Madame and Sister go Shopping

Anne and I spent what was to be my last day in Dhaka taking the business student's tour of south asian commerce. In school, I read quite a bit about how retail works in this part of the world. From a US B-school perspective, the focus was on how retail is different here than the west and how multinational organizations can adapt to this culture. From an historial perspective, I would argue that retailing here is much more traditional than what is happening in the west. Most large companies still have to learn how to do business in areas like this, without completely changing everything.

Our first stop was Newmarket, a traditional shopping district with an open air section, a three story main building, and a food market in the back. Fortuntately for us, Newmarket is slow on Mondays. So, we were able to stroll along in relative comfort and browse the shops. Just like in Old Dhaka, Newmarket is roughly organized into districts. There is an area devoted to fabrics, jewelry, electronics, housewares, etc. With my untrained eye, it is hard to see the difference between the many shops of each type. It is also hard to spend some time looking before buying! The shop owners are eager to help, and to complete the sale! Anne and I certainly were treated like visiting royalty, which meant we don't always get the best price.

I did get a chance to get a closer look at Shinepukur ceramics. This company is a large Deshi conglomerate that started making fine china in 1999 ( http://www.shinepukur.com/ ). You can see some of their patterns at Target! Apparently, it is much cheaper here but I didn't find out for myself.

We peeked into the food market. What chaos! It was a loud pit of agressive men haggling, tossing goods, and otherwise conducting the messy business of trading in food. It was wonderful. There were several spice stalls in the food area that was focused on retail food sales. Those smelled wonderful.

Newmarket is crowded, a little dirty, and haggling is pretty much the norm. It was a really fun way to see what merchants have to offer here, pick up a few gifts, and realize how similar things can be all over the world. The more time I spent there, I noticed some subtle differences between one vendor and the next. Each has has slightly different merchandise. Each also has a very different haggling style. This place is certainly a great experiment in price elasticity! For us, we also differentiated based on the vendor's willingness or ability to deal with us. Anne knows enough Bangla to get by, but it is very hard to do business with someone who doesn't know English numbers. Overall, it was a great experience. I am sad to leave and know that I may never go back!

Our second stop was Bashundara Plaza, a modern high rise shopping center. This places looks, from the outside, like many city center shopping malls - tall, shiny, and wealthy looking. Inside, the shops are arranged just like Newmarket! Shops are segregated by floor. There is a men's floor, a jewelry and beauty floor, a sari floor, a shalwar kamese floor, etc. The shops are small and crowded. The main difference between this and Newmarket is that the shops here are less densely packed with goods. The next thing you notice is that this place is filled with obnoxious mall rats (another similarity with the US).

This concludes my tour of Dhaka and some areas of Dhaka division. I've had a wonderful time and Anne and Randy are wonderful hosts. Which is a good thing since I will be around for a while longer than planned! We've learned that my flight out will be delayed. The incoming plane was diverted to Kolcata. This time it isn't fog, it's some problems on the runway (a plane ruptured a tire). It looks like the flight may be delayed long enough to mess up my connections. Ah, Dhaka! This will complete my Bangladeshi experience.

Shopping in Dhaka