After a three and a half decade of journey, the time has come for the second generation to take over the garment business.A majority of first generation apparel unit owners have already handed over the reins to their sons or daughters, or took them in as partners.Alongside exports, many owners have opened up their own brand stores as Bangladesh is also becoming a potential market with the fast-growing middle-income group.Noir, a fashion brand of export-oriented garment group Evince, also made a foray into retail. With the success of their first branch in Banani in July, owners of Noir have now opened their second store on Satmasjid Road in Dhanmondi on April 3.Brothers Shah Adeeb Chowdhury and Shah Rayeed Chowdhury, directors of Evince Group, operate Noir.“We received a good response with Noir. This is why we opened our second branch within a gap of just ten months. We plan to open two more branches in Dhaka by the end of this year,” Rayeed said in an interview with The Daily Star.Noir sells shirts, punjabis, jeans, chinos, T-shirts, handbags, shoes, belts, ties and bracelets for both men and women. “Our targeted customers are the youth, between 17 and 35 years old,” Rayeed said.Since the growing middle-income group is the target segment, the price range of the items has been fixed between Tk 1,600 and Tk 2,000, he said.On their sales trend, they said it increased during Eid, and they expect a good response for upcoming Pahela Boishakh.Our sales also increased with the onset of winter as we have a good collection of winter clothes,” said Rayeed, who graduated in business management from Pace University in New York.“We have our own design studio for garment product development. Our team of experts develops designs as we know our customers’ choices,” said Adeeb, who graduated in fashion and design from National Institute of Fashion and Technology in New Delhi.The brothers have plans to open Noir shops in Thailand and Malaysia, as they look to expand the brand beyond the national borders.“We have not come out from our main businesses of garment and spinning. We have just opened another venture under the same Evince Group,” Rayeed said. The fabrics used to make the garment items are from their own factories, he added. “We have a lot of scope for business in the domestic market, as people prefer branded goods.”Both the brothers have returned to the country upon graduation to join their family business that is owned by Anwarul-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufac-turers and Exporters Association.
