Founded in May, 2009 Tana Bana Marketing Pvt Ltd dared to think what others could not- based out of Bhagalpur, a town in Bihar & yet thinking and working towards creating a brand! For long, Bhagalpur has been associated & quite famous worldwide for its exquisite silk based products- Hand woven & otherwise. There are over eleven thousand active weavers as per official data of weavers service centre, Bhagalpur. Whole of some pockets of this town are dependent on this sector alone. Total number of beneficiaries runs in excess of a lac.

Yet, despite having more than hundred organizations working in the industry, did not dare to do things differently- they were satisfied doing what was going on for long- produce for intermediate consumption. Every organization over the period of time either tries to do a backward linkage or a forward linkage however here industry has been crippled with lack of enthusiasm as far as breaking out of the comfort zone is concerned. We dared to think differently & we made a beginning. Over the past twenty months we have established relations with good companies of the repute of FabIndia. Yet, no matter how much work they could give us, one thing would always alude us- an identity. Being such a big cluster & yet not having a single retail brand from Bhagalpur, as much as it is an irony, it is an opportunity for us to try to get into a space where no competition exists. Today there is not a single value addition which takes place in Bhagalpur, much recently block prints was started which has a long way to go before actually being fully & relevantly functional. We are the first to set-up a complete stitching unit for production of garments including kurtis, kurtas, shirts & other children wear with a simple belief- Bhagalpur already has a huge & strong base of weaving- why not rather focus on next level of value chain? Initial response has been amazing & we are deep with sampling currently. We believe it would have a great impact on the way Bhagalpur works so far- rather than producing just intermediate goods, we also would start providing value-addition. It would create regular job for at least 50 individuals with potential to engage much more. We have slowly moved most of our sarees production on hand loom & by this year we intend to produce only hand woven pieces so as to enable more than 50 handloom weavers to not to worry about their livelihoods anymore. Selling directly to retail customers, helps us delink our production process from external orders. No more we depend on anybody to give orders- if brand making exercise is successful, it would indeed open a new chapter in the silk industry of Bhagalpur. Over the period of time we expect to support more than 500 artisans directly & continuously.

Tana Bana Marketing Pvt Ltd, over the period of 4 years, would be co-held by artisans, employees, promoter & other stake holders in a most equitable way. To try to pass on the much deserving credit to the artisans, it is proposed that upto 50% of the ownership would be shared with artisans themselves thereby marking a new beginning in the chapter of their life & Bhagalpur-both. Our ultimate aim is to create our brand. Bulk business is as important as it gives continuous work & security on the basis of which we think of experimenting. It helps us to meet our day-to-day activities yet it deprives us of an identity. In the past six months, we started to think over retailing. It is then that we knew that another big gap existed in Bhagalpur- complete lack of value addition activities in silk industry. We thought if the bridge could be gapped & retail could be focused, we could achieve multiple objective with the same- 1) Weavers getting quality work, 2) Increase in no. of days of work for weavers due to increased product portfolio. 3) Weavers' own marketing face, 4) Shared ownership, 5) Brand from Bhagalpur- co-owned by artisans & all, 6) Creation of a creative self-sustainable organization. In a first probably from Bihar & from Bhagalpur, we did a cash-on-delivery tie-up realizing the importance of making our process much easily in order to give customers a much user-friendly experience. Our facebook page is helping us create a strong reputation. Much of our communication is quick due to this medium which further helps creating a positive word about us. For customers to recommend us, it is much important that they actually like our products, that is only possible only when we adhere to strict quality parameters without compromising a bit. So far, that is what we have been doing.

No marketing is better than the word-of-mouth, that is where we want to focus. So far we have tried to create a reputation on the back of our product & service quality. With the emergence of social media & growth of users in India, it is our firm belief that if promoted well through relevant channels, we could create a niche for ourself with the combination of our unique structure, beautiful products & impeccable service. Yet, focusing on marketing through internet is important to first attract customers. That's where given our limited understanding & resources in terms of relevant people poses a challenge to us. To overcome the same, we intend to start an office in Delhi which could handle & manage internet sales with right kind of people. Delhi office would also come handy in terms of faster communication & easier approach as visitors sometimes do not find it comfortable to visit Bhagalpur.

Problem

We

Solution

Proper marketing, designing solutions, market linkages

Exemple

An inclusive model- A company co-owned by artisans, employees, investors & promoter. Direct retailing bridges the gap between producers & consumers thereby providing them with a better value.