Introduction:

A sari is one of the traditional clothing of Bangladesh. A sari is said to accentuate the beauty of a
women. There are various forms of sarees. One of the national heritages of this nation is Banarasi Saree.
It has been much prevalent amongst Bangladeshi women, that when they hear about Banarasi, they
think of bold colours like red, or purple with intricate designs called brocades embellished in it. This type
of silk cloth has been the frequent choice by women with a gorgeous look in mind, especially during
weddings. The gorgeous look is created because of this cloth being made out of fine silk.
Although the Mirpur Banarasi Palli is quite well known for their Banarasi sarees, the original story of this
cloth began almost 4000 years ago in the Northern city of India called Banaras. It was in the Mughal era
that this industry had flourished in the continent. In the 1930s, Dhaka established its own Banaras Silk
Industry Centre in Becharam Deuri, in the Old Town.
The political changes taking place in the 1940s from the Independence of India and then a birth of a
separate Muslim state, Urdu-speaking community from India packed up their hand-looms and migrated
to the South to the Parbatipur of Rajshahi and to some areas of the Old Town of Dhaka such as
Becharam Deuri, Kazi Alauddin Road, Kaiktuli, Tanti Bazar, Doyaganj and Gandaria from Benaras in India.
After the formation of Bangladesh, these migrants began to live in the refugee camps in Mirpur set up
by the then Government of Bangladesh and started earning a living from the skills they inherited on
weaving sarees. According to the Bangladesh Handloom Board migrant community set up the Banarasi
industry in Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas of Dhaka city in 1950; thus, leading to the birth of the now
famous Banarasi Palli in Mirpur 10, 11, 12.

Market segmentation of Banarasi sari
Banarasi sarees are well known for being the preferred wear by Brides on the main event of the
wedding. Its gorgeous look is what sets it apart from regular sarees that are not as bold-looking and
traditional. Behavioral and demographic segmentation below provides further insight of the target
market of local Banarasi sarees in Figures below respectively.
Demographics Segments
Age 23-60
Gender Female
Income Above or equal to 20,000
Occupation Homemaker, professionals, students
Religion Islam, Hindu, Christian
Nationality Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani
Figure: Market demographics of local Banarasi sarees.


Behavioral Segments
Occasions Wedding reception, Eid, Bangla New Year
Benefits Quality, fashionability
User status First-user, potential user, regular user
User rates Light user, medium user
Loyalty status
Attitute toward
product
Medium, strong
Enthusiastic and positive
Figure Behavioral segmentation of local Banarasi sarees

Doing business with local Banarasi sarees
Banarasi Palli in Mirpur has some 110 shops, 20,000 weavers and salesmen whose sales are 40 to 50
crore taka per year. This banarasi is a delicate piece of cloth made from the thread of high-quality silk
imported from China, Thailand and/or Pakistan. The silk from these countries is finer, and of much
smoother texture than from Bangladeshs local Rajshahi silk. Silk thread needed to make a Banarasi sari
are found in Chauk Bazar and local market of Mirpur. India is the main transit root of importing this
high quality silk hence, adding substantially to the cost of making a Banarasi sari. Often, the
Banarasi sari is further adorned with a material called Zari which gives a golden, shimmering look to
it.This year Banarasi Palli shops sold sarees of different catchy names such as Fulkali Katan, Dulhan
Katan, Mirpuri Reshmi Katan, Millennium Katan, Banarasi Cosmos, Organdy Katan, Tissue Katan, Brocket
Katan, Chunri Katan and others during the recent Eid seasons.
Description Price
(in Taka)
Maslayis Katan 5,700
Banarasi 10,000-15000
Brocade banarasi 4,500
Carpet banarasi 5,000
Honeycoat banarasi 4,500
Rajkoat banarasi 5,500
Baluchori banarasi 4,000
Satin banarasi 3,800