The aim of the case study is to explore how Aarong being a social business became an iconic Bangladeshi brand and how it received its brand loyalty.
An attempt was made to explore relationships of 4 independent variables of iconic brand which were attributing to brand loyalty in driving the high business growth of Aarong. In order to understand the iconic brand’s concept the key factors such as brand personality, brand myths, brand storytelling, product’s design and quality were identified from the literature reviewed.
In order to identify the relationship, framework was developed, how brand personality, brand myth, artisans’ storytelling, product’s design and quality that had facilitated, Aarong, to accelerate high business growth by cultivating its brand loyalty with the support of visionary leadership and innovative organizational culture. A cross-sectional qualitative approach was taken due to the interpretivist nature of the study, where both focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with key personnel of Aarong including the management team members, heads of the departments (HODs) and key people involved in marketing and branding. The case was narrated as per the timeline set following the framework of the case.
From the findings of the case, it was found that the Aarong needed to focus in three major areas: more communication and cultivation of the core iconic factors of Aarong brand through marketing and promotional activities, market expansion through crafting realistic competitive strategies in order to cater second and third tier city/town of Bangladesh, and finally, value chain reengineering as well as process reengineering in order to solve the dual challenge problems and bring the agility in fulfilling customers demand. From the case findings it was appeared that other issues associated Aarong in a position to be improved with proper planning and practical implementation.
Finally a structure of an integrated supply chain and low-cost capital-intensive mass-production was proposed in order to meet up the increase demand from the potential customers as it had a strategic plan to cater global market through its e-commerce services.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Company information
1.2.1 Overview of Aarong
1.2.2 The beginning of Aarong
1.2.3 Aarong-a socially driven business
1.2.4 Aarong model
1.2.5 Aarong’s current position
1.3 Theme of the case study
1.4 Objectives of the study
1.5 Scope of the study
1.6 Limitation of the study
1.7 Chapter framework
2. Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Meaning of Brand
2.3 The concept of iconic brand
2.4 Product’s design and quality
2.5 Visionary Leadership
2.6 Organizational culture
2.6 Innovative culture and working process
2.7 Brand loyalty
2.8 High Business growth
2.9 Summary
3. Case Framework and Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Study framework
3.2.1 Case framework
3.3 Proposed methodology
3.4 Data collection
3.5 Timeline events
3.6 Summary
4. Case Narrative
4.1 Introduction
4.1.2 The genesis of Aarong brand
4.2 Visionary leadership
4.3 Product’s design and quality
4.4 Aarong’s brand personality, myths and storyteller brand image
4.5 Innovative organizational culture and working process
4.6 Brand loyalty
4.7 Achievement of business growth
4.8 Summary
5. Discussion of Findings
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Findings from the Interviews
5.3 Major findings of the study
5.4 Summary
6. Conclusions
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Conclusions
6.3 Recommendations
6.4 Summary
Objectives and Topics
This case study explores the factors contributing to the evolution of Aarong as an iconic Bangladeshi brand and its resulting brand loyalty. It investigates the relationships between four independent variables of an iconic brand—brand personality, brand myths, brand storytelling, and product design and quality—and how these elements, supported by visionary leadership and organizational culture, drive high business growth.
- The role of iconic brand components (personality, myths, storytelling) in building loyalty.
- The impact of visionary leadership and innovative organizational culture on company growth.
- Aarong’s operational evolution from a social enterprise to a leading lifestyle fashion brand.
- Challenges in quality control, production scaling, and market expansion for social businesses.
Extract from the Book
4.2 Visionary leadership
In the beginning of 2000, Aarong’s business started facing acute problems as it lacked an effective and efficient inventory management, innovative culture, brand development and strong management team. At that juncture, Tamara Hasan Abed joined BRAC as Director in 2001 and she involved herself with Aarong in 2002 (See Appendix VIII). Being a director and board member of BRAC management committee, Tamara took the whole responsibility of Aarong and she led throughout the restructuring process of its management team. She adopted new strategies in order to tackle the issues and problems that were aroused within the organization and her matured leadership was something that really Aarong from a serious organizational dysfunction. However, all her hard work resulted in increased the sales growth of Aarong. In 2004, it was able to achieve USD $14 million and that really drew an upward trend in comparison with 2001 which was merely USD $1.07 Million.
In 2005, the management Committee of BRAC decided to appoint Tamara as Head of Aarong. Since then Tamara had been heading Aarong and her trend setting leadership really gained much popularity when she introduced a new sub-brand of women's outfits titled 'Taaga' (See Appendix IX). However, it was widely believed that when Tamara took over as head of Aarong, its golden days began to start. Aarong became more mature brand under the directive leadership of Tamara and because of that for the last eight years its sales revenues had been breaking all the past years records. “While discussing about Tamara’s leadership qualities, Mukti mentioned that Tamara as a leader she had been visionary and very straight forward. She had strong analytical ability. After all, Tamara was a very balanced person who made sustainable business decision with the sense of development organization.”
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1: Provides a background on the emergence of Aarong as a social business in Bangladesh and outlines the study's scope and objectives.
Chapter 2: Reviews literature on branding concepts, iconic brand theory, product design, leadership, and organizational culture.
Chapter 3: Describes the methodological framework used to analyze the factors of iconic branding and brand loyalty at Aarong.
Chapter 4: Narrates the historical evolution of Aarong, focusing on key milestones in leadership, product design, and branding strategies.
Chapter 5: Analyzes the empirical data collected through interviews and focus groups to discuss findings regarding Aarong’s growth.
Chapter 6: Offers conclusions and strategic recommendations for Aarong to maintain its iconic status and address operational challenges.
Keywords
Aarong, Iconic Brand, Brand Loyalty, Social Business, BRAC, Brand Personality, Brand Myths, Brand Storytelling, Visionary Leadership, Organizational Culture, Product Design, Fashion Industry, Bangladesh, Business Growth, Qualitative Case Study
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this study?
The study primarily focuses on how the social business "Aarong" evolved into an iconic fashion brand in Bangladesh and identifying the key drivers—such as brand personality, myths, and storytelling—that foster brand loyalty and business growth.
What are the central themes of the research?
The research explores the intersection of social enterprise, iconic branding, organizational leadership, and the cultural context of Bangladesh’s fashion market.
What is the main objective of the research?
The objective is to explore the relationship between iconic brand variables and brand loyalty, specifically how these factors contribute to Aarong’s high business growth, and to provide suggestions for marketing practitioners.
What research methodology was employed?
The author used a qualitative, cross-sectional approach, utilizing in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key personnel, including management, department heads, and branding experts.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers the theoretical foundations of iconic branding, the specific case narrative of Aarong’s history and evolution, and an analysis of the interviews conducted to evaluate its current market position.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Keywords include iconic branding, social business, brand loyalty, visionary leadership, and organizational culture.
How did Tamara Hasan Abed influence the company?
Tamara Hasan Abed is portrayed as a visionary leader who restructured the management team, introduced the sub-brand 'Taaga', and implemented strategies that led to record-breaking sales growth and a more mature brand identity.
What are the primary challenges identified for Aarong?
The primary challenges involve balancing its social mission with efficient, machine-like consistency in quality control and scaling up production to meet increasing demand without losing the handcrafted artisan value.
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- Muhammad Salim Reza Jony (Autor:in), 2016, How Is an Iconic Social Business Brand Created? The Case of the Bangladeshi Brand Aarong, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/456847
