UTTARA UNIVERSITY

MBA IN APPAREL MERCHANDISING & FASHION MANAGEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF FASHION DESIGN &TECHNOLOGY
OPEN-BOOK EXAMINATION
Summer -2020

COURSE TITLE: Strategic Brand Management

TOTAL MARKS: 70; TIME: 3 Hour

Answer all the question, each question (1-5) carries 10 marks, and question number 6 carries 20
marks.
Name: Md. Riasat Arifin Tanim
ID: 2193411001
Batch: 16th Batch
Start time: 07:00 PM
End time: 10:00 PM

1 a. Define Brand. (two sentences)

Ans. Brand is something that has actually created a certain amount of awareness,
reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace. Brand can easily be
differentiated from others.

b. Do you consider Bangladesh as a Brand? (yes/no)

Ans. Yes in RMG, Cricket, Handicraft & some extent.

c. Explain the Brand image of Bangladesh. (4 sentences)

Ans. Bangladesh has become the export power house. “Made in Bangladesh”labels
are now common in Europe & American store. Along with RMG, tea, jute,
leather, handicraft etc. have earned good reputation from the world and
creating a brand image of Bangladesh.

2 a. What is level of product? (3 sentences)

Ans. Product levels are the way to show the different levels of need customer have
for a product.

b. Explain the level of product with appropriate example (maximum 12 sentences)

Ans. The core benefit level is the fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy
by consuming the product or service.
 Example: -Hotel is to provide somewhere to rest or sleep

The generic product levelis a basic version of the product containing only
those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for its functioning but
with no distinguishing features.
Example: - In our hotel example, this could mean a bed, towel, a bathroom and
may be a wardrobe

The expected product levelis a set of attributes or characteristics that buyers

normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.
Example: - In our hotel example, this would include Wi-fi, clean towel & all
cleanliness.

The augmented product level includes additional product attributes, benefits,

or related services that distinguish the product from competitors.
Example: - Augmented product of Coca-Cola is Diet Coke by offering zero
calories.

The potential product levelincludes all the augmentations and

transformations that a product might ultimately undergo in the future.
Example: -

3 a. Is “Bangladesh” a Brand? Give your argument (5 sentences)

Ans.
a. ‘International Mother Language Day’ upright Bangladesh image in the
world.
b. The world’s longest unbroken beach of Cox’s Bazar is the attraction of
tourist.
c. Bangladesh Military in the UN peace Mission.
d. Royal Bengal Tiger & the Sundarbone is the heritage of Bangladesh.
e. Bangladesh Cricket Team is representing in international arena.

b. Identify the differentiating point of “Bangladesh” as a Brand.

Ans. 1. Culture and Heritage: Ekushey February has got worldwide recognition
as the ‘International MotherLanguage Day’. Pohela Baishakh displays our
rich andvibrant culture and heritage. Our food culture can befocused as
cuisine can be a powerful agent for shaping public perception.
Bangladesh has also a diverse culture of tribalpeople that can be
promoted as well for nation branding.
2. Tourism: Bangladesh is a combination of forests, riverline countryside,
long stretches of sun-bathed beaches,fearsome wilds, venerable shrines,
etc. The world’slongest unbroken beach of Cox’s Bazar (120 km)
 issituated on a clean stretch consisting of miles of sands.
3. People: Bangladesh has demographic dividend for lastfew years.
Population aged 60 years and above is likely toexceed the population
aged below 15 years in 2046. Demographicdividend results in economic
return like laborsupply, savings and human capital. The urban
growthrate is 3.5% per annum. This high rate of populationmovement
and pace of urbanization can be regarded as adriving force of
modernization and centre of economic growth and development.
4 a. What is brand equity? (4 sentences)
Ans. Brand equity describes a brand’s value. A brand value is determined by
consumer perception and experiences with the brand. If people think highly of a
brand, it has positive brand equity. When a brand consistently under-delivers
and disappoints to the point where people recommend that others avoid it, it
has negative brand equity.

b. Explain “Brand equity as a bridge” with suitable example (10 sentences)

Ans. Brand Equity as a Bridge. Thus, according to the customer-based brand equity concept,
consumer knowledge drives the differences that manifest themselves in terms of brand
equity. This realization has important managerial implications. For one thing, brand
equity provides marketers with a vital strategic bridge from their past to their future.
Example: - Brand equity is the credibility a brand accrues by being around a long
time and making a (mostly) positive impression on the public, and especially its
customers. So, for example, Mobil a lubricant band would not want to rebrand and
change its name because it has so much brand equity accrued to the name

5 a. Explain the “Frame of Reference” (7 sentences)

Ans. Identifying brand’s points of parity and points of differentiation is the essential
first step of every positioning project. That is concept is to understand the
market intend to operate in and what makes a brand different from competition.

Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly

associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find
to the same extent with a competitive brand.
Points-of-parity associations (POPs), on the other hand, are not necessarily
unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands.

b. Explain the possible frame of reference for the apparel industry of Bangladesh
(10 sentences)
Ans. Points-of-parity associations (POPs):
1. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest Readymade Garment (RMG) exporter.
just behind China.
2. The biggest strength that Bangladesh has over its competitors is its cheap and
vast workforce.
3. Bangladesh has the strong Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)
 4. Favorable government policies, bank facilities (for raw material
purchase), and strengthening backward linkage supporting industries
create a strong case for the sector.
5. 37 private and public universities producing textile graduates in the
country every year, further adding to the skilled manpower for the
segment.
Points-of-parity associations (POPs):
1. The main strength for apparel industry is available workforce. Labor cost
is lowest in Bangladesh among the other competitors. Minimum wages
in Bangladesh is $ 103 where China is $ 155, Cambodia $ 140, India $
137, Vietnam $ 107 (Source: University of Delaware, USA).
2. Geographically Bangladesh is located in an ideal place. It has 3 sea ports
(Chittagong, Mongla and Payra), 3 international airports (Dhaka,
Chittagong and Sylhet) and 22 land ports.
3. . Now Bangladesh factory is world standard in social compliance and
workers safety. i.e. Accord & Alliance altogether Bangladesh could use
the learning positively

6. CASE STUDY
“Bangladesh Suppliers Barely Afloat As Clothing Brands Find New Ways To Squeeze
Them”
In March, brands and retailers canceled orders worth billions. Now, as countries ease
out of lockdowns and the apparel industry scrambles to make up for lost sales, the story
is one of clothing companies demanding steep discounts of their factories and holding
payments for completed goods. It’s a problem that’s much harder to track than outright
order cancellations, but manufacturers say it’s just as harmful.
“If I don’t get my money back, I will not have a factory,” says Mostafiz Uddin, a denim
supplier in Bangladesh whose buyers, he says, include Peacocks, Global Brands Group,
which produces wholesale products for brands including Jones New York, and Arcadia
Group, which owns a number of retailers, including Topshop, Topman, and Burton
Menswear. Uddin says he is owed $10 million in total from buyers and was forced to
accept a 30% discount on a large order of jeans already completed and shipped
for Burton Menswear, putting him at a loss. “That means I am making the jeans for free
and my workers made the jeans for free. It’s blackmail.”These companies have not
returned requests for comment.
With bills stacking up, and months of slow to no work ahead of them, a number of
factories in Bangladesh say they are at risk at going under in the very near future,
putting a 4.1 million-person workforce at risk and threatening to erase the nation’s
climb out of poverty. Uddin has launched a donation fund to pay his staff and his bills.
His fabric suppliers are starting to shake him down for money that brands owe him. And
across Bangladesh, factories are owed a staggering $5 billion for orders, most of which
are already completed and shipped (that’s 15% of the country’s annual apparel exports),
according to new estimates by The Daily Star.
Most anywhere you look in garment-making countries, the story is the same: Brands
continue to view pushing their financial problems onto factories as a viable way to shore
up their flailing businesses. “I am losing hope,” says Uddin.
Some clothing companies maintain they’re going to pay their suppliers, but on-the-
ground reports show that when and how much brands agree to pay makes the
difference between survival and closing up shop.
In a report in The Daily Star, interviews with over two dozen local suppliers reveal that
clothing companies are demanding up to 50% discounts on already shipped goods and
six-month delays in payment for completed orders. Perhaps most surprisingly, they are
also refusing to pay for orders until after they are sold in stores, and based only on a
percentage of sales, which could mean factories not getting any money until the end of
the year.
What all of this adds up to is factories operating without cash. Mass layoffs have
begun and increasing social unrest is just around the corner warns The Daily Star’s
executive editor Syed AshfaqulHaque in a text to me via WhatsApp. “They won't be able
to pay workers, if these payments are not released right away.” As garment workers
head into the EID religious holiday, on the weekend of May 23, he foresee more
demonstrations and increasing violence, as factories are unable to pay wages and
bonuses.
Most suppliers in Bangladesh are fearful of speaking out against their buyers, especially
big brands. “I talked with over two dozen factories. All of those were asked to stay ‘shut
up’ [by brands] if they want to continue business,” says Haque. Uddin is one of the only
factory owners in the world naming brands and describing in detail what’s happening to
his factory and to others. He fears that he’s been blacklisted from future business as a
result.
In this environment, it’s virtually impossible to know when factories are agreeing to
renegotiate terms because it’s tenable for them versus those that are being coerced or
have no choice but to accept some money over no money. We may only find out as
factories start to close for good. And unlike in the West, there will be no bankruptcy
proceedings to save them.
According to a Brand Tracker, regularly updated by the Worker Rights Consortium, over
a dozen large companies, including Uddin’s buyers, as well as Primark, Bestseller,
Walmart (Asda), Under Armour, Kohl’s, Ross Dress for Less, Urban Outfitters, and Gap
Inc. (Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic), among others, have canceled orders or
renegotiated payment terms to demand discounts and payment delays.
Some, like Gap Inc., a major buyer in Bangladesh that, in April, canceled orders through
the fall, is now asking for 10% discounts on shipped goods, according to a local supplier
in Bangladesh who wishes to remain anonymous. When contacted for comment, a
representative sent a statement saying the company is “identifying those products we
can sell in the short-term, those we can store now to sell later, and those orders we
need to cancel.”   
 Other companies, like Walmart, which owns Asda (its George brand canceled orders,
according to the WRC Brand Tracker), say they’re working with suppliers “on a case-by-
case basis.” But consumer activist groups, like Remake, are pressuring companies
through its #PayUp social media campaign to keep their original purchase order terms,
including paying in full and on time.
“It’s clever PR,” says Ayesha Barenblat, founder and CEO of Remake. “We’re running out
of time, and these brands are forcing factories out of business by asking for discounts
and renegotiating terms on original contracts.”
Labor rights experts agree that buyers negotiating with individual suppliers can be a way
to cover up putting pressure on factories. “A better approach is to make one clear,
public commitment to pay in full for all liabilities for in production and completed
orders,” says Mark Anner, director of the Penn State Center for Global Workers’ Rights,
and who helps update the Brand Tracker.
To date, there are 13 large brands and retailers who are paying in full and according to
the terms of the original purchase orders, including global giants H&M, Zara, Nike,
Target, VF Corporation, PVH, UNIQLO, and Adidas. Anner says these commitments have
helped unlock an estimated $600 million owed to Bangladesh’s factories and as much as
$7.5 billion globally. (Disclosure: I have joined the calls for brands to honor their
contracts and pay factories in full and based on the original terms of their purchase
orders.)
The list of brands that have canceled or have asked for discounts and delayed payments
is much longer. We may never know the list in full. But Anner says that it’s not too late
for any of the clothing companies to make their factories whole. “Buyers paying up now
will make the difference for suppliers of going out of business or surviving.” [source:
forbes.com]

Answer the following questions based on your judgment and experience. [As these questions
are mostly judgmental, there is no line/page restriction.]

i. What is the impact of COVID 19 to the Brand image of Bangladesh?

Ans. Bangladesh's RMG sector accounts for around 80% ofthe country's manufacturing
income, with at least 4 million workers depending on it. Although the number of
COVID-19 cases is not too high in the South Asian country, the pandemic poses a great
risk to this sector and the livelihood of garment workers. The country's garment sector
depends hugely on export orders, which have drastically decreased due to the rise of
the Novel coronavirus cases around the world, including Europe and the US.
So far, Bangladesh has lost around $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion), which has impacted some
1.2 million workers, according to Rubana Huq, president of (BGMEA).Foreign brands
are increasingly delaying and canceling orders. Since the increase of COVID-19 cases in
Europe and the US, Bangladeshi factories are losing around $100 million (€92 million)
per day.
 Therefore, these are things that make Bangladesh brand image of RMG & export more
vulnerable.

ii. How the issue of negligence of the international brand should be addressed by the
factory owners?
Ans. The entire surviving factory owner should come together and accumulate the
data of financial loss they have been facing due to order cancellation, demanding
force discount and other negligence’s. After providing compete date to our
government through BGMEA, factory owner should evoke our government to
handle the situation diplomatically. BGMEA should correspond with major buyer
to pay the full liabilities.

iii. Recommend how apparel industry of Bangladesh may become more sustainable in
short and long run.
Ans. The following strategies may have taken to be more sustainable in apparel business.

1. Develop at least one or more Global Clothing Brand in Bangladesh.

2. Focusing on the Industrial automation to remain in the competitive international
market.
3. Apply Lean, Kaizen in apparel industry to cut cost.
4. Improve custom procedure to manage short lead time order.
5. Advertising to create a customer appeal in RMG & promoting Bangladesh as a
apparel brand.
6. Product diversification is the major area where Bangladesh stands far behind from
the competitors in the apparel market. This is due to the overall mindset and lack
of investment for product diversification.
7. Bangladesh apparel manufacturers should focus on the creation of an entirely new
product or modification to an existing product in a new concept.