The rise of the Rising Group!

Fresh out of Dhaka University and armed with a degree in Sociology, Mahmud Hasan Khan (Babu), MD of Rising Group and Vice President of BGMEA, made his entrepreneurial debut with a humble carton manufacturing unit (Popular Packages & Accessories Ltd., established in 1994), which he retains till date.

Rising Group is a classic example of vision marrying decision making, all taken at the correct junctures of the company’s life span, which turned the Group into what it is today – an entity with over 7,550 employees and US $ 125 million in turnover from its various businesses, from yarns to readymade garments. It is Babu’s vision, his business acumen and rare decision-making ability that turned out to be the game changer. “I used to supply cartons to my friends who were in the business of garment manufacturing. Dealing with them, I learned a lot about garmenting and also got interested in RMG,” maintains Babu, who opened his first manufacturing unit (Rising Fashions Ltd.) in 1997 from a small rented building in Mirpur, Dhaka, with just 120 sewing machines. The fact that Babu’s entry into garment manufacturing coincided with the ‘quota era’ played in his favour.

But as an astute businessman, it did not take Babu long to comprehend that despite the quota facility, dwelling only on regular product categories and that too as a new entrant with multiple established players already in the fray, competition was something that he could ill afford to ignore. “Those days Bangladesh was all about men’s shirts and five-pocket pants,” says the Rising Group’s MD, who took a vital decision to get into women’s shirts in tandem with other woven products like men’s shirts, shorts, pants, etc. which he had already been offering, to cancel out the competition and also ensure business growth. “Ladies shirts fetched better prices compared to men’s,” maintains Babu, who made a conscious decision to move up the value chain by offering ladies’ tops in critical fabrics like chiffon, polyester georgettes and the likes, later on.

The quota phase out in 2004, operating from a rented facility and lack of domestic availability of yarns and fabrics – which only added to the spiralling production cost for the company – resulted in birth of Rising Spinning Mills Ltd. in the same year at Saturia, Manikgonj, spread over a floor area of 1,64,472 sq. ft. and equipped with 30,000 spindles. “Today we are US $ 125 million company doing both knits and woven with a special emphasis on knits,” says a proud Babu.

Rising Group currently owns five knit and woven manufacturing units in Mirpur and Ashulia. The combined floor space of the apparel manufacturing units stands at 2,46,500 sq. ft., where sewing, cutting, finishing and packaging are done. The Group also owns textile production units in two spinning mills having 66,240 ring spindles and 1,800 rotors covering a total area of 3,80,000 sq. ft., and an area of 1,85,800 sq. ft. for production of knit fabrics, dyeing, finishing, washing, printing, button and thread manufacturing along with WTP and ETP facilities.

Achieving the goal of complete vertical integration which according to the Group’s MD is the only way forward, Babu credits his timely decision to put up yarn spinning, knit dyeing and washing facilities which ensured that growth remained an uninterrupted factor all through the Group’s journey. At present, Rising Group manufactures all kinds of knit products (70 per cent of knit products are in cotton and the remaining 30 per cent in blends like CVC, Modal, Viscose, Linen, Rayon, etc.) to cater primarily to the US and EU markets. “60 per cent of our yarn production we use in-house while the remaining 40 per cent is sold in the local market,” informs Babu, who sources specialized yarns and fabrics from India and China predominantly.

“Future of the industry now is in producing goods in a sustainable and ethical environment,” states Babu, who is establishing a green facility named Mahmuda Attires Ltd., to become operational by end of August this year. Babu underlines that his aim to go for Gold Certification for the upcoming factory, is as much an outcome of his concern for the environment as it is a business necessity. “Once gas was in abundance in Bangladesh, but today we are facing gas crisis… If we continue wasting water the way we are, time is not far when we will have shortage of ground water as well,” says Babu, who sees in USGBC green certificate, better business prospects, more so when environment and environment-friendly products are gaining popularity with the retailers as well as the end-users. Even the banks are funding green projects at very reasonable interest rates. “Initially, Government’s offer of loans at 9 per cent interest was good, but now many donor agencies are offering loans at even lower rates,” Babu says.

The Group’s MD, maintains that achieving growth and success in garment business is as difficult a task as it is to sustain it. Training and education are two factors that Babu lays special emphasis on to ensure the same. “We are learning still and there is no end to it,” underlines Babu, who has hired a Sri Lankan IE to regularly conduct in-house training sessions for the workforce to sharpen their skills and efficiency.

Factory Info

1. Rising Fashions Ltd. – 1997 (Floor Area: 38,542 sq. ft.)

2. Rising Apparels Ltd. – 1999 (Floor Area: Unit-1: 46,333 sq. ft.)

3. Arunima Apparels Ltd. – 2000 (Floor Area: 43,966 sq. ft.)

4. Sabarang Fashions Ltd. – 2002 (Floor Area: 36,000 sq. ft.)

5. Rising Spinning Mills Ltd. – 2004 (Floor Area: 1,27,063 sq. ft. Cotton Spinning – 30,240 spindles + 720 rotors)

6. Rising Knit Textiles Ltd. – 2008 (Floor Area: 1, 22,557 sq. ft.)

7. Active Composite Mills Ltd. – 2008 (Floor Area: 81,700 sq. ft.)

8. Rising Industries Ltd. – 2011 (Floor Area: 1,47,300 sq. ft; Cotton Spinning – 36,000 spindles + 1080 rotors)

9. Popular Packages & Accessories Ltd. – 1994 (Floor Area: 1,080 sq. ft. for carton manufacturing)

10. Fashion Accessories Ltd. – 2012 (Floor Area: 30,645 sq. ft.)

11. Aninda Printers Ltd. – 1997 (Floor Area: 2,000 sq. ft. – Printing)