1

Report on: Agora – Supermarket (Rahim-

Afrooz)

Launched in 2000

2
Submitted to:
Md. Aslam Uddin
Lecturer in Marketing
Faculty of Business Studies
Bangladesh University of Business & Technology (BUBT)

Submitted by: Group name: Unity Group

Name ID

Samiul Adnan Hossainn 09101101068

(Group Leader)
Md. Rajib Raihan 09101101074

Md.Habibul Hasan Opu 09101101047

Md.Golam Kibria 09101101079

Md.Zahid Raihan 09101101066

Submission Date: 03/08/2010

3
 Table of Contents
SL No. Topic Page No.

01 About Agora 05

02 Management of Agora 06

03 Methodology & Analysis 07-08

04 Background 09-10

05 Agora at a glance 11

06 Interior of Agora 12

07 SWOT Analysis 13

08 Objectives of Agora 14

09 Marketing Strategy of Agora 14-16

10 Agora Merchandise 17

11 Controversy 18

12 Recommendation 19

13 Conclusion 20

14 Bibliography & Appendices 21

4
Agora - Supermarket Chain & Superstore Retail
Organizations
The name of Agora is entwined with the glory of-the Agora’s
marketing policy “to create a better environment for consumers”. A
man gifted with an inherent entrepreneurial sense, Late A. C. Abdur
Rahim, the founder of Rahim-Afrooz started a trading house in 1973,
which continued to expand in scope and nature as time went along.
In 2000, Agora was introduced to the world. The success was
immediate as there was a demand for such business in the local
market. Agora's state-of-the-art technology and creative strategy gave
it an edge ocher its competitors at local market.

Agora is a Dhaka-based supermarket chain. It is the largest retailer,

both by local sales and by domestic market share, and the largest
retailer in Dhaka leaving behind PQS, Meena Bazar, Nandan Mega
Shop, Pacific, Pick and Pay, Etc, Shop & Save and others.

Originally specializing in food, it has moved into areas such as

clothes, consumer electronics, consumer financial services, selling
and renting DVDs, compact discs and consumer telecom accessories.

Agora Ltd. is an enterprise that combines industry and trade, mainly

engages in retailing the quality products at the most lowest price in
the market. The management of Agora was an enthusiastic advocate
of trading stamps as an inducement for shoppers to patronize their
stores: They signed up with all types of quality products
manufacturer, and became one of the company’s largest clients. But
the management was a fan of pile it high and sell it cheap, and in the
mid-2000 Agora faced many cost problems associated with not
properly integrating it’s purchased chains of stores.

Facing the world and looking beyond, Agora will always maintain
the pure-hearted, enterprising, quality and struggling spirit make
efforts to scrupulously abide by our goodwill, create splendid future
together with you in management vision of joint development, joint
prosperity and mutual benefits!

5
Significance of the Study: Management of Agora
Management is the part and parcel of everyone life. It is not
only related in the business, it also affects human life as well as
social life. The length of human life is short but the length of
business is so large. So, we can say that management is a very and
relevant tropic right now. It’s also important for us to know about the
difference between space and parts of management. We are the
standard of business Studies, so if is out question that management is
a very important topic of our syllabus. If the word comes in business
then the word management comes with it. After knowing all these as
a student we cannot let it go. As a part of study and also our personal
intention we chose this topic.

Management is a small word which starts with word manage. It

dreams to gather things together. So we can easily say form its
meaning it main objective in together.

Employers are the owner of the firm or the representative

assigned by owner. So management starts form that stage and we can
say that the management born form there. This is the top level. The
first design what will be the structure of the firm and how they going
to operate these organization. The also decide has much the power
they give to employ. All these things will work or proper
management. If the owner or employer failed to make proper
management stage if will ruins all the recourse of the owner which is
not accepted.

Employees are the servants that operate the management according

to. The instruction they are given by their employees. If they have not
proper management they will lose their direction and their effort or
labor wouldn’t bring any good for the organization on the other hand
they will failed to follow the instruction given by several superior for
a single task. As a result the chain of command brakes and the whole
things turned in to mass.

6
 Methodology & Analysis of the Study

Methodology:
To accomplish this term paper two types of data sources have been
used:

1. Primary Data
2. Secondary Data

Primary sources are:

• Customer’s attitude towards Agora
• Agora’s Sales Person Behavior
• Checkout Counter System
• Flyers & Banners placement for discount
• Salesperson’s Comments
• Interviewing Customer Manager

Secondary sources are:

• Agora’s Web
• Competitors Report
• Newspaper Articles
• Other Web Articles

Analysis:

7
 From this study report we can get to know the
managerial activities of Agora which can be listed
below:

• How an organization works?

• It’s working system.
• It process of activities.
• Its strategy.
• Customer’s policy.
• Inter personal relationship.
• Communication structure.
• Its skill development procedure.
• Its information system.
• Its automation.
• Its stone system.
• Its seasonal management.
• Human recourse management.
• Office management.
• Departmental process.
• Departmentalization.
• Department wise procurement.
• Control system.
• Security system etc.

8
Agora Super Store- Background
Understanding the historical context from which some of
today's organizational structures have developed helps to explain why
some structures is the way they are but Agora using a structured
which is more horizontally capitalizing on the innovativeness of their
employees. Part of the reason, as this section discusses, is that
organizational structure of Agora that has a certain inertia—the idea
borrowed from physics and chemistry that something in motion tends
to continue on that same path.

Because of this unique management process, I have decided to

write our term paper on the Agora, a leading one stop shopping mall
in Bangladesh.

From the very beginning of Agora was thriving.

First, the emergence of the traditional organizational structure

in Agora provides additional detail regarding how this affected the
practice of management. The structure of Agora is unique in some
respects, but the structures were developed or are consciously
designed to enable the organization to accomplish its work. Typically,
the structure of Agora evolves as the organization grows and changes
over time.

Second, the managers of Agora have to make decisions as they

develop an organizational structure, although they may not be
explicitly aware of these decisions. First, the organization's work
must be divided into specific jobs. This is referred to as the division of
labor. Second, unless the organization is very small, the jobs are
grouped in some way or in other words jobs are departmentalized.

Third, the number of people and jobs that are grouped together
are decided by the Managers. This is related to the number of people
that are to be managed by one person, or the span of control—the
number of employees reporting to a single manager.

9
 Fourth, the way decision-making authority is to be distributed
is determined.

In making each of these design decisions, a range of choices

are possible. At one end of the spectrum, jobs are highly specialized
with employees performing a narrow range of activities; while at the
other end of the spectrum employees perform a variety of tasks.

Agora is synonymous with market at low prices and name

brand quality products. The company basis of success and
foundations cannot be credited to the current management. Agora
formula for success simply put is their relationship with customers,
employees, and technology that assists in forming relationships with
their suppliers; places Agora as the top discount retailer, history-
development, and Growth Sam Agora to become the top discount
retailer. The Mega Corporation has eliminated top competitors such
as Nandan and PQS to reign supreme over the discount retailing
market. Following international trend, discount retailing evolved due
to frugality during year 2000. Agora opened the first outlet in
Dhanmondi in 2000. And see what the company could do to
improve. Agora needs to do research on the locations that it moves
to. The customs and the people need to be thoroughly looked into so a
new store opens as smoothly as possible. Meeting could be held with
business owners and locals to answer in questions or
concerns. Relationships need to be looked at closely especially
between the employees and suppliers so that it becomes one of give,
take, and trust and not so one sided.

10
Agora at a glance
Agora is a supermarket that is a departmentalized store offering
a wide variety of food and household merchandise. It is larger in size
and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store.
Agora comprises meat, produce, dairy and baked goods
departments along with shelf space reserved for canned and
packaged goods as well as for various nonfood items such as
household cleaners, pharmacy products, and pet supplies. Most
supermarkets also sell a variety of other household products that are
consumed regularly household cleaning products, medicine, clothes,
and some sell a much wider range of non-food products.

Agora occupies a large floor space on a single level and is

situated near residential areas in the Dhaka in order to be convenient
to consumers. Its basic appeal is the availability of a broad selection
of goods under a single roof at relatively low prices. Other
advantages include ease of parking and, frequently, the convenience
of shopping hours that extend far into the evening.

Agora usually offers products at low prices by reducing

margins. Certain products (typically staples such as bread, milk and
sugar) are often sold as loss leaders, that is, with negative margins.
To maintain a profit, Agora attempt to make up for the low margins
with a high overall volume of sales, and with sales of higher-margin
items. Customers usually shop by putting their products into
shopping carts (trolleys) or baskets (self-service) and pay for the
products at the check-out. At present, Agora has intention to reduce
labor costs further by shifting to self-service check-out machines,
where a group of four or five machines is supervised by a single
assistant.

11
 Interior of Agora:

Agora’s interior is similar to most

supermarkets in design and layout due to trends in
marketing. It produce tends to be near the entrance
of the store. Milk, bread, and other essential items
are located in the rear and other out of the way
places. This is purposely done to ensure maximum
time spent in the store, strolling past other items
and capitalizing on impulse buying. The front of the
store or Front-End is where one might find point of
sale machines or cash registers. Agora has plans to
implement self-checkout devices in their stores in
an attempt to reduce labor costs as well as bringing
complete customer satisfaction.

12
 SWOT Analysis:

STRENGHT:

 They follow "Pile it high, sell it cheap"

 Approach of the founder management of Rahim Afrooz.
 They build up a very strong relationship with the customers.
 That is the main strength of their business.

WEAKNESS:

 The disadvantage of Agora’s approach that is “Pile it high,

sells it cheap” was that the stores had a poor image with
middle-class customers.
 In the year 2001 Agora's brand image was so negative that
consultants advised the company to change the name of its
stores.

OPPORTUNITIES:

 As all the leading retail stores are Dhaka based.

 Most of them do not have any outlet in any other districts.
 Except Chittagong, Agora is going to launch four new retail
stores in the main districts of Bangladesh.

THREATS:

 Rising prices of raw materials and fuels.

 Change in fiscal benefits/ laws.
 People attraction and retention.

13
 Objectives of Agora:
The following is an overview of the case analysis of Agora. The
overall environment for Agora and its competitors is changing from a
product-oriented atmosphere towards an emphasis on satisfying all of
a consumer's needs. In order for Agora to remain competitive it
wants to re-evaluate its future opportunities for growth without
compromising its profits.

Industry-wide, grocery chains are changing the importance on

satisfying the consumer in order to keep their profit margins high.
Some examples include the move towards a 'superstore' witnessed by
some of Agora's competitors. Here, customers have a 'one-stop'
shopping experience. This is conducive to generation of dual-income
families and a growing amount of adult singles with busier lifestyles.

Marketing Strategy of Agora:

Agora's growth over the last 6 years has involved a
transformation of its strategy and image. Its initial success was based
on the "Pile it high, sell it cheap" approach of the founder
management of Rahim Afrooz. The disadvantage of this was that the
stores had a poor image with middle-class customers. In the year
2001 Agora's brand image was so negative that consultants advised
the company to change the name of its stores. It did not accept this
advice, yet by early 2003 it was the largest retailer in Dhaka, with a
29.0% share of the grocery market according to retail analysts TNS
Super panel, compared to the 16.8% share of ASDA and 15.6% share
of third-placed NANDAN, which had been the leading competitor
until it was beaten by Agora in 2004. Key reasons for this success
include:

14
 • An "inclusive offer". This phrase is used by Agora to describe
its aspiration to appeal to upper, medium and low income customers
in the same stores. According to Citigroup retail analyst David
McCarthy, "They've pulled off a trick that I'm not aware of any other
retailer achieving. That is to appeal to all segments of the market”.
By contrast ASDA's marketing strategy is focused heavily on value
for money, which can undermine its appeal to up market customers
even though it actually sells a wide range of up market products.
During its long term dominance of the supermarket sector Nandan’s
retained an image as a high-priced middle class supermarket which
considered itself to have such a wide lead on quality that it did not
need to compete on price, and was indifferent to attracting lower-
income customers into its stores. This strategy has been abandoned
since losing the number 1 spot to Agora and particularly since the
adoption of new management in 2004 that has established a new
customer-focused strategy closer to that of Agora.

• One plank of this inclusively has been Agora's use of its own-
brand products, including the up market "Finest" and low-price
"Value". The company has taken the lead in overcoming customer
reluctance to purchasing own brands, which are generally considered
to be more profitable for a supermarket as it retains a higher portion
of the overall profit than it does for branded products.

• The management in the mid 2000 has taken the bold step of
trying not to focus on the usual corporate mantra of "maximizing
shareholder value". The company's mission statement reads, "Our
core purpose is, 'To create value for customers to earn their lifetime
loyalty'. We deliver this through our values, 'No-one tries harder for
customers', and 'Treat people how we like to be treated'". The
underlying aim is of course to make higher profits, but there is a
clear focus on customer service at the top level of the company.

• Diversification: The Company has a four-pronged strategy:

15
 o "Core Dhaka business" - That is, grocery retailing in its
home market. It has been innovative and energetic in finding ways to
expand, such as making a large-scale move into the convenience-
store sector, which the major supermarket chains have traditionally
shunned.

o "Non-food business" - Many supermarket chains have

attempted to diversify into other areas, but Agora has been
exceptionally successful. By late 2004 it was widely regarded as a
major competitive threat to traditional high street chains in many
sectors, from clothing to consumer electronics to health and beauty to
media products. Agora sells an expanding range of own-brand and as
well as local and international non-food products, including non-
food Value and Finest ranges. It also has done quite well in non-food
sales in Ireland. CDs are one of the best examples, with Agora
Gulshan promising to sell all chart CDs (except compilations) for
Tk.50.00 compared with local Music Stores selling the same for
around Tk. 70.00.

o "Retailing services" - Agora has taken the lead in its sector in

expanding into areas like dairy and utilities. It usually enters into
joint ventures with major players in these sectors, contributing its
customer base and brand strength to the partnership. Other
supermarkets in Dhaka have done some of the same things, but
Agora has generally implemented them more effectively, and thus
made most profit.

16
Agora Merchandise. Types of items Agora typically
sells:
.

Agora typically sells many different types of items, such as:

• Beverages products (juices, energy drink, etc).

• Baby foods and products.
• Bakery.
• Books, newspapers, and magazines, including
supermarket tabloids.
• Car care products.
• CDs, DVDs.
• Confectionery.
• Cosmetics.
• Clothing and footwear.
• Dairy products.
• Diet foods.
• Electrical items.
• Feminine hygiene products.
• Frozen foods.
• Fruits and vegetables.
• Housecleaning products.
• Meat.
• Medicines and first aid items.
• Personal hygiene and grooming products.
• Snacks.

17
Agora Supermarket: Controversy:
Friends of the Earth campaign logo, in their bid to highlight
their claim of an Agora monopoly. Agora is increasingly a target for
people in Dhaka who disapprove of the effects supermarket chains
can have on farmers, suppliers and smaller competitors:
• The group has been criticized for its tactics, including
allegedly misleading consumers with a "phony" price cut. However,
while individual cases can be cited, Agora — along with the other
major supermarkets — is experiencing price deflation.

• Agora's 2004 Administer acquisition led to local and national

protests. Agora's other store openings and expansions are sometimes
contested by campaign groups. These campaigns have not hindered
Agora's expansion programmers very much.

• Agora is also censured by those who think that it infringes

upon the interests of farmers and smaller suppliers. The company
responds by claiming that it follows industry-best practice and
sources locally where it can to meet customer demand. In March
2005 the Office of Fair Trading published an audit of the workings
of its code of practice on relationships between supermarkets and
their suppliers. It reported that no official complaints had been
received against Agora or any of the other major supermarkets, but
the supermarkets' critics, including Friends of the Earth, contested
that suppliers were prevented from complaining by fear of losing
business, and called for more rigorous supervision of the
supermarkets. A further report by the Office of Fair Trading in
August 2005 concluded that the aims of the Code of Practice were
being met.

In May 2004, Agora announced it was reducing sick pay in an

attempt to reduce levels of unplanned absence, which led to concerns
over employees continuing to work despite poor health (faced with a
reduced income otherwise).

18
 Recommendations:

With multiple stores in Dhaka, Agora is a leader in superstore

retail organizations. The combination of quality and price under
various brand name offers customers value for their money. I have
examined and evaluated the operations of Agora, LTD including its
strengths and weaknesses. I recommend the following in order to
ensure continued success for the future of all Marks and Spencer
stores:

1. Find alternative sources to supply resources to Marks and Spencer

stores abroad.

2. Increase marketing efforts.

3. Strengthen existing resources, add complementary resources, and

develop new resources.

4. Evaluation of Current Objectives and Current Strategy

19
Conclusion:
Let us conclude by saying that there are good reasons to feel
confident that these retailing companies such as Agora, although
likely to be difficult and take time; will succeed.

The government program has identified improved performance

as a key objective of reform and this offers clarity of purpose which
can be widely understood.

The retailing companies (such as Agora) are consistent with the

goal of EU accession which provides an external anchor but most
persuasive is the fact that the focus on service delivery to the people,
if realistically managed, will reinforce popular support for such
retailing companies (such as Agora).

We believe these retailing companies (such as Agora) will

benefit from the involvement of civil society organizations which
have an inherent interest in improving government performance and
in monitoring and providing objective feedback that is essential to
any self-correcting system.

The World Bank stands ready to support these retailing

companies (such as Agora) with knowledge and financial assistance,
as required. We would be pleased to react positively to any
government request for technical and financial assistance. We are
particularly glad to have contributed in this report as further support
to the retailing companies (such as Agora) being introduced by the
authorities.

20
 Bibliography:
1 Gilad Bracha , William Cook, Mixin-based inheritance, Proceedings
of the European conference on object-oriented programming on
Object-oriented programming systems, languages, and applications,
p.303-311, September 1990,
2 P. A. Buhr , C. R. Zarnke, Nesting in an object-oriented language is
not for the birds, on ECOOP '88 (European Conference on Object-
Oriented Programming), p.128-145, August 1988,
3 Bernard Carré , Jean-Marc Geib, The point of view notion for
multiple inheritance, Proceedings of the European conference on
object-oriented programming on Object-oriented programming
systems, languages, and applications, p.312-321, September 1990,
4 Adele Goldberg , David Robson, Smalltalk-80: The Language,
Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1989
5 Ole Lehrmann Madsen, Block-structure and object-oriented
languages, Research directions in object-oriented programming, MIT
Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987
6 Brian Cantwell Smith, Reflection and semantics in LISP,
Proceedings of the 11th ACM SIGACT-SIGPLAN symposium on
Principles of programming languages, p.23-35, January 15-18, 1984,
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Appendices:

Visit: www.Agorabd.com
www.bdreport.com
www.bdpplz.com

21
22