Swadeshi

Abstract

Fashion has played a vital role in encouraging the traditional aspect of Bangladesh through national products or through international markets for garments. Though Bangladesh is widely known for its large-scale, low-cost and capital-efficient readymade garments sector, the national market offers clothing attires that appeal to individuals with new trends in fashion. Keeping such a culture and tradition in the centre of fashion, an integration of eight local fashion houses under a single roof, exhibiting a trend of cooperation and competition in exploiting together, started a collaborative approach known as ‘Swadeshi’. This paper provides the background, detailed analysis on the evolution and success story, and outcome of the strategic negotiation between the eight competitors of these fashion houses under ‘Swadeshi’. Finally, the paper examines how other similar industries engaging in such collaborated competition can be new avenue of further research.

Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit. It marks very clearly that margin of irresponsible variation in manners and thoughts which among a people artificially civilised may so easily be larger than the solid core.

George Santayana (1863–1952) ‘Reason in Religion’ (1906)

Introduction

Bangladesh is largely known for its export-oriented garments industry. However, the domestic apparel industry, which has a rich tradition and strong cultural orientation, has widely been neglected by the academics. The market for export-oriented readymade garments primarily arose due to the need of relatively low capital, low investments and the availability of cheap labour. Such resourceful integration of the factors allows the readymade garments factories in Bangladesh to be immensely lucrative (Ahmed et al., 2015; Faroque and Takahashi, 2015; Kabeer and Mahmud, 2004). Bangladesh not only caters for the renowned international brands, but also has established itself in the domestic market where retailers have offered the customers extravagant collections and top-quality garments for display. The local fashion industry is now optimist with offerings that can cater to the need of the consumers (Zarif, 2010).

In recent years, a good number of local fashion houses have emerged in Bangladesh. This paper intends to focus on the strategic relationship between eight fashion houses in Bangladesh. This ‘all-under-one-roof’ or umbrella approach involves outlets of eight different reputed Bangladeshi brands that have already created their distinct niche in the local clothing market with their hand-woven products and artisans. Here, we stress the fashion houses’ distinct approaches of doing business, and their distinctness in promoting competitive collaboration (Hamel et al., 1989), strategic partnerships (Hamel et al., 1989) or co-marketing alliances (Bucklin and Sengupta, 1993) and nurturing social capital towards their individual competencies. Collaboration is a dynamic capability which is considered as a source of competitive advantage (Allred et al., 2011). Competitive collaboration or co-marketing alliance is a horizontal collaboration or contractual relationships between two or more parties with complementary products.

Fashion industry of Bangladesh

Fashion products are complex and physical artefacts (Armstrong and LeHew, 2014) that provide a tangible representation of the concept driving the desire for novelty and change (Wilson, 2003). Fashion represents a social, cultural and economic aspect that is unique to a specific geographical setting, also showcasing an individual’s specific role and self-image (Hansen, 2004). Hansen (2004) proposes that fashion is a global aspect, caused by changes in the operation of garment production and its economic significance worldwide. Though clothing relates to an individual’s fashion-focused attitude, it also stimulates the aesthetic choosing of other variables such as accessories, footwear, autos and housing (Sproles, 1981). Fashion is the fastest growing industry in the world (Rajput et al., 2012). In the last three decades, the boundaries of this industry have actually started to expand across the world. The apparel fashion industry across the globe has been subject to immense changes caused by business variations (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010). Globalization allows the integration of culture and heritage beyond borders.

The fashion industry throughout the world is divided into a variety of market segments and consumer groups (Ahmed et al., 2015). More specifically, the fashion industries of South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can be divided into two distinct markets – one for traditional clothing and the other for modern Western apparels. The traditional clothing segment of Bangladesh for men usually consists of punjabi, fatua, etc., whereas the Western clothing segment consists of clothes such as t-shirts, casual shirts, suits, etc. On the other hand, the traditional women’s wears usually consist of saree, salwar kameez, kurtas, fatua, etc., whereas Western women’s wears consist of clothes such as tops, skirts, t-shirts, casual shirts, formal suits and so on. Though there is an increasing demand for Western fashion both in the urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, there is still a segment of the market that prefers traditional attire to be worn during many national and religious festivals.

Nonetheless, the demand for outside fashion products cannot be overlooked even with an increase in Bangladeshi fashion products, both globally and nationally. Bangladesh’s fashion market is being influenced by many foreign cultures including India being the strongest one (Ahmed et al., 2015). A number of fashion designers have added a modern and appealing look to traditional wear (The Daily Star, 26 August 2011). To counter demand for international fashion trends, Bangladesh has initiated to import fashion items such as Indian katan, georgette, Pakistani lawns and cottons, Jaipuri colours, etc. The fashion-savvy customers of Bangladesh are given both replicated and designer clothing of those seen popular in India. Though international clothing is preferred, many fashion houses have decided to stick to their traditional roots of clothing and accessories seen in the local handloom products of Bangladesh (The Daily Star, 26 August, 2011). The immense potential of handloom products can further signify Bangladesh’s fashion industry (Ghosh and Akter, 2005). The tradition of hand-woven clothing, known as handloom work, is a rich cultural aspect and heritage of Bangladesh; the level of work is immensely unique and incomparable (Bangladesh Handloom Board, 2011). Handloom products include: muslin, jamdani, bed covers, bed sheets, tapestry, upholstery, place mats, rugs or blankets, satranji, crochet, tribal textiles, silk fabrics, sofa covers, block prints, table-cloths, napkins, towels, dusters, kitchen towels, printed, plain or embroidered Khadi cotton, Andi cotton, Taant materials, etc. (Basu, 2001).

Literature review

A common belief that persists among all industries is that every company is for itself. However, since last decade, networks and relationship building has become critical for the success and survival of organizations throughout the world (Park and Luo, 2001). In ‘the network view of markets, firms do have privileged access to information about their relationship partners and their business network’ (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009: 1419). Hamel et al. (1989) noted the collaboration between competitors in fashion, whereas economist Adam Smith (1776) warned that ‘people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion…’ (The Wealth of Nations, Book 10, Ch. VIII) Smith’s statement reflects what has been taken for granted by many who are interested in the theory and practice of competition. However, the world around us clearly depicts that managers have personal relationships, contradicting the economic theory. As theorized by Adam Smith, trade linkages play a crucial role in the discussion of collaboration (Smith, 1776). Historically, managers have implemented business connections through social platforms (Schonsheck, 2000). Mutually benefitting relationships between competitors can be depicted in four ways, excluding collusion, as suggested by Bengtsson and Kock (1999, 2000). They are competition, cooperation, coexistence and co-opetition. Economic exchanges take place in associations between competitors, argued by Bengtsson and Kock (1999) and Ingram and Roberts (2000). Granovetter (1973) depicts that human attitude is subject to changes in social networks rather than changes in behaviour pattern, through social enrichment relationship of trust and correspondence.

The collaboration between competitors, nowadays, is being seen as an additional advantage (Kibbey, 2013) than traditional collusion (Hutchison, 1976), allowing for emphasis on strategic balance between competition and collaboration towards an individualistic approach of interaction (Smith, 1776; Teece, 1994). In reality, friendships among competitors are vehicles for collusion. Ingram and Yue (2008) and Kibbey (2013) claim that getting competitors to work together can be a hard sell, but it can also yield rich rewards for the concerned industry. As such, many thoughts have evolved about the importance of ‘complex and dynamic interplay between cooperation and competition’ (Adair and Brett, 2005: 34) and about the nature of information flows, in addition to the affective orientation towards more personalized modes of competitor interaction (Teece, 1994). Over time, it has been recognized that apart from facilitating ‘collusion to control and subvert competition’ (Ritter et al., 2004: 177), friendships among competing managers may yield more legitimate benefits by improving collaboration and information sharing. This shows that a strategic alliance between competitors can strengthen both companies against outsiders. Hence, the case for collaboration today is stronger than ever. Anderson and Narus (1991) claim that a business relationship should exist among all competitors of an industry, wherein, two firms or other types of organizations can form a strong and extensive social, economic, service and technical affiliation over time. The main intention behind such tie-ups is to ‘understand the interdependent’ (Adair and Brett, 2005: 48) followed by ‘lower total costs and/or increase value, thereby achieving mutual benefit’ (Anderson and Narus, 1991: 96). A firm’s ability to develop and manage such cooperative relationships successfully with other firms may be viewed as a core competence, which varies among firms (Dodgson, 1993; Sivadas and Dwyer, 2000) and which is an important source of competitive advantage for survival in an industry (Day, 2000).

Cooperative relationships among competitors may be developed for various purposes (Ahmed et al., 2015), beyond the typical reason of controlling and subverting competition. This ‘revolutionary mindset that combines competition and cooperation’ (Brandenburger and Nalebuff, 1996) is based on the belief that ‘you can’t do it alone’ (Moore, 1997), ‘rivals are also roommates’ (Barnett, 2006) and on the principles of game theory (Myerson, 2013). Companies can use competitive associations to both magnify their internal skills and protect on the diffusion of competitive advantages to future partners (Hamel et al., 1989). Consequently, the traditional ‘dancing with strangers’ (Baum et al., 2005), win–lose or friend–foe paradigm is becoming obsolete in collaborations. Contrary to value-adding partnerships, co-opetition also includes horizontal collaborative relations as well as competitive relations in vertical and horizontal directions or both at the same time.

This is yet another advantage of competitive collaboration that may appear especially true for many industries in today’s fast-paced business world. In fact, the implementation of such channel-wide collaborative standards and processes can replace the philosophy of market exchange by hierarchical mechanism. Thus, collaborative coordination of different activities between the market partners and harmonization through vertical integration is being regarded as a performance driver to overcome the unsatisfactory profit situation of the fashion industry in Bangladesh. According to Ingram and Roberts (2000), the mechanisms of enhanced collaboration, mitigated competition, and better information exchange can act towards the improvement of the performance of organizations and these benefits are best achieved if a cohesive network of friendships (i.e., one with many friendships among competitors) exists in an industry. Since cohesion facilitates a control over competitors, it eases information gathering from the business network and can even eliminate the structural holes faced by customers – it is collaboration, not competition, which is defining the future of the fashion industry of Bangladesh.

Case study research design

In designing the research, a case study approach was chosen because, as Yin (2009) argued, this type of approach is preferred when ‘how’ or ‘why’ questions are being asked. In this case, we were interested in why these fashion houses took the initiative to cooperate, how they approached the partnership initiative and what factors assisted them to manage successfully. One of the essential characteristics of case study approach is that it focuses on ‘one instance of the thing that is to be investigated’ (Denscombe, 1998) or ‘in one phrase – creative problem solving’ (Easton, 1992). Whereas some researchers consider ‘the case’ to be an object of study (Stake, 2005) and others consider it as a method, involving quite different assumptions about how the social world can and should be studied from those other underlying approaches (Hakim, 1987; Merriam, 1988; Simons, 1996). The method of case study is, of course, general and has been extensively used, for example, in political science and in sociology (Leedy, 1997). Case studies employ various methods. These include documentation, archival records, interviews, direct observations, participant observations and physical artefacts (Yin, 2009). A case study methodology was also seen as appropriate because, as Yin (2009) argues, case studies can provide a rich understanding of the organization or organizations in question. Similarly, Anthony and Jack (2009), Denzin and Lincoln (2000), Gerring (2007), Robson (1993) and Woodside and Wilson (2003) also point to the ability of qualitative research to capture the real-life context within which events take place and to capture the essence of events. Indeed, Ahmed (2007) and Bonoma (1985) argue that case studies prove valuable in situations where existing knowledge is limited, often providing in-depth contextual information, which may result in a superior level of understanding. Furthermore, case studies are proved to be advantageous when the focus of the study is not typicality but the unusual, unexpected, covert or illicit (Hartley, 1994). In this instance, we were offered access to the eight fashion houses to analyse their activities and joint initiative. Therefore, a case study approach has been used to achieve a multi-faceted description of relationships between these eight competitors. The main data collection methods were as follows.

Interviews. Both formal and informal interviews were conducted with the staffs in fashion houses. The process included semi-structured one-to-one interviews (Fylan, 2005) with directors and senior managers.

Documentary data. Handling documentary data sources is not different from those applied to other areas of social research. In every case, data must be handled scientifically (Ahmed, 2010). It has formulated quality control criteria for handling documentary sources from publicly available information, i.e. magazine interviews, reports and private archives (Leonard-Barton, 1990).

Store visits and observation. The case study often uses multiple data collection methods (including direct observations or site visit, focus groups and interviews) to examine a system of action, considering all the relevant groups of actors and the interactions between them. This allows researchers to triangulate across data types and sources, arriving at a fuller picture of a given phenomenon within a given store location. For this, the stores were visited and observed.

The following case will be developed on a rich source of information in terms of both real-time issues taking place in Swadeshi and also of the events in its recent experience in apparel fashion houses.

The case of Swadeshi

In Bengali Swadeshi is similar to Swa – self or own and deshi – native; therefore, the term Swadeshi can be translated as solely native. Presently, Swadeshi promotes a huge base where distinct products are open on display in the individual brand outlets of the eight fashion houses. The eight well-known fashion houses of Swadeshi are: Adroit, Annyamela, Blue Eyes, M Craft, Noborupa, Shoilpik, Studio Emdad and Smartex. These eight fashion houses promote similar traditional wear to their mass consumer market in order to promote healthy competition where individuality is widely present. Each fashion house focuses on their unique, distinct and individual product base, catering to customers on the basis of geographical availability. These fashion houses operate as one; their approaches of doing business are distinctive. These aspects have been documented through extensive secondary research as well as primary research comprising of store visits, personal interviews and customer suggestions. This study further elaborates their distinctness in promoting collaborative competition and nurturing social capital towards their individual competencies.

Adroit

Adroit is one of the most prominent fashion houses that have been serving the Bengali customers since its inception. Continuous feedback from the customers has been the prime source of inspiration for the unmatched growth of this once-small fashion house. Until recently, before the emergence of fashion stores such as Adroit, women and men of Bangladesh were constrained to the cultural and traditional clothes which were only left to home-made designs that were mostly sewn by small community or neighbourhood tailor shops. However, with the growth in technology and living standards, many have opted for fashion houses that provide what they are looking for without much hassle of self-designing; that is, avoiding having to travel to various clothing stores for different pieces of clothes, laces, buttons and other accessories and finally avoiding having to deal with the painstaking uncertainty of how the dress will ultimately turn out. Furthermore, sewing clothes in the community tailor shops always has the risk of unskilled tailors ruining the clothes and rendering all the efforts of the customer self-designing and buying or collecting all the materials required for the clothing pointless. Adroit, the fashion brand it is today, started off with the simple fatua designs for women and men. It has now evolved to the outstanding range of clothing for men, women and children of all ages. It has also increased its fashion line from traditional fatuas to the long fashionable kurtis that are in vogue nowadays.

The owners of Adroit started a journey that they believed would make a difference in the fashion culture of Bangladesh. They were biased towards the fact that fashion should be entitled to those who want to feel good in what they put on, not what everyone is wearing. It is one of the few fashion houses that have decided to continuously focus on the traditional attire of sleek salwar kameez with draped long dupattas with intricate block, appliqué design work. They have recently opened up their website (www.adroit-fashion.com), where they have displayed their collections along with ranges that make it easier for customers to choose among various beautiful designs. Price ranges are kept consistent with consumer expectation and on a par with competing online brands’ pricing; a beautiful kameez set costs around BDT 1500 and above. With the changes in technology and consumer shifts towards the more home-based shopping experience, it was necessary for such a fashion house to display their products to the large-scale consumer base it holds.

Annyamela

Annyamela has served its customers with its fashionable clothing line that comprises traditional wear infused with a modern look that not only represents the culture but also the social environment of Bangladesh. Local artisans are given the proper raw materials and the technology to create the delicate handcrafted work of fashion both for men and women as well as for children of all ages. What distinguishes Annyamela as a fashion house is most definitely the association customers make with it. The fashion house promotes local craftsmanship with intricate designs that give the feeling of going to a mela (local fair). It gives the urbanites a feel of going to a mela as a child in the comforts of the city to buy traditional clothes from the store. Once a person steps into the showroom, she or he is transformed into a different festive mood. Annyamela presents various motifs through generous display of colourful cotton, silk sarees and alongside classy cotton punjabis for men. Such national fashion houses are mostly visited during the festive seasons of Pohela Falgun, Pohela Boishakh, International Mother Language Day, Victory Day, Independence Day, and many other important dates when all Bangladeshis including men and women ornament themselves in the spirit of the season while carefully choosing attire that would best represent them. It is important that during such seasons or occasions fashion houses must opt for the best pricing strategy that would attract most customers who would feel satisfied in terms of value for money. Annyamela has also established its distinctive identity with nice décor and good ambience in which the customers come happily for their shopping experience. Customers embrace the traditional environment while they do shopping; Annyamela and seven other fashion houses toil to hold on the ‘deshi’ symbol. This appeals to many clienteles and thus they become repeat customers of Swadeshi and patronize it in upholding the original fashion culture that prevails in Bangladesh. Annyamela is also seen as one of those fashion houses that have offered customers something different and sensational with every festive season and also round the year. They also attract customers through substantial discounts and offers in national dailies. This entices the growing middle class of Bangladesh.

Annyamela’s prices start from BDT 1250 and above for an entire set of salwar kameez. Prices go higher for sets that have heavy embroidery, appliqué, or block designs with sequential work. Men’s punjabis are kept simple with designs round the neck to bring out the traditional look infused with simplicity. A good fashion house should have the ability to withstand the heat of competition and should be able to maintain continuity in serving its customers. Fascinatingly, Annyamela is built on its brand and it has established the brand name which distinctively is in Bengali. This is a sign that as the city of Dhaka evolves as the city of millions, and other major cities of Bangladesh follow it, traditional clothing still has a special place in the hearts of millions of city dwellers.

Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes, since its inception, has replaced the diverse traditional wear of Bangladesh. Though it has not been able to gain fame in comparison with other collaborators, it still remains one of the few fashion houses that have changed very little with the alterations of modern fashion. In this ever-changing dynamic world, where fashion has taken numerous tolls, a fashion house such as Blue Eyes has decided to remain fixed in their geographical area, catering specifically for the locals.

The fabrics of Blue Eyes are sourced primarily from different weaving communities of Bangladesh, in an attempt to bring forth the local and traditional artisanal to the reach of the consumers. Though consumers, nowadays, are prompted to purchase the modern fashion looks, there is a niche among those markets who prefer the extremely traditional look for which Bangladesh exists. Blue Eyes’ clothing line has uniformity with very little extensive design work. The idea that surrounds it is ‘quality assured with minimum quantity’. This is done so that consumers are able to appreciate not only the quality of the work but the comfort that comes with it. The fashion house typically sells handloom clothes, household items and handicraft products for both adults and children. They believe in bringing forth the cultural heritage and ethnicity with which the workers complete each design. Many fashion houses, with their high paced demand patterns, mostly focus on earning profits; however, Blue Eyes amidst the competitive reign, tries to put forward the extreme traditional context. This extreme traditional side can be seen during many festive seasons in Bangladesh. The fashion house is seen to extravagantly showcase its extreme traditional work of heritage and culture with unique, yet simple designs catering for the locals. Though Blue Eyes is a part of the Swadeshi collaboration, it does enjoy, if not all, a part of the distinctive competitive touch of the other fashion houses.

M Craft

M Craft is an exclusive fashion house where not only true Bengali culture is depicted, but also it is an abode to latest trends in fashion. M Craft is home to original Bengali attire, where women and men of all ages can find their desired clothing. It is a fashion house bringing clothes from all over Bangladesh under one roof. M Craft designs include clothing made for comfort, yet chic and wearable for all types of events. It has brand new collection for all seasons. It believes in serving the customers the finest quality and the best product. M Craft chooses its fabric for their collection in accordance with native seasonal requirements and comfort. It creates designs using cotton fabric for summer, and uses heavy-weight fabric for their winter collection. M Craft also tries to satisfy customers with collections based on events. It is one of the few fashion houses that create designs based on seasons as well as occasions. M Craft regularly launches designs keeping upcoming occasions in mind.

M Craft designs sarees, fatuas, three-piece sets and salwar kameez sets for women using unique cuts, fabrics and fine stitches. M Craft not only brings smiles to women’s faces, but also eases the pressure on women in finding clothes for family members, as it is also the ultimate clothing shop for the whole family. Men’s clothing at the store ranges from short panjabis, fatua, t-shirts and many other items made by using quality fabric. It also offers a wide range of clothing for children, from frocks for girls, to shirts for boys with colours and materials reflecting Bengali tradition. M Craft uses fine clothing, based on opinions from customers on what they like, and designs clothing based on the latest trends of the season.

M Craft has several showrooms in Dhaka city and port city of Chittagong (south-eastern region of Bangladesh). It launches its new collection in all its branches at the same time. One of its main products is the mystical saree. On various occasions such as Eid (Muslims’ religious celebrations) and Pohela Boishakh (Bengali new year), M Craft brings to its stores a huge collection of more than 15,000 sarees. The saree is usually of pure fabrics such as muslin, silk, dhupian and other fine fabrics. M Craft decorates its sarees with block prints, screen prints, embroidery, karchupi, kantha stitch, appliqué work and other techniques that bring out uniqueness in each saree.

M Craft’s collection for the modern teenage girls in Bangladesh includes short salwar kameez sets and tops. This clothing is popular, trendy and uses colours that bring out a girl’s inner beauty. M Craft also features clothes for teenage boys, that include t-shirts made with knit fabric using technology to make them colourful and vibrant. M Craft has a specialized creative designer team that produces new collection for each major season, occasion and festivities. It generates designs on the latest fashion, so whatever item is produced, it is on trend.

Noborupa

Fashion has been associated with women ever since it is existent. Letting it be traditional, modern or the vintage look that women adore and seek out, such a fashion house has a story to tell of its own. Noborupa, since its inception right after the 1971 Liberation War, prevailed in the domestic market with its perfectly woven cotton and handloom sarees; nevertheless, over time fashion has moved towards the imported sarees from India and the silk patterned sarees of China. With the pressure of competition and changing demand patterns, it was time to establish something more-‘edgy’ a little different and mostly something to empower the generation of ‘the modern women’.

Though modern look has mostly been associated with the fashion of the West, this popular Bangladeshi brand Noborupa has been able to survive with their closely monitored customer preferences and up-to-date changes in trends. Noborupa believes that traditional wear should never be linked to what was worn in the past, rather traditional fashion is what an individual would like to incorporate with their dressing style. Hence, Noborupa has been able to cater for the fashion sense of every individual at their many outlets.

This fashion house also stands as the example of incorporating modern look with their unique designs ranging from the current trend of long kameezes worn over loose salwars, with a shift in the design of sarees that now offer exquisite play of colours with exceptional sequential stone work. This is rather a look that women may not have opted for. This was more so brought into the scene with the introduction of a trendier, traditional and colour infused look that is now being offered from imported products of India. These Indian sarees changed people’s perception and Bangladeshi fashion houses such as Noborupa have smartly incorporated these designs in local materials. Noborupa, which also places an emphasis on quality, has established a brand that is now being preferred by many when they opt for gifts. Noborupa also showcases Jamdani sarees, a rich heritage unique to Bangladeshi craftsman, which appeal to women of all ages and are being displayed generously inside their outlet. Extending towards other areas, Noborupa displays the same colourful and classy punjabis, with a simple edgy look in their designs for men of all ages. The traditional fatua had gained popularity during the early 2000s and it is still in fashion. Punjabis, a traditional and religious attire mostly of Bengali Muslim men, have both long and short versions. The short punjabis are a bit above knee length and sometimes just touch the knee, and they are popular among young boys and non-Muslim Bengali males. Long punjabis, on the other hand, are mostly popular with Muslim Bengali men. However, it is to be noted that long punjabis are a recent trend with almost all men wearing short punjabis after the liberation influenced by nationalism. Also, during the 1970s punjabis were mostly found in white or off-white colour. Punjabis are plain and simple, sometimes with intricate designs being displayed around the neck line. However, with the advent of media, Indo-Pak influence, Bollywood movies, punjabis are also getting glamorous. Designs nowadays are not only found in the neck line but are experimented and often found all over the punjabi. Colourful punjabis with heavy designs, embroidery, zari, print are popular among young males and are much sought after as wedding attire. The women’s kameezes follows a pattern of boom and bust with a period of craze for short kameezes and sudden shift with long kameezes. The same happens with salwars. There is also a period of high and low in trends for salwars. Salwars can have a lot of flair like elephant trousers or can be as tight as skinny jeans. Bangladeshi girls follow both Indian and Pakistani fashion trends and there is prevalence of Indian and Pakistani influence on kameez length and width of salwar. The 1970s marked the dominance of short kameezes among Bengali women with gradual shift to longer kameezes during 1990s. Short kameezes again came into the scene and gradually grew in length. Recent years have marked a revolution in long kameezes and baggy salwars mostly influenced by Pakistani styles. Saree designs, on the other hand, are solely dominated by Indian influence. Nevertheless, it is to be noted that Bangladesh has its own traditional sarees and designs which are much admired and in demand to Bangladeshis and even to women from this subcontinent and beyond. These include sarees in muslin, jamdani, katan, taant, nakshikantha, Rajshahi silk, Monipuri and the like. Apart from sarees, recent time has also marked the rise in lahengas, ghagra, cholis for children and young girls. This is the Asian version of skirt and top and it is mainly worn on special occasions, specially festivals, grand parties or weddings. Such a change in fashion has been recently introduced, mainly due to customers’ increasing interaction with technology and the type of clothing they most see elsewhere. It is not easy to continuously cater for the needs and preferences of customers in a highly competitive market where many other traditional boutique houses are present. Nonetheless, Noborupa focuses on quality and has been able to hold on to its name and fame over time. The idea has been to diversify; therefore, Noborupa also focuses on other areas of fashion dealing with jewellery, imported hand-bags and trendy women shoes and heels. They have also opened a clothing line for children and the price is reasonable, hence it makes Noborupa a preferred place by its customers to go for buying gifts.

Shoilpik

Shoilpik has become a very large fashion house among the people of Bangladesh from its inception by Hossain Mohammed Elias, managing director of Shoilpik fashion. It was a very small and subtle beginning with the first branch in Chittagong in 2004. Shoilpik has become known to many fashion-loving people. It creates designs using inspiration from true Bangladeshi roots. The fashion house makes sleek and sophisticated outfits for men, women and children. Shoilpik has a wide range of collections for women. Their collection is designed according to the upcoming events in the Bangladeshi society. Shoilpik sarees are made from numerous types of fabric. They include jamdani, katan, taant, cotton, silk, muslin and many others, made by artisans of Bangladesh. Their sarees are decorated using techniques such as block prints, appliqué, ‘nakshikatha’ and other hand-crafted methods. Shoilpik designs for teenage girls as well. Their collections for young girls include fatuas, short kameezes, tops and attractive three pieces. Shoilpik has, however, an array of Western designs. Being a traditional Bangladeshi fashion house, their collection of Western clothing is not extensive. They do not want to have a huge collection of Western clothing that will contribute to making traditional Bangladeshi clothing obsolete and extinct.

Shoilpik also fulfils men’s fashion desire by creating unique fatuas alongside punjabis that are seen to become popular among men. Besides this, their collection also caters for the elderly. They have a clothing line for elderly women with designs incorporating simpler versions of jamdani, embroidery and other motifs mostly in the range of white and lighter colours as traditionally older women of the subcontinent tend to prefer light colours as their attires. Shoilpik also has a line of clothes for elderly men following the same pattern, lighter embroidery and lighter shades of fatuas and punjabis. Shoilpik has broadened their product line with accessories such as costume jewellery and home décor items. Shoilpik has recently opened their brand of ‘Shoilpik Furniture’ which is a bold addition to their line of products. Shoilpik is keen on constantly changing their fashion trend and has always defended their market with the traditionalism that brings more customers all year round.

Studio Emdad

Emdad Haque is no different from any aspiring entrepreneur of his time; trying to build a brand on the basis of strong consumer preference and the distinct market segments that prevail in the Bangladesh fashion market, Studio Emdad, has come out victorious in the recent times. Studio Emdad believes that it is important for every fashion house to compete with time and the changes time brings, not only in consumers but also among the competitors.

Emdad Haque of Studio Emdad, has always strived to bring in the most desirable fashion to the market. He believes that love is a virtue and it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world and could be duly shown in anything an individual adores doing. Studio Emdad nurtures this love through providing its customers with top quality fashionable products for men, women and children of all ages. The most artistic tradition of Bengali fashion has been the combinational attires that are worn during the many festive seasons in Bangladesh. At the Studio, clothes range from traditional Tangail sarees to half silk sarees, paired with beautiful hand-stitched cotton blouses, where women are given the platform to choose their colours from a wide variety of choices. The Studio contemplates that there is a size for everyone and that anyone can create a look that fits perfectly for that individual. Over the years, Bangladeshi fashion has evolved with influences from international media, trends in neighbouring countries and the West. Studio Emdad closely monitors these trends and quickly incorporates in its designs in order to remain in the competition. The recent trend in long kameezes and loose salwars did not get unnoticed by Studio Emdad and they have a line of these clothes along with the typical Bengali designs. The prices of Emdad are also been flexed enough for the larger target markets who look for something extravagant yet within their budget. Apart from clothing, Studio Emdad also has a line of accessories such as jewellery, handbags and sandals. They have also diversified their knowledge of clothing to designing household items such as bed sheets and the like.

Smartex

Fashion infused with a Western look has recently gathered much popularity among the customers of Bangladesh. Everyone likes to feel a little Western and different and this is where a fashion house such as Smartex has pushed beyond the cliché look that once made customers run after boutique houses. Smartex approaches Bangladeshi customers with its incorporation of the modern look with Western wear that caters for both men and women of all ages. Though the idea is to establish the trendy, smart and chic brand image, the aim is also to attract the youth of Bangladesh into the Western fashion style of the nation through Bangladeshi handloom.

Smartex, since its inception, has had one aim which is to deliver quality and to stand out among many other international fashion houses with its precise targeting to the younger generation that is prone to purchasing something different within their budget. The shop offers unique and fashion forward clothing with an aim to attract those who are looking forward to bringing a change in their wardrobe. The youngsters often shunning their way from traditional Bengali wear are lured in Bengali tradition through fusion clothing in deshi (local) materials. Over the years, many people have opted in favour of purchasing Western clothing from such fashion houses mainly due to high price; however, with recent changes, in trend more and more fashion houses have shifted from the conventional designs of short kameezes and fatua to the more up-style look being displayed in many Western and Eastern fashion houses. While keeping the culture in mind, Smartex has developed the image of being simple, with an everyday informal look added to their clothing line. Men and women desire to go to such fashion houses mostly due to their prominent locations allowing them to reach from all around. Smartex positions itself with trendy clothes in good location which gives its clientele a feel of esteem and smartness as the name suggests. At Smartex, the clothing line of men ranges from premium quality denim jeans and everyday wear t-shirts to formal classy striped shirts. Alongside, Smartex also offers different sophisticated women attires ranging from nice fitted t-shirts to slightly long gowns which are not too much over the top rather more sophisticated.

Though consumer preferences have shifted towards being the trendier and classy fashion, many fashion houses need to consider the price factor which comprises a significant part when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. Fashionable clothing tends to be relatively elastic in demand; this means that, owing to the variations of substitutes that are equally competitive, customers are more prone to switching between retailers if prices are kept above their expectations. Smartex has rather clearly defined their target market and has opted to charge prices that can be well afforded by the customers that visit the shop. Smartex has recently introduced a clothing line of salwar kameezes and fatuas, keeping it trendy yet traditional. This also indirectly promotes in attracting customers coming with initial plans to buy Western designs to local traditional outfits and vice versa.

In this ever-changing demand pattern of fashion, it is very important to remain the key player. Moreover, with rises in competition from foreign brands, national brands that are no less in terms of design and technique need to constantly stand by their consumers with an attempt to bring out the best they can get, as well as providing the good value for money. Smartex has concentrated on close competition from other renowned brands such as Ecstasy and Yellow that mainly focus on Western-style clothing and fusion wear; however, with close targeting and continuous focus on quality, this national brand has withstood many changes in fashion and has come out successful. The underlying reason for this may be a growing ‘middle and affluent consumers’ (MAC) class with an ever-growing need for basic and fashionable attires.

Discussion

‘It may even be multilateral, with several firms interacting and increasing their commitment to an idea or opportunity’ (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009: 1419). Similarly, this case exhibits impressive coordination and utilization of social capital in the form of resource, vision and knowledge shared between and among the competitive firms under one roof. This collaborative effort has brought back the traditional aspect of the apparels industry of Bangladesh, but primarily it has resulted in creating a competitive advantage for these eight local fashion houses in relation to their national and international rivals.

Widening the business scope

According to Plato’s dialogue ‘If the enemy were to go away, [the friend] is no longer, it seems, a friend to us’ – Lysis (220e). Lysis approaches friendship in the widest meaning, looking for the common denominator among which different human relationships are seen as parental love, a ruler’s self-esteem and organizational relation (Ludwig, 2010). There exists a fine line between competition and cooperation (Ingram and Yue, 2008), and one must understand the extent to which cooperation may complement competition. Competition is seen as a scope for the fittest to survive and for the inefficient to hand over the resources owned. The degree of this combination may well depend on industry structure, regulation, consumers’ degree of preferences and the extent of saturation of the industry market. Barnett (2006) explains that ‘rivals are also roommates’, signifying the same strength and need for industry and businesses alike to continuously eradicate harmful competition and encourage healthy competition. Thus, the case with Swadeshi and the merging of the eight branded fashion houses indicate a shift towards cooperation with competition; this allows for recognition of individual property rights while enlisting under the same notion of business. The focus here is to understand that competition, extensive or minimum, relates to a condition of ‘niche overlap’ (Hannan and Freeman, 1989), stating that a rise in competition emerges due to the relying of resources from a centralized pool of users. It is noteworthy that Swadeshi has not been the pioneer in initiating this business approach in Bangladesh; rather, it followed the footsteps of Deshi Dosh, an integration of ten popular fashion houses in Bangladesh that proved to be very successful with this initiative (Ahmed et al., 2015). Though there is uniqueness and rivalry between the brands, there exists a mindset of mutual understanding of collaboration complemented by internal competition. Likewise each fashion house under Swadeshi focuses on its own fashion trend and individuality in catering for customers’ needs and preferences through customer loyalty. However, in the case of Deshi Dosh it has been able to suppress competition by collaborating popular fashion houses under one umbrella (Ahmed et al., 2015), but there still remain the surges of competition being faced by external rivals such as Jatra and Aarong, the two big names in patronising the Bangladeshi rural artisans through a varied range of deshi product line. This implies that in order for Swadeshi to stand out, it must both focus on strengthening its partners as well as its brand image. The competition is fierce, locally and internationally, with an influence from fashion fads of neighbouring countries, especially India. Bangladesh’s potential must not remain within the traditional boundaries of fashion, but it must reach out on a large scale, most of which can be achieved through collaborated business, enriching both competition and invention in the field of fashion.

Degree of collaboration and competition

There are different situations of combined cooperation and competition, where firms in some cases have a mutual choice between the two ways of interacting in order to fulfil their win–win purpose (Kock et al., 2006). The case of Swadeshi highlights collaboration among eight fashion houses of Bangladesh, which not only caters for local fashion but also contributes significantly to the world fashion market, with its extensive integration and reasonable pricing of readily available garments. Nonetheless, it is important to understand their collaboration in terms of degree of competition in relation to the competitive environment. It must be analysed that each fashion house may have full, partial or no competition (Martin and Oztel, 1996) among each other depending on their market availability, saturation, branding and customer preference.

Full competition

‘Competing relationships are conflicting, as the benefits for the involved actors usually cannot be fulfilled simultaneously’ (Kock et al., 2006: 2). Noborupa fashion house can be seen to be more dominant in the fashion market both in terms of availability and market share, in comparison to others. This phenomenon is mainly due to Noborupa’s strategy to be ahead of competition in an area where another fashion house, similar to the former prevails. For example, in a prime location of Dhaka city, where Adroit, Annyamela, Shoilpik and Studio Emdad are present, Noborupa which is more prevalent in terms of branding and consumer choice may engage in highly competitive ways of advertising, promotional activities, endorsing to allow it to have a distinctive competency over latter rivals.

Partial competition

This allows partners to enjoy and retain individual identities while exploiting synergies and competitive gains (Martin and Oztel, 1996). Partners may mutually agree on non-duplication of activities, rather reinforcing each other to compete over other fashion houses offering dissimilar fashion products. This phenomenon might be influenced due to lower market saturation in a given geographical region, such as the case of Studio Emdad and Smartex; both the fashion houses are situated in Dhaka, however, in that locality other empowered fashion houses may have a greater market power. With collaborated partial competition, both fashion houses can compete, focusing on their distinctive competencies without causing harm to the other. As long as there is no duplication of activities they can compete in parallel; they can exist as both collaborated and separate identities.

No competition

Integrated competition can also ignite the exploitation of market resources without any competition. Such cases can be seen when fashion houses collaborate as one in a retail area, exploiting a large base of consumer market. Thus the case with Swadeshi having an integrated outlet in two popular mega shopping malls in central Dhaka city allows for large-scale advertising and the creation of consumer market. Consumers have the privilege of visiting eight fashion houses under one name of Swadeshi, allowing a base for multiple choices of similar products with intrigued fashion designs. This leaves no room for competition between the fashion houses as they are being exposed to the same consumer base. This leads to a term called ‘oligopolistic cartel’ (Martin and Oztel, 1996) where firms engage in a cooperation leading to desired outcomes; a mutually exclusive agreement to cater for the needs of the consumer with the shared ultimate goal of profit incentives.

Conclusion and further research

There is always a shortage of resources for small and medium sized firms (Farsi and Toghraee, 2014) and at the same time they have to face challenges with their opponents, in order to survive in the highly competitive market. These mutual relationships are built on a distribution of activities, store space utilization and resource sharing among actors embedded in the same business network (Kock et al., 2006). Interdependency helps to grow successful relationships and it becomes more nuanced and variable (Cummins, 2015). In Bangladesh, Swadeshi holds eight of the branded fashion houses under one roof; each having its own, unique, traditional attire and individual approach to doing business. These eight fashion houses take pride in their exclusive products, laying a set of distinct motives and strategies behind their operations. On the other hand, the aspect that binds these eight fashion houses is the shared culture and heritage that is reflected through the products of each store. The customer base and approach to marketing has remained the same for the group of eight, as all of these brands unanimously focus on catering within the need for traditional attire. These eight fashion brands have a promising future in upholding the tradition of Bangladesh, both nationally and internationally, provided they continue to keep on excelling in what they deliver. The production of such traditional attires inspires and nurtures the handloom and handicraft industry of the country. It also creates employment for many in this sector and brings uniqueness in clothing. In the case of Swadeshi, there are several possibilities for this collaboration such as joint design, joint production and joint innovation. Hence, collaborative relationship leads ‘one stage to another and ultimately to an optimal conclusion’ (Adair and Brett, 2005: 34).

This paper has elaborated on the ability and agility of collaborative competition among well-known fashion brands operating under one roof, selling similar products, targeting a similar costumer base; all with the aim of profit maximization. The scope for research is limited in this area; however, there has been a previous study on a similar collaborated competitive strategy, prevailing in Bangladesh, known as Deshi Dosh (Ahmed et al., 2015). In order for further research to be maximized, other similar industries engaging in such collaborated competition can be another area of extensive academic research.