Dressing for success

From the army to garments, Kazi Gulshan Ara was always ready to fight

The uae is a land of opportunity and the opportunities are not gender-specific. In fact, in many ways the environment supports women entrepreneurs more, said Kazi Gulshan Ara, founder of Aydin Boutique and a non-resident Bangladeshi entrepreneur in Dubai.

“The freedom to do business is almost equal for men and women. In fact, I never felt that I was in a disadvantageous position being a woman at any given point of time while I was developing my business in the UAE. In fact, the UAE is one of the best place to start a business and do business. However, the difficulty that I faced in penetrating the market with my products and brands is common for any newcomer entering the market. I have gone through the same level of pain that other entrepreneurs have to go through — the growing pains of developing a business,” said Kazi.

“I owe my success to the UAE — especially the world-class facilities. The UAE society is modern and vibrant; while maintaining the traditional ageold values that defines our culture, our root. It offers a perfect ambience for everyone to be successful. However, looking back, I feel that the struggle that I had to go through was worth it. I have a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment,” she adds.

For more than three decades, Bangladesh has established itself and remained as the world’s second-biggest readymade garments sector after China. Its garments industry produces and supplies garments to the world’s most famous brands. However, it has never developed its own branded garments — something that Kazi wants to change.

Kazi is on her way to develop an international readymade garments brand that could make every Bangladeshi proud. Her five-year-old company, recently rebranded as Aydin Boutique, has already made strong inroads into the UAE’s organised retail chains, such as Union Cooperative, Sharjah Cooperative, Emirates Cooperative and Hyperpanda.

Hailing from Bangladesh, Kazi feels that her country has only helped global clothing brands expand their brand name and increase profits. Over the last three decades, Bangladesh has created a large readymade garments industry that employs more than four million women and fetches more than $25 billion in foreign exchange through export earnings.

Born in 1983 to a family originating from Shariatpur district, Kazi was brought up in Dhaka by her parents. Her father Kazi Mohammad Shiraz was a freedom fighter who fought for Bangladesh’s independence war in 1971. She studied in Mirpur Bangla School and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation College, before getting admitted at the English Department at Jahangirnagar University.

Kazi joined the Bangladesh Army as a commissioned officer in 2002, following the rigorous selection process and a two-year training process that prepares a person for leadership role in combat. However, she retired from the army as a lieutenant in 2007 to start a career in business. After a brief stint in teaching in three schools in Dhaka, she had worked with Chevron Bangladesh for four months before joining Group 4 Security as human resources manager in 2008.

Kazi was posted to the UAE to manage the human resources of the Middle East operations of Group 4 where she managed the manpower for 18 countries. While heading the Human Resources Division of Group 4 Middle East, she had started to think about doing her own business. In 2013, she resigned from Group 4 to start her own business — a readymade garments import and supply company — in Ajman with a tiny office. She invested Dh65,000 to set up a small office at Ajman Industrial Area. She was working almost 15-18 hours a day to establish the business.

Currently, Aydin Boutique has six retails of its own in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman and 1 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The boutique currently offers 8,500 barcodes — each type of products selling in hundreds of thousands of units per year. Kazi employs 45 professionals who manage the inventory and supply of the merchandise while 35 more are working at a garments factory in Dhaka — as part of her backward integration process.

Kazi wants to develop a brand such as a Tommy Hilfiger or a Burberry in the global apparel industry. “I have just created a brand name — Aydin — that I want to develop as a global brand. We have now 1,000 barcodes under Aydin branding. Gradually, I want to bring the entire product range under the new branding,” she concludes.

I never felt that I was in a disadvantageous position being a woman at any given point of time while I was developing my business in the UAE

Kazi Gulshan Ara, Founder of Aydin Boutique