OTOBI , Nitun Kundu

Report On SME Pioneer Nitun Kundu

A report on

SME pioneer

Nitya Gopal Kundu (Nitun Kundu)

Born: December 3, 1935, Dinajpur.

Nitun Kundu graduated from Dhaka

Art College (now the Institute of Fine

Arts) in 1959.

Nitun Kundu was a Famous artist,

sculptor and entrepreneur, who was

known for bringing new trends in

abstract and realistic art to the

Bangladeshi arts scene. He was also

well known for his furniture designs,

pioneering the use of integrating

wood with metal.

Who started business on a small workshop in a tin-shed at Topkhana Road in February 1977 and

named it “Art in Craft”.

After 35 year it stands to OTOBI and controls about 80% of the country's branded furniture market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinajpur_District,_Bangladesh


Full name: Nitya Gopal Kundu (Nitun Kundu)

Born: December 3, 1935 in Dinajpur.

He was the fourth among seven children. His parents

were Gnanendranath Kundu and Binapani Kundu. He was

married to Phalguni Kundu and had a daughter Amity and

son Animesh.

Education and early career

Nitun Kundu graduated from Dhaka Art College (now the

Institute of Fine Arts) in 1959.

Nitun Kundu was a Famous artist, sculptor and entrepreneur, who was known for bringing new trends

in abstract and realistic art to the Bangladeshi arts scene. He was also well known for his furniture

designs, pioneering the use of integrating wood with metal.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Kundu worked with the celebrated artist Quamrul Hassan at

the public relations department of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile at Mujibnagar

Famous works

Sada Jagrata Banglar Muktibahini (poster)

Amra Sabai Bangali (poster)

Banglar Bir Muktijoddha (poster)

Shabash Bangladesh (sculpture at Rajshahi University)

SAARC Fountain at Karwan Bazar, Dhaka

Fountain, Dhaka High Court, Dhaka

Sampan, Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong

Kadam Fountain, National Press Club, Dhaka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinajpur_District,_Bangladesh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujibnagar


Awards and honors

Ekushey Padak

Daily Star-DHL Best Entrepreneur Award

National Film Award

President Gold Cup

Notun Kuri Award (Bangladesh Television)

Kundu was well known among his friends and family members for being a perfectionist and also

working for hours at a stretch. “He was always drawing or painting or coming up with new designs,”

says Amity. He would stay up for several nights together to complete his designs and paintings. In

spite of being the chairperson of a huge establishment, Kundu would spend plenty of time in his world

of art and colour. “My father's management team was built in such a manner that it would sometimes

run for days without him coming to office,” says Amity. “For instance, while constructing 'Shabash

Bangladesh', at one point he spent nights literally under the sky trying to perfect his creation. In

between all that, he would keep in touch with his team in Dhaka and work over the phone.”


Nitun Kundu The Furniture pioneer

In the 1975, following a brief stint at Bitopi advertising agency, Nitun Kundu established his own

company, a furniture store featuring his own designs, OTOBI. Within a relatively short period, OTOBI

became the most prominent Bangladeshi furniture brand, emphasizing the new nation's pride in its

refund cultural identity after independence. OTOBI quickly grew to become one of Bangladesh's top

exported brands, with sales primarily to India and the South East Asian countries.

It is said that Otobi was as much his child as his children, Amity and Animesh. Interestingly, all of

them have the first alphabet of Bangla language as the initial letter of their respective names..

Introduction on OTOBI

Born in 1935 at Dinajpur, From humble beginnings in the corporate furniture realm to the spectacular

escalation into the lifestyle giant that it is now, OTOBI's story of success spans merely 35 years.

Providing holistic space solutions catering to all spheres of daily life, OTOBI is well on its way to

rising to the ranks of Asia's top three brands by 2020. With creative reinvention pulsating through the

entire organization, OTOBI has set out to revolutionize the entire retail scenario starting off with

Bangladesh.

In 1974 he conceived the idea of embarking into commercial venture and started manufacturing

decorative items at his residence and later at Shukrabad, in addition to normal activities of painting

and sculpture. The name of this mini workshop was “The Designers”, employing only 4 persons.

A recipient of National Award for painting in 1965 and Bangabandhu Award in 1992, Mr. Nitun

Kundu set up a small workshop in a tin-shed at Topkhana Road in February 1977 and named it “Art in

Craft”. Here, in addition to coat pin, cup, crest, trophy etc. he started manufacturing decorative items,

table lamp, and various types of metal furniture.

In 1978 he opened a show room at 230, New Elephant Road, Dhaka and gradually started marketing

all kinds of metal furniture in a professional manner.

Having widely travelled all over the East and the West, Mr. Nitun Kundu gained sufficient confidence

and experience by 1984, when he started commercial production under the name and brand OTOBI. A


great deal of emphasis was given to meet the need of customers and OTOBI products started gaining

popularity.

Mr. Nitun Kundu gradually engaged Industrial

Designers and Engineers. Special efforts were made to

build up a core team of highly skilled craftsmen. All

kinds of metal furniture were being manufactured at

Mirpur Factory and marketed through the Show room

at Elephant Road by 1988. Because of its superior

quality, OTOBI products continued to gain popularity.

Mr. Nitun Kundu developed a wide range of furniture

for office, hospitals, residence and slowly created a

much wider popularity for OTOBI products.

Following training by AOTS in Japan, Mr. Nitun Kundu improved the quality of OTOBI products as

well as sales ad marketing methods so successfully that by 1993 he constructed a four storied building

at Dilkusha C/A and opened a display Centre there.

The market demand for OTOBI products continued to rise and company felt the need for expanding its

production capacities. Therefore, Mr. Nitun Kundu set up another factory at Shyampur, Dhaka,

covering land space of 64000 sq. ft., which went into

experimental production in November 1994. The

factory is now fully operational with latest machinery

to manufacture a wide range of most sophisticated

furniture so that OTOBI can compete in the

international market. The factory has now expanded to

3,00,000 sq. ft.

Due to the user preference of wooden furniture,

OTOBI decided to give a similar feel to their customers and started to produce furniture from

Laminated Board from May, 1999. This wood particleboard has a wood like surface and can be

designed to look exactly like wooden furniture. These products of OTOBI achieved tremendous

market acceptance and later Mr. Nitun Kundu created it to be ‘Knock-down’ format to save storage

space and give carrying convenience to customer.


The special feature of OTOBI products is that it takes extensive care to combine functional utility with

elegance, keeping in view the efficient use of floor space, OTOBI is now equipped with the latest

machines and technology to manufacture all kinds of sophisticated metal furniture including hospital

furniture and such other items.

Mr. Nitun Kundu felt the need for introducing professionalism in his company and accordingly

engaged highly qualified management talent to meet the functional need of the present day challenges.

OTOBI entered into the international market by exporting chairs to Ukraine in 1994.

OTOBI is fully conscious of its obligation to the society as a corporate citizen and is currently

marking all possible efforts to play its role effectively. embarking into commercial venture and started

manufacturing decorative items at his residence and later at Shukrabad,

Visions and Mission.

OTOBI’s vision is to become a major global brand and its current mission is to dominate Asia-Pecific

by 2020

Planning

OTOBI is committed to provide excellent service and to exceed the expectations of its customers. It

wants the customers to remember “OTOBI‟ as a memorable experience.

OTOBI aims to fulfill the objectives of the Company's growth and to meet the expectations of all its

employees.

Awards Received

In their long journey, OTOBI has different kinds of awards from different activities. These awards

have given us spirit to go far away. The most well-known awards have given like:

The most prominent award for OTOBI is the ISO certificate 9001:2000 certificate.

1. Enterprise of the Year .......... 2001

2. Several prize including first prize at DHAKA Export Fair:

3. Prize on National Industrial Fair

Target market


Identifying the consumers target is important because different consumers may have different brand

knowledge structures and thus different perception and preferences for the brand. It may be difficult to

be able to state which brand associations should be strongly held favorable and unique. A number of

considerations are important in defining and segmenting the market and choosing target market

segments. For OTOBI the target market is huge starting from industrial organizations, medical

organization, corporate and individuals.

Market segmentation:

Market segmentation involves dividing the market into distinct groups of homogeneous consumers

who have similar needs and consumer behavior and thus require similar marketing mixes.

For OTOBI the target market is the middle class to higher middle class as the produce affordable

furniture for living and commercial purposes.

Job Responsibility

As we think that OTOBI is the customer oriented company so, we always give priority to our

customers. For giving the customer support we always try to provide our best to the clients. We are

providing several of products only for the customer’s satisfaction. I am working here since January

10th

.From the beginning of my work I have to look after to the customer’s desires. I can divide my job

responsibility into three parts. As I am working OTOBI as an Executive Retail under the CRM

(Customer Relationship Management) department, I have to do several activities related with the

customers. The three parts I have divided for my job responsibilities are:

1. Direct dealings with the customer

2. Making the daily report

3. Other Activities

Promotion

The in-house Communication department at Otobi works around the clock to ensure that all of Otobi's

products, services and promotional campaigns receive due attention. Otobi maintains innovative, year-

round promotional excitement to attract its customers and is visually present in print media, television


and outdoor billboards. The promotion strategy has evolved over the years, alongside the brand. In the

past, Otobi employed traightforward, product-based adverts in above-the-line channels. It has moved

on to discount campaigns ince, and has developed further into thematic campaigns. A comparison of

figures demonstrating Otobi's actual ad spending in the past with figures representing the present will

substantiate the evolution of Otobi's media presence. In FY 2004-05, the company spent a total of Tk

24,458,000 on advertising, while in the last fiscal year, FY 2008-2009, Otobi spent Tk 86,333,201.

This drastic increment in advertising expenses has a direct relationship with the increase in sales and

traffic flow in the showrooms. In terms of below-the-line advertising, Otobi is involved in a number of

activities including direct mails, leaflets, catalogues, scratch cards and coupons, PR activation for

showroom launches, B2B sales, and follow up of the product condition by the Otobi Customer Care

department. The Business Research department is also involved in BTL activities, by easuring the

level of customer satisfaction after sales. A recent campaign which received much acclamation was the

Metamorphosis TVC, which illustrates various types of transformations taking place within a jungle.

The campaign was launched in August 2009, and is being aired on all Bangladeshi channels. Otobi

depicted seven layers of meaning in this campaign: its outer shell introduced solid wood furniture and

its innermost shell appropriated an essence of continuous reinvention. Within the lifestyle brand

offering innovative and inspiring space solutions. Otobi's range of furniture, furnishings and

appliances are developed and marketed to serve all

ages and stages of homes, industries, institutions, hospitals and offices. Otobi manufactures furniture

from an assortment of materials, including laminated chip boards, wood, MDF, sheet metal, tubes,

plastic, cane and many more. Our wide range of furniture and fittings are segmented category-wise

and encompass areas such as bedrooms, children's rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, study rooms,

kitchens, hospitals, educational nstitutions, corporate offices, industrial accents and deécors and retail

stores among others. Otobi boasts an

assortment of about 1,100 generic stock keeping units, and a total of over 5,000 stock keeping units.

The company implements all possible global best practices in manufacturing supply chain

management

and retailing, ensuring all products and services offered are of supreme quality. For instance, Otobi's

business research department conducts extensive surveys and interviews to determine customers'

responses to Otobi's endeavours, and this feedback is incorporated to modify and diversify the existing

intermediary shells, Otobi gathers inspiration from nature and considers Otobian life as a garden or

forest. Life goes on for travellers who gain motivation and enlightenment from their journeys for their

own metamorphosis. While advertising and promotions are an integral part of the company's function,


Otobi recognizes the role it can play in furthering the development process in the country. Otobi is

committed to giving back to the society it operates in, with an emphasis on a triple bottom line:

people, planet, profit. The company has stepped forward to actively respond to the needs of the public

on numerous occasions, and CSR policies centre on aiding people in need, victims of natural disasters,

and supporting the development of meritorious students.

A few incidents where Otobi came to the fore without hesitation include:

_ A contribution worth Tk 5,00,000 as flood relief in 2007

_ A contribution worth Tk 5,00,000 for victims of Cyclone Sidr in 2008

_ A contribution worth Tk 9,66,238 to IBA in 2008

_ A contribution worth Tk 10,05,000 to Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet

_ A contribution worth Tk 1,26,000 to the Bangladesh Shishu Kishore Mela

_ A contribution worth Tk 10,00,000 to the Kidney Foundation

Otobi also sponsored the winners' cash prizes at the Meridian Channel i Khudey Gaanraaj in 2009. In

addition to these, Otobi has launched a Go Green program under the leadership of freedom fighter Mr

Abdul Khalek. As Go Green Ambassador, Mr Khalek has taken charge of the nationwide tree

plantation program, starting with young students in the first phase, at various schools product line and

make it even more alluring to consumers. An additional interior department has been established to

assist offices with implementing complete interior solutions to meet consumers' overall needs. Otobi is

completely committed to the environment, and keeps solid wood furniture as low as 5% of the

complete product range. The boards used are imported from quality board manufacturers who comply

with environment-friendly policies.

Recent Development

Otobi has undergone major changes under the new management. The organizational structure has been

modified to include Portfolio Management, Category Management and Visual Merchandising

departments, which sets Otobi apart from other companies. In 2008, Otobi's unique Lal-Foring Istishan

was launched to cater to the needs of the firm's young customers. In terms of management technique,

Otobi introduced the Balanced

Scorecard system which aligns the organization's strategic decisions to the work accomplished by its

employees. Otobi's first wood plant was established in 2008 as well, in addition to the existing two

factories, which is a significant achievement for the company. In 2009, a breakthrough collection


dubbed "the complete office solution" was inaugurated under the sub-brand Notepad. A major

achievement for Otobi this past year was the launch of the groundbreaking Otobi website. The website

had been inactive for a very long time and the company refused to put up a website that was below the

Otobi standard. The concept that was eventually developed sets a benchmark in the field with its

thematic, interactive and completely distinct nature. in Sylhet and Bogra, aiming for a cleaner, greener

Bangladesh.

Brand Values

Embedded in day to day affairs is Otobi's aspiration to be a creative "we" organisation in every sense

of the term. It is with teamwork and togetherness that challenges are met and overcome. Creation,

perfection and dynamism are the core values of Otobi. Quality, durability, excellence and neat

craftsmanship are not what Otobi strives to achieve, but features eminent in each Otobi design. The

company maintains its belief of setting its own benchmark and breaking it time and time again.

Embodying continuous innovation, Otobi is now an inspirational brand in homes and offices, which is

explicitly expressed through its products and communication.

At the heart of all activities in the company lies an innate need to constantly surprise; not just the

consumers, but Otobians too! The company thrives on the unique "keep reinventing" proposition.

Flexible Manufacturing

OTOBI manufacturers its furniture using state-of the-art technology, such as computerized

numerically controlled machines and solar kilns. OTOBI Limited is a leading crafted furniture

manufacturing company of Bangladesh introduced world class furniture through its five well equipped

production units in three Factories. Most of the machineries were sourced from China and Germany

with high flexibility of modification as required for their verities of design. OTOBI is now the market

leader in branded furniture, with almost 70% market share. Its product has also entered into overseas

market as a part of the expansion strategy. Overall business performance trend of OTOBI Limited is

good. 2 years back OTOBI launched Notepad

Concept, which was an innovative range of contemporary office furniture. And they had succeeded.

Analysis: Here, OTOBI is using flexible manufacturing process, to manufacture their product

according to customer needs and design ideas. For different customer they introduced different

product line or product segment. By using technology, they also have upgraded their production

process.


Employee Rewards:

To motivate employees OTOBI follows some rewards and motivational factors. An example provided

below to illustrate their reward and motivational system towards the employees. “OTOBI employs

over 5,000 people, including over 200 graduate engineers and business graduates (MBA, BBA). Every

year, OTOBI takes 100 to 200 of its employees to a five star hotel to exercise the 'One OTOBI, One

World' belief system, where the Chief Executive Officer and the junior-most Executives are equally

treated. “ OTOBI also values its employees, and takes their concerns into consideration with an annual

Employee Satisfaction survey.

Other Important issues:

The company has stepped forward to actively respond to the needs of the public on numerous

occasions, and CSR policies center on aiding people in need, victims of natural disasters, and

supporting the development of meritorious students. A few incidents where OTOBI came to the fore

contribution worth Tk 1,26,000 to the Bangladesh Shishu Kishore Mela to

constantly surprise; not just the consumers, but their employees too. The company thrives on the

unique "keep reinventing" proposition.

Problems

Although our furniture company plays a vital role for the economic development of our country. But it

is not totally free from the problems. There are so many problems in our furniture company and in our

furniture marketing. These problems hamper our furniture company to earn more profit and its

development. The major problems are given below: Inadequate supply of production technology.

· Lack of consultancy services.

· Limited access to quality inputs.

· Absence of skilled work force.

· Limitations in local and international marketing strategy.

· Problems in distributing the furniture products.

· Shortage of raw materials.

-Inadequate supply of production technology


Technology is an important factor for increasing the production. Technological skill can play a very

good role for increasing and developing the products. Better supply of technology can help our

furniture company to increase its production. But we can notice that our furniture company can not use

the better technology for the improvement of the furniture products. This is really a severe problem for

our furniture co.

-Lack of consultancy services

Consultancy services are very important for producing better quality furniture products. But the lack

of consultancy services hampers our furniture company to earn more profit. Term Paper on Furniture

Marketing in Bangladesh Limited access to quality inputs A better input helps to get better output. But

its limited access does not make any good result.

-Absence of skilled workforce

Although our country is over populated but there is a shortage of skilled workforce in our country. We

can gain the best quality products from the skilled workforce. But unskilled workforce are failed to

produce better furniture products. Making furniture is a technical process. So skilled workforce are

required for Furniture Company. Limitations in local and international marketing strategy The success

of a company mostly depends on its marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is very important for every

type of business organization. But it’s local and international limitations are threatening for our

furniture co.

Problems in distributing the furniture products our furniture company cannot distribute its product to

the whole country because there are so many problems they face.

-Shortage of raw materials

Although our country has many trees. Our people cutting down these trees unreasonably. Our furniture

company cannot collect more raw materials for producing more furniture.

Present Marker condition

During the early days of Otobi, a patron had visited Kundu and ordered 500 chairs. That was when the

saga of building his empire actually began. Now, with a factory in Shyampur, Otobi's creations and

designs have crossed the mark of excellence, constructing one new structure after the other.

Otobi controls about 80% of the country's branded furniture market at present. For the last three years,

Otobi has been achieving a double-digit growth with an average of over 20% increase in year-onyear

sales, despite the global economic downturn and great stagflation in FY 2007-08. In a market of over


Tk 1,500 crores, the organised market is estimated to be close to Tk 500 crores. Otobi is marketing to

and providing the price-sensitive customers with affordable solutions through its masstige value

proposition (prestige for the mass). Otobi considers itself to be its most significant competitor, aiming

to constantly break its own standards and raise the bar even higher. Otobi serves its customers and

consumers through a nationwide distribution network, including over 400 retail outlets, exclusive

dealers and franchises.

Conclusion

Mr. Nitun Kundu set up a small workshop in a tin-shed at Topkhana Road in February 1977 and

named it “Art in Craft”. After 35 year they controls about 80% of the country's branded furniture

market at present. For the last three years, Otobi has been achieving a double-digit growth with an

average of over 20% increase in year-one year sales.

OTOBI , Nitun Kundu

Marketing

Transcript of OTOBI , Nitun Kundu