Home ›› 04 Dec 2021 ›› Front
Bangladesh’s perfume imports soared nearly 20 per cent in FY2020-21 compared to the previous year, riding on a consistent rise in consumer demand for quality fragrance products in the country.
A number of importers and sellers attributed this boom in perfume sales to consumers’ rising quality of life, a positive shift in perspective about fragrances, and a relatively recent trend of customers favouring high-quality, expensive perfumes.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) data shows Bangladesh imported perfumes worth Tk 1,223 crore in FY2020-21, a steady increase from Tk 1,021 crore in FY2019-20, Tk 978 crore in FY2018-19, Tk 975 crore in FY2017-18, and Tk 930.99 crore in FY2016-17.
To learn more about this phenomenon, The Business Post recently visited the capital’s Mitford hospital road, the biggest hub of perfume and chemical traders in the country.
Md Fayzur Rahaman, owner of Ripon Perfumery and Chemicals, said, “The actual growth of perfume imports is far more than the NBR data shows, because they only record data about bottled perfume imports.”
“We also import chemicals that are used to make perfumes locally,” said Fayzur, also a member of Bangladesh Chemical and Perfumery Merchant Association. High quality perfumes are made using at least five-six ingredients, including a number of chemical compounds.
Lahore Perfume House’s owner Shahid Anwar, who comes from generations of perfume traders, said, “Since the British rule, my relatives from both parents’ side have been involved in this trade spanning countries such as India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Oman.
“The business is going pretty well. My monthly sales reach more than Tk 3.5 lakh on average.”
According to industry sources, there are nearly 6,000 perfume shops across the country where around one lakh people are directly and indirectly involved.
The global Fragrance and Perfume market size is projected to reach $43,620 million by 2026, from $42,070 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 3.4%% during 2021-2026, says Industry Research – an international organisation.
‘Sales up by more than 40%’
Al Haramain Perfumes Pvt Ltd, an international brand with presence in more than 100 countries across the globe, opened up their first showroom in Bangladesh at the Jamuna Future Park in 2014. The franchise now has seven showrooms across the country.
It is the brainchild of Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman Nasir – a Bangladeshi expat hailing from Sylhet who expanded his family’s perfume business from Mecca to UAE during the early 80s and turned Al Haramain into one of the biggest names in the global perfume industry.
Speaking to The Business Post, Senior Executive (corporate sale) of Al Haramain Md Tanzim Ahmed said, “Our sales have increased by more than 40 per cent in the last couple of years.
“With a wide range of top quality fragrance products, we are catering to consumers and perfume lovers from all corners of the society.”
Online sales growing too
Md Nurun Nobi, operations manager of the Perfume World Ltd, said, “Though the overall sale of perfumes dropped during the pandemic restrictions, the amount of investment in this industry has gone up.
“Our monthly transactions reach more than one crore, as most of our customers come from the elite class. Our online sales are growing at a rate of 15 per cent to 20 per cent annually.”
Some of the popular brands for men sold by the shop are Giorgio Armani Acqua De Gio (Tk 5,500) and Giorgio Armani Code Colonia (Tk 9,500). Their popular perfumes for women are Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Intense (Tk 5,300) and EAU de Lacoste Femme (Tk 7,000).
Sharing his thoughts as a consumer, a businessman from old Dhaka and a connoisseur of perfumes Md Sirajul Islam said, “I have been using perfumes from the brand “Club De Nuit Man” for the last five years.
“Due to the improving life-style of people, especially those coming from the middle and lower middle-income segment, are now using expensive perfumes, this is why the sales volume in the fragrance market is growing.”
Perfume Bangladesh is an online platform which is rapidly gaining popularity among internet-savvy consumers. With over 80,000 followers on its Facebook page, it is one of the largest online perfume sellers in Bangladesh.
They sell perfumes for everyone with prices ranging from Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,00,000, and they offer consumer-friendly facilities such as cash on delivery within Dhaka city and delivery through couriers across the country.
Dhaka’s history of fragrance
Perfume business began in Dhaka in the 1940s with the help of non-Bengali traders who arrived from India and Pakistan. Due to the rapid growth in this sector, some perfumers from Madras, Karachi and Bihar migrated to this region.
Once only three-four perfume shops catered to all the fragrance needs of old Dhaka’s denizens, but the market gradually expanded into the perfume hub people know and love today.
Otis Perfume House is the first perfume shop in the Mitford area, founded in 1945 by a resident of Madras named KP Muhammad, industry sources say.
Muhammad’s father had a perfume business in Kolkata. Mohammad had come to Dhaka to collect dues from a customer of his father’s shop. Instead of paying the dues, the customer returned the goods to Muhammad.
Muhammad then set up a temporary shop in Dhaka and began selling perfume. Impressed by how well the business is in this city, he settled here permanently. His grandchildren are now at the helm of their grandfather’s shop, and the business is now stronger than ever.
