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Dear Sir,
With due respect it is our pleasure to present the term paper entitled ‘‘A Case Study and Analysis of
Brothers Furniture Ltd.” as part of our course requirement. This report was extremely interesting to
work at as it gave me the opportunity to have a detailed perception of the current situation of the
furniture industry in Bangladesh.
The report mainly revolves around the SWOT, PESTEL & Porter’s Five Force Model Analysis of Brother’s
Furniture Ltd. These analyses helped us to identify several external and internal factors that affect the
overall business strategy. And in respect to “Brothers Furniture Ltd,” we were able to learn the way of
utilizing several business analysis tools and the present standpoint of this company.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for helping us immensely in every possible way to
get this report prepared. We have completed this report with our utmost sincerity and hope that you
will appreciate this endeavor. However, if any explaining is required, we would be available to answer
any question for clarification.
Sincerely,
Batch--48d
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Contents
1. Introduction: ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Brothers Furniture ltd. ............................................................................................................ 1
2. Origin:.............................................................................................................................................. 1
3. Methodology:.................................................................................................................................. 2
3.1. Data Sources: .......................................................................................................................... 2
3.2. Objective: ................................................................................................................................ 2
3.3. Scope: ...................................................................................................................................... 2
3.4. Limitations of the Proceedings: .............................................................................................. 3
4. Strategic Analysis of Brothers Furniture ltd. : ................................................................................. 4
4.1. PESTEL Analysis: ...................................................................................................................... 4
4.1.1. Political: ........................................................................................................................... 4
4.1.2. Economical: ..................................................................................................................... 5
4.1.3. Sociological:..................................................................................................................... 9
4.1.4. Technological: ............................................................................................................... 10
4.1.5. Environmental: .............................................................................................................. 11
4.1.6. Legal: ............................................................................................................................. 11
4.2. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis: ................................................................................................ 11
4.2.1. Intensity of Competitive rivalry: ................................................................................... 12
4.2.2. Threat of new entrants: ................................................................................................ 12
4.2.3. Threat of substitute products or services: .................................................................... 13
4.2.4. Bargaining power of suppliers: ..................................................................................... 13
4.2.5. Bargaining power of customers: ................................................................................... 13
4.3. SWOT Analysis: ..................................................................................................................... 14
4.3.1. Strengths: ...................................................................................................................... 14
4.3.2. Weakness: ..................................................................................................................... 15
4.3.3. Opportunities: ............................................................................................................... 15
4.3.4. Threats: ......................................................................................................................... 15
5. Conclusion: .................................................................................................................................... 16
6. References ...................................................................................................................................... A
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List of Figures:
iii
Executive Summary:
The Brothers Furniture Ltd was established in 1985. The company manufactures wooden furniture
and machine made wooden door, doorframe, stair rail, molding bit, wooden floor, kitchen cabinet etc.
The Brothers Furniture Ltd has good technical skills and marketing experiences that have been praised
in different international trade fairs at home and abroad.
The PESTEL analysis conducted on the furniture industry reveals that irrespective of some minor
complications the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal condition for this
industry is favorable. And these facts are supporting the growth of this industry.
According to the porter's five forces analysis, the threat of substitute products, the threat of new
entrants and the bargaining power of both the buyers & suppliers are less. But "Brothers Furniture
ltd." is facing a high risk rivalry from Hatil furniture ltd. and Akhtar Furniture ltd.
From SWOT analysis it was observed that, “Brothers Furniture ltd." is holding a good position in the
market. But it has some weaknesses that may prove fatal in the future. But if the company utilizes the
opportunities and remain aware of the potential threat, it will not just survive, it can become one of
the market leaders in the industry.
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1. Introduction:
The furniture industry is one of the most potential sectors in Bangladesh and the overall condition of
the sector is very good in recent years. Local furniture manufacturers are meeting a huge local demand
while the upper section of society is also having access to imported furniture. Fortunately, the local
companies have the lion’s share of the market. After meeting the local demand, furniture industry
moves forward and is concentrating on exporting furniture to neighboring countries specially India.
There are 5,000 registered furniture houses in the country, according to the Bangladesh Furniture
Association. Almost 99 per cent of them are non-brand operators. There are about 72,000 enterprises
present in the furniture industry of Bangladesh and the total market share held by these organizations
is about 66.65 percent. The domestic furniture market is worth an estimated 67 Billion BDT and
growing at a rate of 19% yearly. And the country’s total furniture export was only 4.3 Million USD in
the fiscal year (2011-2012). (PKF, Accountants and business advisors, January 2013)
The production coordinators of this company strive to have a quality product produced in a timely and
efficient manner. In the unlikely event a defect is found, complete customer satisfaction in quality and
workmanship is guaranteed. The Increasing demand for wooden home and office furniture and
machine made wooden door, door frame, stair rail, molding bit, wooden floor, kitchen cabinet etc.
made them ahead than the stream line companies.
The yearly turnover of this company is about 5.2 million USD. And company employs over 150 full-
time employees. (Brothers Furniture ltd., 2014)
2. Origin:
This report titled as “A Case Study and Analysis of Brothers Furniture Ltd.” has been assigned by Dr. A.
K. M. Saiful Majid, Course Instructor, as a partial requirement of the course Business Strategy (W650).
1
3. Methodology:
3.2. Objective:
The primary intention was to conduct a thorough strategic analysis on Brothers Furniture Ltd. using
broadly accepted analytical tools such as -
PESTEL Analysis
Porter's Five Forces Analysis
SWOT Analysis
3.3. Scope:
This strategic analysis task given to us regarding “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” rewarded us with the
following opportunities:
2
3.4. Limitations of the Proceedings:
Limitations that were confronted while preparing this report are as following-
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4. Strategic Analysis of Brothers Furniture ltd. :
4.1.1. Political:
4.1.1.1. Political Instability:
If we go through the political condition of Bangladesh, we will see that from 1991 to 2013, none of the
major parties were able to hold the government position for more than one term continuously. There
is a shift, none of the parties were capable to meeting the expectation of the public. Also they were
unable to mitigate the conflict between them, so they intentionally or unintentionally made it worse.
The people of the country are accustomed with increased unstable political condition during the
elections. Moreover, other issues like conflict over caretaker government, the assassination attempt
of Awami League chairperson Sheikh Hasina on 11 January, 2007 and a more pressing concern
regarding the several terrorists groups have been key disturbing factors making the political condition
of Bangladesh extremely unpredictable and unstable. And this increased political instability is a bad
influencer for the economy and the furniture industry of our country is also affected by it.
4
import particle boards and MDF boards to make quality materials cost effective. (EU inspired program,
January 2013)
But there are some other conditions that are holding back the furniture industry like, import duty on
raw materials required by furniture industry ranges from 10.72 to 92.30%, an average of more than
50% which is far above than any other competing countries (Daily Prothom-alo, 2011).
So in summary it can be said that the political factors are affecting the furniture industry mostly in a
negative way, although there are some approaches by the government to help it.
4.1.2. Economical:
5
4.1.2.2. Inflation:
The Bangladesh economy is experiencing a continuous rise in inflation.
6
4.1.2.4. Disposable income
Disposable Personal Income in Bangladesh increased to 31079.56 BDT THO in 2013 from 29606.81
BDT THO in 2012. Disposable Personal Income in Bangladesh averaged 18543.01 BDT THO from 1990
until 2013, reaching an all-time high of 31079.56 BDT THO in 2013 and a record low of 6808 BDT THO
in 1990.
7
4.1.2.6. Spending on furniture
According to a Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2005, the domestic consumption growth
rate is around 20%. (Katalyst)
Table 1: Average Annual sales and profit among different classes of furniture manufacturer
Firm size Numbers of Average Annual Sales Gross Profit Net Profit (%)
Enterprise (BDT)
(%)
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4.1.2.9. Labor Cost:
Labor cost in furniture manufacturing is comparatively low than those of competitor countries
exporting furniture. In all the other contemporary Asian furniture exporting nations (China, Vietnam,
Thailand, Malaysia), the cost of labor is either equal to or more than USD 120 per month whereas in
Bangladesh it ranges from USD 37-120 per month.
Here, the hourly wage rate in furniture is between $ 0.06- 0.40, less than in China ($0.50- 0.75) which
is the largest furniture exporting country. (EU inspired program, January 2013)
In short, the economic condition of Bangladesh is mostly favourable for the growth of furniture
industry in our country.
4.1.3. Sociological:
4.1.3.1. Changes in Family Size:
The average household size in Bangladesh is 4.4 persons per family, down from 4.8 in 2001 and 5.5 in
1991. Clearly this statistic indicates an increase in the number of family sizes and households, resulting
mostly due to urbanization. (Source: The Daily Star, The Financial Express)
Also inclination towards congenial and sincere customer service has grown vastly due to competitive
and strenuous urban lifestyle which allows minimal time in elsewhere engagements.
9
Figure 8: BANGLADESH PERSONAL SAVINGS
In summary, it can be said that, increase in family number, increased personal income has increased
the market size for this industry. And the attitude towards superior Product Quality & Service has
provided a positive sociological support for the furniture industry of Bangladesh.
4.1.4. Technological:
4.1.4.1. Technological Shifts in the furniture industry:
Traditionally furniture in Bangladesh developed as cottage based industry. It is in early 90's when the
furniture industry in Bangladesh transformed from cottage based industry to mechanized mass
production oriented industries. Since then furniture businesses began to grow with modern
machinery, innovative designs and use of diverse materials.
Now-a-days, the main varieties of products are wood, processed wood & Medium Density Fibre board
(MDF), and laminated board, particleboard, rattan/bamboo and wrought iron furniture. For a more
personal domain as one’s home, the preferred raw materials still remains solid wood, but combination
of solid wood with other materials like cane, rattan, laminated boards, plywood and MDF are
becoming very popular. But for offices furniture designs are usually focused on the more
contemporary style and the preferred use of materials include plastic, MDF, laminated boards and
wrought irons.
o Wooden
o Melamine Laminated Chip Board
o MDF
o Cane and Metal furniture
o Upholstery (Tubular Metal) furniture, etc. (Bangladesh Economy Website, 2014)
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barmatic wood come from Myanmar. Around 100% of Wood coating and lock, 60% of ply board, 20%
of particle board, 50% of adhesive is imported. (Bangladesh Economy Website, 2014)
In short, incorporation of newer technology has increased the product diversity of modern furniture
market. Newer products have increased the market size and transaction. Also creating differentiation
among big and small enterprises.
4.1.5. Environmental:
Due to an increase in awareness, a shift in trend of furniture purchasing is taking place gradually. And
due to mass campaign against forestry consumption, presentation of consequences of global warming
and other reinforcement properties of natural forestry, consumer preference is being shifted gradually
toward metal and plastic furniture. As a result, we see a vast diversity in product categories of
furniture manufacturers and changing demands. This change is mostly visible amongst middle- higher
middle class urban population, but steadily it's expanding towards the higher end urban dwellers and
rural masses.
Although preference of cheaper products has raised the opportunity of small businesses to gain
market more than before, the bigger ones still benefit from the ability of larger product volume and
reduced price.
4.1.6. Legal:
The existing Bangladeshi legislation in this area, however, dates mostly from the period of British rule.
The legislation in force are as follows:
11
Intensity of competitive rivalry
And two forces from 'vertical' competition: the bargaining power of suppliers and the bargaining
power of customers.
The porter’s five forces analysis for “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” gave us the following results,
It is noteworthy that Akhtar, the one of the main rivals to Brothers came earlier (1976) in the
market. As a result, rivalry is intensified among the established firms because of Brothers’s
creating the risk of potential entrant. And Hatil Furniture Ltd. was established in 1989.
The least intense rivalry will prevail in an industry in which one or a few large firms dominate.
Thus, if we look at the Brand Furniture industry comprising Akhtar, Hatil and Brothers there
are few companies with shared dominance. This results in Oligopoly. .
Though Brothers had made a large investment, the full-scale operation for Brothers is yet to
begin and apparently it is following Akhtar and hatil. That is how the strategy do not differ
much from them and rivalry increases. In spite of this, the other two company do not consider
having Brothers as a noteworthy competitor and continues with their own strategy.
Furthermore, both the principle competitors, Hatil and Akhtar, pioneered the concept of
Brand Furniture industry, which has apparently been booming for the past few years. Brothers
identified this opportunity in the market and it is not a new entrant. In the end, with the
strength of integration prevailing within Brothers, there are possibilities of the industry
becoming highly consolidated.
The furniture industry is not a commodity market and each player has its differential
advantages. Imported-furniture based companies are also coming up. Hatil has set the tone
in brand timber-based furniture and Brothers eventually followed that. In this situation, price
is not that big a factor rather it’s the brand image, quality, innovation etc. that create the
difference. Moreover, when the differentiation is well established, each company has quite a
blue ocean of their own and thus the rivalry becomes less.
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Since Brother Furniture had invested a substantial amount to establish their stand in the market, it
makes it hard for them to leave the industry.
These close substitutes are a very potent competitive threat for Brother Furniture concern. Moreover,
the Wrought Iron furniture boomed up as a fade and now lost their attractiveness due to low durability
while plastic furniture is perceived as outdoor furniture and targets to a different market segment.
However, the solid wood made furniture is a big threat for Brother Furniture. The consumer’s
perception is that the wood made furniture is more reliable and that the particleboard is made of jute-
stick only. Besides, wood can be extensively curved but boards cannot be. To cope with this problem
Brother Furniture started to integrate solid wood-curving upon their particleboard furniture.
Vertical integration
Good relation with foreign timber traders
General consumers having event-wise demand, buy in small amount but altogether build a
large group providing maximum revenue.
Institutions and organization having bulk demand
Furniture buyers can integrate backward if suppliers cannot offer satisfactory prices. Often consumers
choose designs of furniture from galleries and produce them through individual wood artisans.
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4.3. SWOT Analysis:
It is a tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization.
Specifically, SWOT is a basic, straightforward model that assesses what an organization can and cannot
do as well as its potential opportunities and threats.
SWOT analysis can also be carried out for a product, place, industry or person. It involves specifying
the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that
are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective.
Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others.
Weaknesses: characteristics that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to
others
Opportunities: elements that the project could exploit to its advantage
Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project
Identification of SWOTs is important because they can inform later steps in planning to achieve the
objective.
The conducted SWOT analysis of “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” gave us the following findings,
4.3.1. Strengths:
The identified strengths of “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” that gave it a competitive advantage over other
competitors are,
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4.3.2. Weakness:
“Brothers Furniture Ltd.” is one step behind from its prime competitors like Hatil and Akhtar for the
following reasons,
4.3.3. Opportunities:
If following opportunities can be utilized, “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” will be able to operate more
efficiently and they will be able to compete with its competitors from shoulder to shoulder,
Can expand business options via providing interior designing option to customers.
Office furniture production will give them the same position as competitors.
Approval of famous artists, like Otobi has a strong connection with Nitun Kundu.
Approval of environmentalists.
Increased export opportunities.
Growing concern on forestation will win the hearts of environmentally concerned
customers.
Growing customer base.
Exploring International market.
Cost-efficient technology.
4.3.4. Threats:
The following facts should be always kept in check, so that they does not drag this company to its
destruction,
Extreme competition.
Downward pricing pressure.
Compressed product life cycle.
Dependency on the international suppliers for raw materials.
Increased popularity of substitute products like plastic, board and rot iron based furniture.
Lack of import barriers.
High exit barrier.
Oligopoly market. Market is dominated by Hatil, Otobi and Akhter furniture Ltd.
Competitors have an established loyal customer base.
Unpredictable political situation.
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5. Conclusion:
The thorough strategic business analysis on “Brothers Furniture Ltd.” has revealed that despite of
some complications the total furniture industry in Bangladesh is facing a favorable condition for its
growth. In case of “Brothers Furniture Ltd.”, it entered into the market with high industry profits which
are associated with weak suppliers, weak buyers, high entry barriers, little opportunity for substitutes,
and little rivalry. But presently, it is facing a severe competition from its competitors. And this
company is lagging behind from its near competitors due to its unresponsiveness to market trends.
The annual turnover value indicates that the company is doing well financially but some unattended
factors specially the unfriendly nature of marketing and sales representatives will drag this company
into abysmal.
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6. References
Bangladesh Economy Website. (2014, March 29). Retrieved from
https://bdbanijjo.wordpress.com/tag/industry-of-bangladesh/
Brothers Furniture ltd. (2014, March 29). Retrieved from Brothers Furniture ltd.:
http://www.brothersfurniture.com.bd
Daily Prothom-alo. (2011, June 9). Fiscal Budget Speech 2011. Daily Prothom-alo. Retrieved from Daily
Prothom-alo.
EU inspired program. (January 2013). Furniture Sector Includes Value Chain Analysis and Proposed
Action Plans.
Katalyst. (n.d.). Bangladesh Furniture Industry and Export Promotion. Canadian International
Development Agency.
PKF, Accountants and business advisors. (January 2013). Technical Report: Furniture Sector Includes
Value Chain Analysis and Proposed Action Plans. Bangladesh INSPIRED.