for appointing in this
organization.
Usually the part-time job opportunities are more at Chain Shopping Malls. The fashion houses
are taking contractual workers before different festivals like Eid or Puja. However, the first
choice of male female candidates is Aarong for part-time work. In addition we can
usually see working hour of various companies is 8:00 am to 9:00 pm. In that case, the part-time
duty time is six-seven hours. The timing of part-time job at Aarong is 9:00 am - 3:00 pm and
3:00 pm - 9:00 pm. There is also the opportunity of full-time work.
So it is a better choice for the students to get a better
career opportunity in Aarong for its student job
facilities. This is their indirect CSR activities which
basically help those needed students who run their
education at their own earnings.

Donation of winter
clothes to the needed
people:
Each year, the winter weather affects thousands of households across Bangladesh. The most
vulnerable people are those already living in poverty; people who live in open areas like bus or
railway stations or slum dwellers who cant afford to buy warm clothing and whose houses
provide little protection from the weather. This seasonal cold weather increases the occurrence
of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases. During the winter of 2012/2013, over 2 million
households were affected and temperatures reached a record low of 3C.For the past few years,
BRAC and AARONG has provided people with blankets and warm clothes, taking donations of
items from its staff and other organizations.

This year BRAC has committed to give 100,000 blankets to the people who need them most.
BRAC is collaborating with Aarong, a BRAC social enterprise and one of the leading retail
brands in Bangladesh, to collect blankets, jumpers and shawls in the BRAC head office and at
Aarong outlets. These will be distributed throughout the month in the coldest districts.

For the first time ever, BRAC and Aarong is also accepting donations through bKash from the
public. The idea to crowd source money in this way came from an engineering student from
Chittagong. He submitted the idea as part of the Innovation Fund for Mobile Money Challenge
last spring. Heres what he had to say about it, Collecting relief aid is very time consuming and
inefficient using mobile money can be a good alternative. Social media is being used more and
more to raise awareness. This is the most effective CSR practice of BRAC and Aarong.

Economic Contribution of Aarong:

Aarong has become the foundation for independent cooperative groups and family-based artisans
to market their craft, both within Bangladesh and internationally. The project currently has nine
retail outlets and supports more than 65,000 artisans in 2,000 villages across Bangladesh. An
additional 25,000 independent cooperative groups and traditional family-based artisans also sell
their crafts through Aarong. Potters, brass workers, jewellers, jute workers, basket weavers,
handloom and silk weavers, wood carvers, leather workers and other artisans from all over the
country come to Aarong for marketing and support services.

Every woman who works in Aarong-owned

production facilities is also a beneficiary of
BRAC's multifaceted development programmes
with access to microcredit to develop income-
generation activities in addition to their regular
wages.

As further evidence of BRAC's successful business

model, Aarong has seen an average annual
business growth of 40 per cent in the past four years. While many local export-orientated
businesses have suffered as a result of the current world economic climate, Aarong's market,
which is 95 per cent domestic, has grown by an estimated
12 per cent this year. Built on the strength of its strong
domestic market, the Aarong label has become
Bangladesh's leading fashion brand. The sheer scale of
BRAC's reach and reputation within Bangladesh has been
part of the reason the Aarong project has been so
successful. The brand has a strong national identity and
customers are proud to shop there. They also trust BRAC's
sustainable business practices that have evolved through a
model of trial first before scaling up.
Aarong has also successfully found a niche in the retail fashion space. Prior to the establishment
of Aarong's retail outlets, shopping for quality textile products was either through the backstreets
of local markets or in up-market boutiques inside hotels. It is the closest shopping experience to
a department store in Bangladesh, offering a range of products ranging from clothing, shoes,
jewellery and accessories to furniture and homewards. So, although the brand's marketing
includes billboard advertising and fashion shows within the country, it is really the elements of
convenience, range and quality of product, combined with a strong national identity, that have
effectively become its marketing tools.

The value of Aarong to the creative industries in Bangladesh is not only economic. The success
of the retail brand has inspired consumer interest in indigenous Bangladeshi design through
blending the traditional with the contemporary in a manner that has won instant consumer
appeal. Aarong's product designs focus on the
diverse types and textures of crafts and
patterns that have been passed along from
generation to generation among weavers and
artisans in craft hubs around the country.
Aarong also plays a role in protecting and
promoting traditional Bangladeshi products
and designs through its extensive design
library where remnants of the country's rich
craft heritage, such as Nakshikantha art and
Jamdani patterns, have been widely
researched and archived.
So in summary we can say about the contribution of
Aarong in the economy of Bangladesh is:

Aarong in one of the largest social

enterprise of BRAC Established in 1978 as
retail chain that is marketing a significant
contribution to the local economy through
Creation of market linkage
Creation of entrepreneurs
Creation of employment opportunities.
85% of the artisans employed by Aarong are
women. Through which women can contribute to the economy.
For Arongs Approach to microfinance
Bangladeshs Remittance can be added to the economy by it
Employment opportunity is much higher.
It increases the GDP of Bangladesh.
Aarongs Market, Which is 95% domestic, has grown by an estimated 12% this year.

Consumer of aarong:
The following consumer percentage
is explained by pie Age group Number of consumer in diagram in below:
percentage
10-18 20%

18-26 45%
26-36 20%
36-above 15%

number of consumer
18-Oct
18-26
26-36
36-above

In this study we find out some major problems of Aarong. We have come up with some
recommendation which Aarong can use for their advancement. These are:-

Aarongs website should be updated more frequently with the current issues and
vacancies.
The compensation Package in Aarong is not attractive; they should restructure their salary
and other compensation.
The training for the sales associates should be more related to their job responsibilities
rather than just product orientation.
 As there is competency gap in employees, Aarong should start employee training and
other development programs to develop the employees.
The company policy should be increased.
Price level should be reduced.
Discount rate should be given more than one time in a year.
Produce new style of product.
Hire well educated creative designer.
Aarong should be improved its social compliance and producer relation department.

Aarong is not
only a fashion
house it is more
than that.
Aarong has

celebrated 38 years of its success. Over the year it has brought positive change in the life style of
disadvantage people. With times Aarong has involved itself as one of the most successful
lifestyle in our country maintaining the tradition and the trends.

Besides becoming the leading lifestyle chain store in Bangladesh through Ayesha Abed
Foundation and have been able to create employment of thousands of people. As a result Aarong
is a fair trade organization reaching global market by representing folklore tradition of
Bangladesh. Aarong and AAF play the role of protector and promoter of traditional Bangladeshi
products and designs.

The designers and the innovators of the product offered by Aarong have not only established the
organization of as leaders in handicrafts but have also reignited interest and popularity for styles
and traditional crafts that native to the country. It is this gracious blend of contemporary and
customary that ensures that each product is original and saleable in a modern society.