Singer secures 35-acre plot at Araihazar for manufacturing complex

Singer Bangladesh Ltd has signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone at Araihazar in Narayanganj for the lease of 35 acres of land to establish its new manufacturing complex.

Two months ago, the multinational electronics and home appliances retail chain announced Tk680 crore of fresh investments to increase its manufacturing capacity.

Singer's investment is aiming to re-energise the century-old brand in the burgeoning local market.

The investment will be financed from internal sources and through borrowing from both foreign and local banks.

The proposed manufacturing facilities will meet the increasing local demand with a competitive price and will also contribute to the company's growth, the publicly-listed company said in its disclosure.

A high official of the company on 31 March told The Business Standard that it was planning big and going to build its third facility and the large new one might be the ultimate one for manufacturing and assembling electronics and home appliance products.

The new plant will be inspired by the technology of Singer's new holding company Istanbul-based Arçelik, one of the global leaders in white goods and cooling products.

Arçelik, which acquired 57% of Singer Bangladesh shares for $75 million in March 2019, is introducing all its global values, expertise, and advanced technologies to exploit the best out of the brand Singer, present in this land for 117 years.

Since the acquisition three years back, Singer has already made around Tk80 crore technology investments and launched new-technology refrigerators.

Can Dincer, chief commercial officer at Arçelik Global and also a director of Singer Bangladesh, told TBS in an interview earlier in March, "We are already investing in Singer and we have further investment plans in facilities, production, product range, marketing, and communication."

"You will see how we are adding value to the quality and R&D [research and development] aspects of products, very modern technology, and production process in Bangladesh. This is our promise to consumers of Bangladesh: we are ready to bring our best resources," he added.

Singer, which began with sewing machines and eventually turned into the largest household name for home appliances and televisions in the country, lost momentum in the race in the 2010s, while the great localisation wave made Walton the largest player in the refrigerator and television market.

According to a UCB Asset Management report last year, Singer is competing with Walton as the second largest brand with a 12% market share in refrigerators, and 11% in television sets, against Walton's gigantic 72% and 27% market shares in the two categories respectively.

With a 13% market share, Singer is lagging behind General and Gree only in air conditioners and with an 18% market share, it is trying to catch up with Samsung in the washing machine market.

Having secured an annualised growth of 14% over the second half of the last decade, Bangladesh's TV, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, and kitchen appliances market has grown to around $2.5 billion, according to the UCB AMC report.

With 100% of the population under electricity coverage, a rising per capita income and changing lifestyle helped analysts expect the market to grow at a 17% annualised rate to $10 billion by 2030.

Widely winning the local market, Walton has emerged as an exporter to dozens of countries, including the western markets, and the company is now chasing its dream to be a top global brand.

Arçelik's Can Dincer in his interview said his company was considering Bangladesh as a strategic hub in the region for exports.