Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi, Team MBR

Fabric Lagbe Ltd. is one of the new marketplace startups in Bangladesh aiming to connect national and international buyers with local manufacturers and traders for buying and selling fabrics, yarns, cotton, readymade garments, machinery, trims, and accessories. For the first time in Bangladesh, they have introduced an open bidding system covering all categories of textile necessities. Team MBR was in a conversation with Mr. Md Nazmul Islam, Founder and CEO, Fabric Lagbe, to learn about his inspirations and vision behind Fabric Lagbe.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: Fabric Lagbe has been launched with the aim of connecting national and international buyers with local manufacturers and traders of fabrics, handloom products, readymade garments, trims, accessories, and all other relevant items. Would you kindly share with us how you came up with this idea?

Md Nazmul Islam: Over the past 12 years, I have seen and gained experience by working in every step (yarn purchasing, yarn sizing, fabric making, dying, delivery systems, payment receiving, and reordering) of the textile industry. Present textile industries have considerable investments in technological advancement in the production process, but procurement, marketing, distribution, payment receipts, and sales are yet outdated. It is utterly offline via phone calls and one-on-one meetings, which results in a lot of time, effort, cost, and economic losses for the country. From this experience, we built a platform to disrupt this redundant business practice and make doing business easier. With the help of Fabric Lagbe, suppliers and customers can do business hassle-free and effortlessly and, at the same time, save time and money, making it accessible to everybody anytime, anywhere.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: The quality of the products and services that can be availed on Fabric Lagbe is a crucial factor in the platform’s success. Would you kindly tell us about the screening process through which the suppliers and service providers have to go before getting themselves registered on the platform?

Md Nazmul Islam: In general, you do not need to register to view the products and services. To bid on products or services, you must first register, which takes only 50 seconds. Suppliers can choose the best bidder from the list by reviewing the bidder’s business history (day of experience, number of transactions completed, review, rating), and customers can do the same before submitting a bid. Finally, our customer service team assists each party to smoothly complete the transaction. So there is nothing to lose, and on top of that, opportunities are being created for both parties.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: What are the motivating factors for the buyers to switch to Fabric Lagbe from the traditional method of doing business? What are the additional benefits the buyers can enjoy?

Md Nazmul Islam: By using the Fabric Lagbe platform, buyers or customers can buy products hassle-free, effortlessly, at a fair price, with on-time delivery, the right quality, and the right quantity from thousands of suppliers within a few minutes and get the best satisfaction. In this digital era of Bangladesh, businesses are making a shift from physical to virtual for their buying and sourcing needs. Textile and RMG producers can meet market demand through the Fabric Lagbe platform. In a competitive market, buyers and sellers always struggle to find their respective business counterparts, and they will benefit from a transparent digital supply chain and responsible sourcing on our platform.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: A rise in the number of D2C clothing businesses and online boutique shops has been observed in recent times. These businesses usually have different sets of requirements than others in terms of order quantity, customisation, etc. How is Fabric Lagbe catering to this customer segment?

Md Nazmul Islam: It is very good news for us that customers are buying the product online. Essentially, Fabric Lagbe has two features for buyers: one is the buyer’s request for regular textile and RMG products, for which suppliers showcase their products on our platform; the other is the buyer’s request for customised products, where buyers can ask if they cannot get their desired product on our platform, and here our suppliers will reverse bid on the customer’s product request, and in the middle path, our CRM team is assisting each of them with the quality, quantity, and delivery of their products.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: RMG products and services usually involve relatively long supply chains. Does Fabric Lagbe have any mechanism to provide visibility and real-time updates of the ordered products and services to its customers?

Md Nazmul Islam: Textile and RMG industries are huge markets, and we are currently working with local textile and handloom products like fabrics, sarees, lungis, three pieces, gamchas, rakhain dresses, panjabis, lehengas, bed sheets, handicraft products, and so on, which are mostly ready or in the production stage, so whenever buyers give orders, we deliver within standard time by using third party logistic support. Our suppliers and customers, and every user, can currently see their entire transaction history in real-time.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: The readymade garment industry in Bangladesh is largely dependent on foreign buyers. What strategies has Fabric Lagbe undertaken to gain the attention and trust of foreign buyers?

Md Nazmul Islam: Everyone is attempting to sell to foreign buyers, but we are focusing on local market buyers. The market is worth nearly USD 9 billion per year, and we have some unique and GI products that are being exported too. We are gaining trust and onboarding foreign buyers simultaneously, and we have gained the trust of buyers from 120 countries by this point.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: How does Fabric Lagbe make money out of this platform? Will you kindly tell us about your key partners?

Md Nazmul Islam: There are no fees for registration, bid placement, or product showcasing. We only charge 1% commission after a transaction is completed successfully. Currently, our key partners are the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh Handloom Board, Daffodil International University, Bangladesh Venture Capital Limited, Chaldal, and many others.

Tasnimul Hasan Ruhi: What are the challenges Fabric Lagbe is currently facing? How is it addressing the issues? Also, we would like to know about your plan to scale the operations of Fabric Lagbe.

Md Nazmul Islam: Most suppliers (1st generation) are not used to IT or credit facilities, and they lack a sincere commitment to quality. However, the good news is that both suppliers and customers are happy to use the Fabric Lagbe platform because they are enjoying authentic product sourcing with accountability and proper services, and we hope that within three years, we will be able to onboard the majority of our local SME textiles, RMG factories, handloom weavers, and handicraft producers by opening 11 service centres across Bangladesh.