With the emergence of retail super-chains, grocery shopping in the country's urban area has gone under a radical change.
During this transformation, department store chain market Shwapno emerged as a leader because it pursues the “best price with quality and value” motto for shoppers.
"Shwapno has now become the most popular brand in supermarket retail chain as people are finding it to be convenient and affordable," said SohelTanvir Khan, Business Director of ACI Logistics Ltd, which owns Shwapno.
Shwapno, the country’s largest grocery retail chain, has been providing shoppers with the very best products, local and imported household items, as well as an exquisite range of clothing line, home accessories, appliances, and more since its inception in 2008. It now provides job opportunities to 4,262 employees at its 161 outlets across 24 districts and works with thousands of suppliers and growers.
Since 2016, Shwapno has been recognized as the Best Retail Brand in Bangladesh for five consecutive years, awarded jointly by Kantar Millward Brown and Bangladesh Brand Forum.
"As part of the Shwapno family, your satisfaction and wellbeing are what we work diligently to ensure. Most of all, we always want to leave a smile on your face, whether you visit our stores or order online, and we are happy to serve you in every way possible," Khan said.
“Shwapno not only offers lower prices to attract consumers but also focuses on all customer touchpoints to ensure best customer experience,” he said while responding to a query regarding why grocery shoppers choose such chain shops to buy their daily commodities.
"Our dedicated food safety and nutrition teams ensure that what you take back to your family is safe, healthy, and wholesome. Shwapno has also been a leader in the movement against unsafe & unhygienic food and a major advocate in promoting healthy living," he said while explaining Shwapno's policy to ensure the quality of products.
"We do not compromise with the quality of the products we sell . . . we take it very seriously," said Khan.
“As a leader among the country's grocery chain shops, Shwapno is always respectful to all rules-regulations of the government such as consumer rights,” he said, adding that as a responsible chain shop, Shwapno highly values the rights of all its consumers.
“For example,” he said, “When the use of formalin was the talk of the town, Shwapno introduced formalin test kits at all its outlets and customers could check for presence of the chemical in fruits themselves.
In 2016, Shwapno joined Global G.A.P, a leading private sector body addressing the crucial objectives of ensuring good agricultural practices, to ensure food safety and traceability. Shwapno's partnerships with thousands of suppliers and growers also ensure fair prices and inclusive growth for all stakeholders.
“The introduction of Shwapno Life, the lifestyle section of the retail store, was part of its non-food diversification that all global retailers do for their product mix,” Khan said.
In the future, Shwapno also plans to go digital. “But for that, ensuring a proper e-commerce service blueprint is necessary,” he added.
While talking about the journey, Khan said, “Shwapno was established in 2008 when ACI, a conglomerate of Bangladesh, dabbled into the service sector for the first time with a humble mission to connect consumers with producers and growers.”
“By 2012, new outlets started to appear across strategic regions of the country, and it gained the market leadership position in the retail sector,” he said.
"As a socially responsible brand, Shwapno ensures safety at all the stages of the supply chain. Thus, it has also continued to work closely with farmers to improve crop traceability with the assistance of development partners," he added.
While focusing Shwapno's measures amid Covid-19, he said that Shwapno has been emphasizing heavily on safety and operational efficiency during the pandemic.
To provide faster service to those who sought to contribute to the people in need during the corona outbreak, Shwapno offered the Sheba pack with essential food and sanitary items at discounted price while others increased the price of essentials during the same time.
He said Shwapno introduced Phone-E-Phone-E-Bazar (Telesales service) during pandemic which is a very convenient service for our valuable customers.
He said, “Shwapno, a retail super shop, has employed around 300 people during the time of the coronavirus outbreak to serve its increased number of customers in various outlets, distribution centers, and support offices in different positions.”
Shwapno has created a win-win scenario for customers and also for farmers during the pandemic time, he said, adding that when farmers were stuck with their produces and were unable to find customers, Shwapno stood by the farmers during those times.
Shwapno has been working directly with some 1,200 farmers across the country, and 72% of vegetables and around 60% of fishes are coming directly from sources. Vegetables mostly come from Bogura, Jessore, Manikganj, Lalmonirhaat, Thakurgaon, and fish come from Shatkhira, Rajshahi, Khulna, Bagerhat, Mymensingh, Chittagong, and many more.
"And there are thousands of suppliers and growers all over the country who are ensuring availability of garden-fresh produces on the shelves on daily basis," said Khan.
About the future expansion plan, Khan said since Shwapno has become one of the Superbrands in 2020, and also recognized as the number 1 brand in the retail category, therefore, to reach the potential customers across the country, Shwapno has an extensive plan for expansion in coming days.
