About Aurora
Aurora is an emerging export-oriented leather goods manufacturer in Bangladesh. Aurora presents you with a fascinating world of Leather Accessories with superb qualities (Veg. Retanned, Full Chrome, Glazed or Semi-aniline finish, Plain or Milled) in Goat Skins or Calf Leather. Our products display exquisite colors, taste & craftsmanship in making small leather goods; like Key Holders to Key Case, Card Case to Pen & Pencil Case, Wallet-Passport Holder to Travel Kit, Writing Port Folio to Organizer/Filo-Fax.
The Jewellery Boxes are made to meet the demand of Customers’ choice such as Ring Box, Earring Box, Cufflink Box, Bangle Box, Bracelet Box, Necklace Box, Jewellery Trays, Jewellery Pads etc.
The Desk Accessories include:
Desk Tray, Slip Pad Holder, Pen Box, Glass Stand, Desk Pad, Mobile phone stand, Tray Tidy, etc. for corporate gift items. Aurora has attained mastery in making the most elegant & glamorous pieces which have passed the test of time & trend emerging as the most versatile producer to meet your present-day needs. We have trained, skilled, and competent professional workers engaged to carry out the production, giving them with support of all kinds of technical facilities.
We have been engaged in business with overseas markets (mainly Europe and the USA) for the last 20 years through a British Marketing Company,” Leather Un- Limited”, 78-80, Troutbeck, London, U.K.
COMPANY PROFILE & ME:
I worked for a while in that profession including an overseas appointment. In 1992, two friends & I started a company almost as an accident to produce quality leather goods for the export market. However as the early promise began to fade, two of my friends left the company. I stuck to it with a dedication to my vocation & a decade later,” AURORA”, the newborn Enterprise(2003-2004) has become an addiction. Like all addictions it is hurting me- financially and otherwise –but I am yet to give up because over the years I’ve also come to appreciate the quality of Bangladesh’s finished leather compared to other sources. I am also convinced that, given the right mix of circumstances, this country’s finished leather can be molded into world-class quality products.
Over the years, I have learned a lot about the subject and I have summarized these in the following paragraphs.
Design & development
The first stage in the production cycle is the design which is very much a creative skill. For first-generation entrepreneurs, it is a big ask to be responsible for everything as well as develop creative designs. I had explored the possibility of using some graduates from Leather College. However, the quality of education in such institutions is such that the students, while technically competent, have a very limited view of the needs of end-users in the overseas markets. So their ability to contribute to export-related product development is limited. To overcome this situation, I feel that students from such colleges should be exposed to overseas markets by attending fairs & exhibitions. This will ensure that students can contribute to the development of this export market and not be absorbed in the faceless hordes at the tanneries.
Marketing
As an emerging industry in a developing country, we are almost dependent on overseas buying houses. As a result, I get only a fraction of the price my products are finally sold at overseas. That in itself would not be bad except that when the overseas buying houses ask me for a quote, I am conscious that I may be competing with similar small entrepreneurs from Indonesia, China, and India. Sometimes I have to offer prices that are against my best interest but I do so only in the hope of a secure long-term market. But this scenario has the effect of locking me into a low-price structure.
I understand that it may be possible to reach overseas end-users through the Internet. However, the technology is new to the country and it is difficult to identify a reliable partner in this area.
An Integrated approach
Presently, the tanneries and the finished goods manufacturers are not integrated and as a result both are missing out. I can explain this by the way of an example. I often get request from overseas buyers to provide samples. For this I need very small quantities of finished leather but when I try to source this, I am frustrated because it does not meet the minimum order quantity of a tannery. The point, though, is that it is the same tanneries which have produced samples for finished leather exhibitions for here & abroad, but when I approach them for such samples, they find it unrewarding to search out for such dropouts & off-cuts. This is the area where the Government could
take initiative in bringing all those involved in this sector into a forum and making the point that both the tanneries & finished goods manufacturers can co-operate for mutual benefit & that of the country.
Finance
Ideally, I would like to have access to the end users in the overseas market. I feel that it would be a better approach because that way, I would have the opportunity to develop expertise in all phases of the production chain- from design, production and market and in the process do the maximum value addition. However, for that, I need to attend fairs, forums, and seminars in the overseas market not once or twice but for a sustained period to establish my credentials. Such an exercise will require significant size funds, and for a small-sized enterprise like mine, it is a very big ask, and that is where I am now.
But I remain convinced that if well-known brand names find it profitable to source their goods from Bangladesh, Someone from Bangladesh should be able to match them for quality and price.
I understand that it may be possible to reach overseas end-users through the Internet.
I had the opportunity to work as a National consultant on Leather goods with the International Trade Centre(ITC, Geneva), Under UNCTAD/ WTO, in the year 2002-2003, assigned to Project GLO/02/G01. I had the privilege to have access to most of the reputed entrepreneurs & also to those working at the root level to do an intensive survey. This gives us the whole scenario about the status of leather goods manufacturers and I believe almost all the producers will share their views co-axial with my line of thinking.