Case

OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon South Asian Journal of

Business and Management Cases
2(2) 139–149
© 2013 Birla Institute of Management Technology
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
Jashim Uddin Ahmed New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
Asef Hassan Baqee DOI: 10.1177/2277977913509172
http://bmc.sagepub.com
Zakia Khan

Abstract

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OTOBI has become the most prominent Bangladeshi furniture brand, emphasizing the nation’s pride
in its culture. The company has 415 outlets spread across Bangladesh and 28 in India. It mainly exports

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home furnishings but recently got orders to ship hospital furniture. The company logged BDT 2.18

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billion (USD 27.25 million) of turnover in fiscal year 2007–2008. However, following an encourag-

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ing growth rate, the industry brought in close to BDT 6.0 billion (USD 75 million) in the fiscal year
2011–2012. Branded furniture has carved out a niche among the people. A handful of manufacturers
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led by OTOBI are holding more than 50 per cent of the country’s branded furniture market. At OTOBI,
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there is no end to the ladder of accomplishment. There is no limit; there are no restraints. This sense
of freedom manifests itself in innovative product designs and business strategies. Above all, the creation
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of a culture of ‘we’ or ‘OTOBIans’ and the establishment of the values of innovation and discipline
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have allowed the company not only to diversify products, but also to record growth. A tidal wave of
challenges meeting OTOBI at every step: different business landscapes, strained state relationships
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and global depression have made it challenging to ensure that over 15,000 OTOBIans can maintain
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their lifestyle and attain better standards of living. The Company’s product portfolio now ranges from
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children’s furniture to home and office décor, Notepad and Kloset.

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Keywords
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OTOBI, Bangladesh, furniture industry, growth, innovation, diversification, discipline, challenges

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Background of the Company

In 1975, following a brief stint at Bitopi advertising agency, Nitun Kundu established his company,
a furniture store featuring his own designs, OTOBI. Having graduated with a first class first from the

The authors have developed this case for classroom discussion for programmes in management education,
management development and for practicing executives to enhance skills in decision making. It is not intended to
illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. It does not represent or endorse
the views of the management about the issues in the case. The case has been compiled from secondary sources
in public domain.
140 Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Asef Hassan Baqee, and Zakia Khan

Institute of Fine Arts (currently known as Charukola) before the liberation of Bangladesh, he wanted
to be a teacher. In order to support his family he sought to make use of his creativity and innovative
spirit. Thus he began the journey by founding OTOBI with a small workshop with an investment of
BDT 5,000 and a showroom in Elephant Road, Dhaka (The Daily Star, 1 February 2009).
However, Nitun realized that he was not a professional manager and looked for help from a consultant
in 1991. The consultant sketched out an organogram, policies and procedures that took forward the
business in a tangent of growth. Nitun’s dreams have been translated into OTOBI’s three modern
plants in Ashulia, Shyampur and Mirpur in Dhaka. With more than 15,000 employees, OTOBI is
headquartered at Gulshan, Dhaka and has a retail network all across the country. Always an artist at
heart, Nitun’s sculptures adorn Bangladesh including the SAARC Fountain and Sabash Bangladesh
(http://en.wikipedia.org).

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The Furniture Industry of Bangladesh

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The furniture industry of Bangladesh has proved to be one of the most promising sectors with a large

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export potential (Uddin, 2012). The industry has its members spread all over the country with key
players located in Dhaka (capital of Bangladesh) employing around 150,000 people. There are about
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41,560 furniture manufacturing enterprises (SME) all over the country: the market size is estimated to
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be around BDT 100 billion (USD 1,250 million), and it is growing at the rate of 19.5 per cent. The Export
Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows impressive growth. The authorities hope that it will be possible
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to earn about BDT 8 billion (USD 100 million) by 2020 from export (The Daily Star, 24 March 2010).
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The economy of Bangladesh is developing at a fast pace and the government has declared the furniture
industry as a ‘thrust sector’.
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The general index of Table 1 reflects an obvious trend that can be applied to the growth patterns
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of any developing market. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) table sets the benchmark in
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Table 1a. Quantum Index of Industrial Production (Manufacturing)

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Industry 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09

General Index (MFG) 272.13 294.72 328.35 360.33 386.48 413.72 442.12
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Manufacture of wood & wood

185.26 203.23 241.70 258.13 287.83 308.60 310.17
products including furniture
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Yearbook-2010, p. 160.

Table 1b. Export Information

Item 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011

Exports in BDT (Billions) 0.176 0.144 0.192 0.24 1.5 1.68
USD (millions) 2.2 1.8 2.4 3 19.26 21
Source: The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

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OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon 141

Table 2. Different Classes of Furniture Manufacturers

Firm Size Number of Enterprises Average Annual Sales (BDT) Gross Profit Net Profit
Micro 7961 1,877,400 21.63% 9.87%
Small 1676 5,118,333 25.74% 12.41%
MSM 2 276 8,571,429 29.67% 14.67%
MSM 1 40 19,350,000 32.10% 15.10%
Large 35 104,100,000 35.80% 15.80%
Source: Various sources, 2012.

1988–1989, showcasing the growth of the furniture industry over nearly a decade. Although the furniture

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index carries significantly less weight than many other prominent industrial sectors, the growth rate is
still remarkable—with continuous growth over a period of nearly 10 years, at an average growth rate

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close to 30 per cent, the industry has quadrupled in the 2000s, with no major indication of slowing down
anytime soon (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2010).

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Dr. Ali Nesar Khan had conducted a baseline survey of the furniture industry of Bangladesh in

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2011. Table 2 below details the number of different size of operators in the furniture industry of
Bangladesh (www.bfidexpo.com).
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However, Table 2 does not take into consideration the large number of carpenters who work
independently and contribute towards the industry. According to Katalyst (an iNGO working for the
development of the livelihoods of the poor population in Bangladesh), the industry is dominated by
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over 41,000 small workshops. The furniture sector is in a transition phase towards industrialization.
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There are 121 clusters of furniture companies across the country—the bigger clusters are mostly located
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in Dhaka and Chittagong. Gradually, modern furniture, including steel, metallic or plastic forms along
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with wooden ones began to be used widely. It has become an essential part of residential houses, offices,
institutions, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, public halls and auditoriums. Variations in furniture usage
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occur on different counts. In rural areas, traditional furnishings still prevail, but there is an increasing
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mingling of modern designs. Furniture usage in rural schools, restaurants or community centers is
marked by the parallel use of modern furniture with traditional ones; however, the latter is being fast
replaced by the former.
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OTOBI is the furniture market leader. Following the footsteps of OTOBI—Akhtar, Navana, Partex,
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Furnitec and Hatil use similar strategies and have already established their brand names. However, they
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simply followed in the footsteps of OTOBI—with a ‘me-too’ attitude at best. The basic difference
between OTOBI and the rest of the pack is evident—while OTOBI developed into a brand, the rest
simply played catch-up with similar products. Prior to OTOBI, no other furniture manufacturer had
used mass advertising in a big way. OTOBI appointed Unitrend’s (an affiliate of McCann Erickson)
Creative Director (Art), Laiq Ahmed Qureshi as their Chief Communication Officer. Under him, the
brand flourished, and gained an entity beyond just office furniture. It became a name the mass people
warmed up to. The marketing departments of the rest of the outfits were simply glorified sales teams. In
all, there are 5,000 registered furniture houses in the country, according to the Bangladesh Furniture
Association. Almost 99 per cent of them are categorized as non-brand operators. Although these non-
brand operators hold almost half of the market, their share is diminishing day by day. The furniture
makers who have been hurt by a slump in domestic demand in recent years have sought to grab the

South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2, 2 (2013): 139–149

142 Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Asef Hassan Baqee, and Zakia Khan

export market. The general secretary of Bangladesh Furniture Industries Owners Association expects
government policy support in this regard. The industry sprang up in a decade cashing in on rapid
urbanization and constant economic growth in the country, is nowadays faced with a demand-drop.
‘A committee has been formed recently to devise strategies as to how and where we can export
our products,’ said Mohammed Ullah, treasurer of the sectoral trade body. Mohammed Ullah, also
managing director of La-Sany Furniture said: ‘Bangladesh has bright prospects for furniture exports,
as the country has an edge in cheap labour—over other exporting competitors.’ The industry insiders
attributed the recent decline in the sectoral growth to consumers’ diminishing purchase capacity
(www.bangladesh2day.com).

Evolution of Resurgent OTOBI

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Since furniture forms one of the most important ingredients in the interior decoration of a room, the

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demand for stylish furniture is profound and such furnishing materials enhance the look of a room.

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OTOBI is well on its way to rising ‘to become one of the top three brands in the South Asian region’.

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Keeping this in mind, OTOBI has exotic ranges of the most stylish products which prove to be an
excellent platform to leave their mark in the minds of the customers. Even though OTOBI was
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perceived as an innovative furniture company, it has started losing market share as new powerful
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competitors have entered the market. The elderly artist Nitun found solace in his son Animesh’s joining
in the family business.
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Animesh, a graduate from Cornell University, USA, on his part, realized that his charismatic and
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legendary father was an artist at heart and not a proficient businessman. He spent time as an intern for
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two years in all the various departments of the business to learn things hands-on. Animesh realized that
he needed professional help in getting the business to the next level. A head-hunter brought Sabbir
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Hasan Nasir to the Kundu family business. Sabbir had completed his BSc in Engineering from BUET
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(Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) and got an MBA from IBA (Institute of
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Business Administration, University of Dhaka). His career spans Bata, TetraPak, Golfrate (licensee
of Unilever, Nestle and Kraft in Angola) in marketing (brand, category and key account management,
sales and distribution), operations, costing and strategic planning (The Daily Star, 1 February 2009).
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Restructuring the Top Level Management

In the middle of 2006, the new leadership of OTOBI took over, about three months before Nitun’s
death. Nitun Kundu became the Chairman of the Board and an Advisor. Whereas, Animesh Kundu was
appointed the Managing Director, with Sabbir Hasan Nasir named as the CEO. The separation of
ownership from management heaped benefits for the company. In its strive to stand as a strong global
brand, the company took a series of initiatives—such as the introduction of performance measurement
tools, balanced scorecards, implementation of a massive enterprise resource planning system from SAP.
They modified and strengthened their own research and forecasting models. They implanted values of
innovation, discipline; the concept of ‘we’ as a team and customer focus that started taking roots in the
OTOBIan culture. One of the objectives of the duo, Animesh and Sabbir Hasan was to introduce new

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OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon 143

Table 3. Statistics of OTOBI

Showrooms 16
Dealers (Bangladesh-415, India-28) 443
Employees 5,000
Market share in branded furniture 80%
Source: Various sources, 2012.

technology in the business. The board managed finance, approved policies and reviewed company
performance. The number of employees grew from 5,000 to more than 15,000 within three years as seen
in Table 3.

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The Strategies of OTOBI: Product Portfolio

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OTOBI has the vision to develop into a complete lifestyle brand offering innovative and inspiring space

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solutions. OTOBI’s range of furniture, furnishings and appliances are developed and marketed to serve

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all ages and stages of homes, industries, institutions, hospitals and offices. The company has devised
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their strategies accordingly and the OTOBI basic lines, wooden furniture, Lal Foring Istishan, the new
Metamorphosis campaign, Notepad and Kloset were some of the endeavours born consequentially.
OTOBI has been a market leader in the wooden furniture segment and a trend setter in innovation,
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design, management practices and quality in Bangladesh. The range of furniture offered by OTOBI
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has an edge over others as their designs are technologically integrated, hence offering quality in materi-
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als and craftsmanship to offer enhanced product life span. The company’s forte is that they provide
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luxury experience at an affordable price, owing to high scale production capacity coupled with cost
effective supply chain management. They took inspiration from the successful Swedish retailer—IKEA.
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It is evident in OTOBI’s organizational structure, in product designs, store layouts and even in the tags
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affixed to the goods.

The brand has three main categories of furniture—basic, economy and premium. ‘The trend today is
for contemporary, simplistic furniture with a few elaborate touches,’ explains the CEO of OTOBI. Simple
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pieces with straight lines are the signature style at OTOBI. The range in rattan—a divan, a small glass-
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topped centre table with round rattan seats and dining sets look both warm and ethnic. There’s a range of
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leather furniture for the drawing room too in colors ranging from beige to deep browns (The Daily Star,
Volume 5, Issue 23, 8 June 2010).
The sleek, streamlined look of the home furnishings appeals to the contemporary consumer. All
OTOBI products come with features that promise to maximize user satisfaction. A lot of research has
been done to understand the needs of the market. The swivel chairs, for example, are sculpted to provide
maximum comfort and support for the busy professional and their castors (small wheels attached to
the lower structure) are sturdy and shock-proof. In space-starved metropolitan living such as in Kolkata,
emphasis is given to efficient storage in multi-tasking products, such as built-in drawers for beds. The
company offers best quality furniture at very affordable prices. OTOBI’s wide range of furniture and
fittings are segmented category-wise and encompass areas such as office furniture, living room furniture,
bed room furniture, accent and décor, appliances, kitchen furniture, dining room furniture, study room

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144 Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Asef Hassan Baqee, and Zakia Khan

furniture, garden furniture, kid’s room furniture, medical furniture and industrial furniture. Particularly
innovative is the range of children’s furniture, including a toy box that can also function as a seat, a study
table with a roll of paper attached to it so kids are not tempted to paint the walls, a little couch in pink
and lace. The children-friendly edging around the tables ensures durability and prevents accidents.
OTOBI manufactures furniture from an assortment of materials, including laminated chip boards,
wood, MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard), sheet metal, tubes, plastic, cane and many more. Different
boards, such as MDF and melamine have replaced wooden furniture in many of the ranges in the past
several years. Adoption of modern technology and materials has also significantly reduced the labour
cost, helping them to be competitive, according to the market players. These boards are imported from
Malaysia and China and then assembled locally. The furniture that is made of teak and backed by MDF
has thick edges which give it a velvety finish that does not come off easily. The local conditions and
technology used allows the company to offer competitive rates.

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For items such as office desks and modular kitchens the company uses MFC (Melamine Faced
Chipboard) boards with a melamine lamination. This means that the furniture is supposed to be scratch

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proof, spill-proof and heat-proof. Sector experts, however, said the main reason behind the phenomenal
rise of OTOBI is that they deliver attractive furniture through cheaper wood substitutes such as particle

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boards. These products were brought to the local market by the importers. The company was quick in

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action to conceive the idea of manufacturing furniture items by wood substitutes and became successful
for its aggressive and coordinate marketing strategy.
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‘There was no other option but to rely on wood substitute as price of timber skyrocketed worldwide.
There is also wood scarcity as many countries including Bangladesh that imposed a ban on tree felling,’
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opined Sabbir, who has been steering the company since 2006 (Bangladesh Economy, 2 April 2009).
The finished products are inspected by the Quality Assurance Team (QA) and subsequently packed.
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The packed products are dispatched to OTOBI showrooms in their own transport and loading/unloading
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is thoroughly inspected so as to ensure zero damage. The flat-packing technology employed in this pro-
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cess further minimizes chances of damage and is easy to assemble. However, OTOBI introduced its
wood-based furniture in 2010 to challenge the traditional players in the market like Akhtar, Hatil and
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Legacy whose main concentration is on wood-based furniture.

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OTOBI’s furniture are completely flat-packed in knocked-down condition, which means they can be
taken apart and reassembled within minutes, thus making transportation easy. The boxes come with easy
to follow instructions that allow amateurs put the furniture together themselves.
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‘Our specialty is our flat pack! The younger generation likes the way we pack, since it is convenient
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for them to dismantle and reassemble it when they move. We get the boards from Southeast Asia,
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but they are specially treated at our factories,’ says Ranjita Singh, Regional Manager India, OTOBI.
While compressed-board furniture is abundant in every mall in India, OTOBI claims its wares are
scratchproof, waterproof and will not chip. As for the highest selling commodity, it is the beds that
have been especially successful in the Indian market, followed by cupboards, wardrobes and office desks
(Trends, 15 June 2010).
In addition, the company’s medical furniture includes various types of beds, trolleys, baby cots, bowl
stands, kick-buckets, over-bed tables, emergency cards, saline stands, isolation screens, bedside lockers,
bedside cabinets, medicine cupboards and revolving stools (The Daily Star, 11 December 2009)

We supply furniture to many government and private hospitals, and clinics including Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujib Medical University Hospital, BIRDEM Hospital and Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital & Research Institute.

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OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon 145

These hospitals buy our products because we maintain quality. Local hospitals offer local firms much less
price than they pay to the foreign companies even though we produce better quality furniture. We can’t
cut manufacturing cost as we don’t want to compromise with our quality, Sabbir shared. (The Daily Star,
13 November 2008)

The Success Story

OTOBI strives to be recognized as a world class retailer of choice and a brand in Asia Pacific in the
furniture and furnishing business. Pursuing this vision, Sabbir and Animesh have brought in world class
business processes to ensure their success.
The Cornell University graduate observed that a separation of policy formulation from the operational

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functions of the company will help it attain such a culture. However, there is continuous interaction
between management and the board. From time to time, management informs the board about the steps

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it is taking. But what management does have is the power to take instant decisions. He believes that an
organization is a living entity and one should deal with it from that perspective.

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Management has been fully authorized to take decisions so that it can maintain 100 per cent operational

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efficiency. If you treat it based on your expectations, you will act like a feudal lord. If you give authority to
management, it works with passion, which is not possible under an owner-driven culture. The authority made
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the company much more dynamic and innovative, Animesh says. (The Daily Star, 18 November 2009)
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By establishing 13 showrooms in the capital of Dhaka and employing 300 dealers across the country
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in less than a decade, OTOBI has proved that organized marketing campaigns was the secret of its
success. During 2006 to 2009, the company registered double-digit growth annually and made gains in
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the branded furniture market segment from 80 per cent, at a time when the overall furniture market
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ailed mainly due to sluggish growth in real estate in the past few years. Explaining the rationale behind
making management more accountable, Animesh thinks that OTOBI is a dynamic and innovative
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organization and without these two qualities, the company will not be able to survive. With a steady
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annual growth, OTOBI enjoys more than half of the country’s market of branded furniture. Sabbir Hasan
Nasir believes that difference in designs and quality products at affordable and competitive prices keep
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them ahead of others.

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When an organization reaches maturity, the confining ropes must be unleashed. To ensure dynamism and
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innovation, an appropriate culture is required so that talented professionals can show their creativity. But
ensuring a dynamic environment is not possible under an owner-driven culture. It has been historically proven.
If you want to ensure dynamism and innovation, you have to promote and establish a meritocratic culture and
you have to make it sustainable, says Animesh Kundu. (The Daily Star, 18 November 2009)

The OTOBI board relinquished its control over management on operational matters at a time when
a pro-business attitude to emerge as global brands by following modern business practices is being
coveted among local entrepreneurs.
Recently OTOBI has established a sophisticated furniture making plant at Ashulia near Dhaka
that also uses solar energy as its commitment to environment. In addition, OTOBI started to make
hospital furniture in 1992. The market share of hospital furniture of OTOBI is developing gradually

South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2, 2 (2013): 139–149

146 Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Asef Hassan Baqee, and Zakia Khan

at 10 to 15 per cent annually. The company sold hospital furniture worth BDT 1.5 billion (USD 18.75
million). In 2008, its major clients included government hospitals and private clinics. OTOBI exports
hospital furniture to different states of India and plans to enter the Middle East. Apart from brands like
OTOBI and Navana, medium-scale manufacturers have joined the race to meet the growing demand for
hospital and surgical equipments.
In December 2009, OTOBI opened a showroom in Gulshan (an upper-class residential area in
Dhaka and also became the new commercial hub of the country) to sell office decorative items and
accessories. Stylishly named Notepad, the showroom caters to all furnishing needs of a state of the art
corporate office. The CEO refers that the company makes around 2,000 products that showcase creativ-
ity, having a price range from BDT 10 only to BDT 70,000 and beyond. Notepad is attuned to the tastes
of younger minds in the corporate world (The Daily Star, 28 December 2009).

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Expanding the Business Horizon

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OTOBI has the exotic ranges of the most stylish products that have entered India, thus, proving to be

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an excellent platform to leave their mark in the minds of the Indian customer. It is needless to say that

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the Indian furniture industry is poised to expand to meet the surge in demand. From 2004, OTOBI started
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to export furniture in India on a regular basis. The brand is present in 7 cities in India through distributors
and dealers. In 2008, OTOBI opened its first 6,000 square feet retail store in Kolkata, India. Under the
franchise of Lemonde, OTOBI currently has 8 exclusive dealers in Kolkata and 20 dealers across
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India. OTOBI officials in India point out that the company has managed to grab one-fifth of the branded
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furniture market in West Bengal in less than two years (Bangladesh Economic News, 24 March 2010).
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Situated at the Mani Square Mall, the showroom is packed with furniture for home and office, along-
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side home linen, crockery and knick-knacks: a complete décor solution can be found at the store. The
competitors like Hatil and Navana, have even started venturing into Indian furniture market, with their
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range of home and office settings and decorative items.

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The western expatriates started comparing OTOBI’s designs and finishing with European products and
were surprised at how OTOBI could offer such competitive prices. Huge coverage in Indian media then allured
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choosy Kolkata shoppers to our shop, said Sabbir of OTOBI. (New Age Business, 28 March 2009)
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Outside Bangladesh, India offers to be a very promising market in the furniture industry as the
response from the customers has been tremendous. A wide range of furniture is for pure indulgence and
is targeted to the customers, who appreciate the finer things in life and are unabashed about enjoying
them. Furniture designed by OTOBI stuns the brand-conscious western shoppers in Kolkata. Sabbir
claims that consistency in quality has helped them to become the leader in local market and to attract the
choosy buyers in the foreign markets. Despite the fact that Kolkata is heavily adorned with Chinese
imports, OTOBI has managed to create a market of its own. As of now, it is trying to gain the upper hand
in the existing market, but they do have their sights set on expanding and opening more dealerships
across the country.
Another hurdle is the pricing. Changing the mindset that favours low-priced mass-produced furniture,
to create a demand for pricier, but more durable OTOBI goods has not been an easy task. Though prices

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OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon 147

are a little steeper in India than they are in Bangladesh, they still maintain affordable price tags, from
`1,500 (USD 30) for a computer table to `240,000 (USD 4,800) for a modular kitchen. Ranjita Singh,
Regional Manager of OTOBI in India opines that her company is spending substantially in advertisement
to win Kolkata customers.

We had a crisis at the beginning when there was doubt in the customers’ mind because we were a Bangladeshi
brand. Convincing them that it was up to the mark and perhaps better than the Chinese products was a bit of
a struggle. However, we have crossed that stage now. We can ensure the shipment of our products within
45 days of placing the order, which is a tough prospect for our Chinese counterparts. In addition, we want to
be the top brand of India in the next three years, says Ranjita Singh. (Trends, 15 June 2010)

The second showroom, the interior of which has been personally supervised by Ranjita and her

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team, is stationed in Louden Street. The showroom has a colorful atmosphere with a contrasting black
roof. In fact, it is the attention to detail put into each setting that brings it to life.

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The company has event specials, such as a recent discount on bedroom furniture. The home furniture
has been created keeping in mind the small utility flats which are a rage in Kolkata. The tastes are also

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gradually shifting from making furniture at home by personally directing the carpenters, to shopping for

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readymade ones.
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We have started our journey at a high-end mall. For many, that a Bangladeshi brand could spread out in such a
manner was simply unbelievable in the beginning. Now, the initial hitches have subsided, says Saleh Mujahidin,
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Regional Coordinator South Asia, OTOBI (Trends, 15 June 2010).

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Setbacks
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Although furniture industry has made a significant development, it is still slow in expanding its markets
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further due to lack of government support following no entry in the Industry Policy. The self-made
sector has been recognized as handicraft in the Export Promotion Bureau. But neither the Industry
Ministry nor the Commerce Ministry recognizes it as an industry. But along with the problem of
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inadequate infrastructure, OTOBI’s vision to go abroad with its brand faces setback in an absence
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of policies supporting development of global brands emerging from Bangladesh and crossing borders
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(The Daily Star, 30 March, 2010).

Sabbir stressed the need for a deep cut in import duty on raw materials and extra incentives from the
government to help the industry grow, as high import duty on raw materials pushes up the prices of
the end products. China can make furniture at much cheaper rate as it uses plastic as raw materials, he
said, adding that Bangladeshi firms cannot take the benefit as the country’s plastic industry is weak.
Company officials said the tax hike would affect their business in India, as a big number of their products
are being made of imported MDF board.

The government should offer cash incentives to exporters to ride out the tax hike. Furniture could be as big an
industry as apparel. It can create millions of more jobs. But we need policy support, easing of foreign exchange
regulation and cash incentives to achieve that goal, the CEO said. (The Financial Express, 12 July 2009).

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148 Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Asef Hassan Baqee, and Zakia Khan

According to a study by Katalyst, the absence of a comprehensive export strategy and lack of
ownership from key public and private sector stakeholders has been deterring the export of furniture
from Bangladesh. The isolated work of the potential exporters from the Export Promotion Bureau,
Ministry of Commerce has led to little incentive from the government to promote furniture export from
Bangladesh. Furthermore, there was little focus to the supply chain management and relevant support
industries such as training institutes, certifying agencies and buying houses.
During the interview, Sabbir Hasan quoted Animesh saying, ‘Now we dream and depend on human
spirit. Access to funds, technology and information is easier today. You will have to nurture and keep
faith.’ They believe that they could exploit the export potential of the product, as countries from Malaysia
and Indonesia are making huge money from their exports to the West, especially the US and Europe.
In this context, the EPB of Bangladesh plans to team up with Katalyst, a private sector development
project, for furniture makers’ capacity building and widening the country’s export basket. The new

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partnership is expected to scope out further prospects of the sector, now growing at 20 per cent a year,
taking some steps to reach the goals. The sector’s contribution to the GDP is 0.29 per cent on an average

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(www.katalyst.com.bd, 2010).

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Conclusion
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Living in an environment where we often hear that our markets are flooded with Indian products and
the people of Bangladesh travel to Kolkata and other places in India to do their shopping, it is indeed
refreshing to see a local company make forays in the vast Indian market and knock on the doors of
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the high and mighty amongst our neighbours. As for the market share in India, though OTOBI is not the
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biggest, they have definitely made a dent. It is definitely an encouraging beginning.

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OTOBI exports furniture to some neighbouring countries including India but its medical furniture
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is yet to enter foreign market. The CEO is very optimistic about the entrance of OTOBI’s medical
furniture into the foreign markets. He said that OTOBI wants to go global with its own brand. Apart
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from South Asia, the company has plans to expand its footprint into Middle East and Southeast Asia
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(Trends, 15 June 2010). Business is soaring to new heights as can be sensed from the pride and the
determination of Animesh and Sabbir as they hold Nitun’s torch up, keeping his work alive through
the OTOBI brand.
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This case is an analysis of the initiatives and strategic plans taken by the management of OTOBI
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which is driving this company in a new height. It also highlights the novel concept with full orchestration
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and business strategies formulated by the management through the implementation of the growth
strategy of the OTOBI. The company has to learn, develop and acquire new skills, experiment with new
approaches and remain one step ahead of other organizations in providing state of art knowledge.

References
Ahmad, Sabrina, F. (2010). Knock on wood. Star Life Style, The Daily Star, 5(23), 3.
Ahmed, Sarwar (2009). Art to business. (The) Daily Star, 1 February 2009.
Akter, Sayeda (2009). Hospital furniture on the mend. (The) Daily Star, 11 December 2009.
Banerjee, Poulomi (2009). More for less. (The) Telegraph, 24 January 2009.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2010). Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 2010, 160–161. Dhaka:
Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2, 2 (2013): 139–149

OTOBI: Beyond the Horizon 149

Furniture Fair (2013). Retrieved February 2013, from http://www.bfidexpo.com

Islam, K.A. (2009). Local brands go global. New Age Business, 28 March 2009.
Katalyst Bangladesh (2010). Furniture and crafts. Retrieved February 2013, from http://www.katalyst.com.bd
Karim, Konka (2010). OTOBI breaking into foreign shore. Trends.
Khan, Kawsar (2010). EPB to team up with Katalyst on furniture export. Bangladesh Economic News, 24 March
2010.
Moni, Sonia H. (2009). Duty spike clips wings of furniture makers. (The) Financial Express, 12 July 2009.
Parvez, Sohel (2009). OTOBI coming of age. (The) Daily Star, 18 November 2009.
Rahman, S. (2009). Furniture makers look to exports. (The) Daily Star, 1 February 2009.
———. (2009). Furniture makers look to exports. Bangladesh2day, Online News Portal, Retrieved April 2009, from
http://www.bangladesh2day.com
(The) Bangladesh Economy (2009). Brand furniture on strong footing, 2 April 2009.
(The) Daily Star (2010). EPB to team up with Katalyst on furniture export. 24 March 2010.

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Uddin, M.A. (2012). Factors responsible to dealers’ satisfaction: A study on Partex furniture Industries Ltd. World
Journal of Social Sciences, 2(5), 207–217.

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Wikipedia (2012). Nitun Kundu, OTOBI, Retrieved February 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitun_Kundu
Yousuf, Mohammad (2008). Emerging Products: Medical furniture out of shell. (The) Daily Star, 13 November

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2008.

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ER
Jashim Uddin Ahmed is an Associate Professor at School of Business and Director of BBA Program,
North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He received his PhD in Management Sciences from
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), (Currently known as The
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University of Manchester), UK. His current research interests include the areas of strategic management,
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change management and contemporary marketing thoughts.

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[E-mail: jashim@northsouth.edu; jashimahmed@hotmail.com]

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Asef Hassan Baqee is a Lecturer at School of Business, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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He did his undergraduate programme from Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka
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and subsequently obtained his MBA from University of Canberra, Australia. His interest areas span
consumer behaviour, social media marketing and brand management.
[E-mail: asef.hassan@northsouth.edu, asef.hassan@gmail.com]
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Zakia Khan is a former MBA student of North South University who is pursuing a successful career in
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consumer banking in one of the prestigious bank in Bangladesh. She is a Research Associate at the
School of Business, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2, 2 (2013): 139–149

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