Gootipa inaugurates its first showroom

Gootipa, an online shop by Leatherina Pvt Ltd, inaugurated its first showroom at Dhanmondi 27’s Shaptak Square to expand its offline business on Friday.

Dhaka University Professor Sadeka Halim, also a former information commissioner, inaugurated the showroom, said a statement published by the organisation.

Gootipa is one of the pioneering organisations to introduce leather bags made in our country for consumers who fancy stylish and sturdy leather bags for every occasion. Gootipa products are made with leather sourced from Bangladesh along with local handmade fabric and jute, organisers said.

The brand has been producing different kinds of stylish bags such as wristlet clutches, two-toned totes, travel purses and statement pieces for women. There is also a small range of wallets, shoulder bags and travel bags for men.

“There is a high demand for leather-made goods in the country, but as most of the products found here are imported, they are high in price, and their availability is still limited,” said the founder, designer, and managing director of Gootipa, Taslima Miji.

“Considering the broader picture of our leather industry, we wanted to contribute to our economy and, at the same time, reach out to the global market,” Taslima said.

“I wanted to work with more handloom materials to revive the use of traditional fabrics. The leather industry in Bangladesh has tremendous potential for development,” she said.

For small-scale ventures to flourish, the exports of leather goods must be reduced using various policies. This will provide our local industries with ample time and opportunities to grow before competing with foreign brands, the entrepreneur addressed.

Furthermore, Gootipa follows the Fair Trade Policy by ensuring a fair wage and safe working environment for their workers. Along with that, Taslima promotes recruiting more female employees. Moving forward, she aims to improve and broaden Gootipa’s product range and expand the business.

Gootipa’s bags are carefully crafted items, the designs of which Taslima and the pattern master both come up with. Alongside their own ideas, they also take inspiration from European designs.

Keeping the customers’ preferences in mind, Gootipa bags come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The wallets, envelope purses and coin purses are devised in a way so that the everyday essentials such as phones, perfume, papers etc., can fit inside them perfectly.

The prices of the regular bags vary between Tk 400 and Tk 4,000, whereas the wallets can cost up to Tk 1,200.