Business Person of the Year
Pioneer of Bangladeshi jeans

Jasim Uddin Khan

It was a dinner some 27 years ago at a swanky restaurant in downtown Colombo that changed Md Nasiruddin's life forever and that sowed the seeds of Pacific Jeans, one of the largest and pioneering readymade garment industries in the country.

He was down in Sri Lanka on a business trip -- trading and ship breaking were Nasiruddin's main areas then. During a dinner with his local business partner, he was introduced to a business magnate who was into readymade garment.

During dinner, the magnate suddenly said: "Do you know, Bangladesh might be a good place to start readymade garment industries. Low labour cost there is the best merit."

Nasiruddin's business instincts told him the comment was not to be taken lightly. On his return, he contacted a Japanese firm, also his business partner, to prepare a feasibility report on RMG industry in Bangladesh. The report, when it came, proved the Sri Lankan entrepreneur right -- Bangladesh has every condition to be an apparel exporter.

Nasiruddin swung into action, he ordered machinery from Japan and recruited two factory managers from Hong Kong. The factory site was bought and building built. Workers were recruited and trained. Finally in 1984, Nasiruddin emerged as a garment entrepreneur.

His first order was from a Minnesota buyer. This was twenty four thousand pieces of shirts.

"It was a great time for us," Nasiruddin says. "We all worked hard and got the orders ready. We booked air cargo and sent 15,000 pieces of the order in the first phase."

The waiting began for payment, but it never came. Months later, it transpired that he would never get payment for his first order as the US company went bankrupt.

"I sank into despair," Nasiruddin recalls. "It was tough struggle for us as we had to pay salary to 600 workers every month. The first year -- 1984 -- was a total loss. I thought I would never be an entrepreneur."

But, Naisruddin has business in his bloodline -- his father and grandfather were traders at Khatunganj, the business hub of Chittagong. So he got himself together and set down the strategy -- explore markets and find new buyers.

So, for the next three years he started walking around the major apparel fairs --from Cologne's Interjeans Fair to Las Vegas' Magic Show. Buyers' interest was lukewarm and frustrating as Bangladesh was still an unknown sourcing destination for apparels.

Then the first break came for him. Jordache, now an extinct brand but then a big name, placed orders with him. And then, there was no looking back for Nasiruddin. C&A, Gap and H&M -- they all started coming to him.

"But I was mainly doing low-end orders just as many of our RMG owners do even now," said Nasiruddin.

But then he knows how to reach for the sky. It was a big time for shifting the global RMG industry from countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. He brought in more experts from Hong Kong and Sri Lanka and got ready to get out of the low-end range to the high-medium. He decided to expand his factory in the EPZ. In 1994, he forked in a huge amount into his project.

"It was in 2000 and I was walking down the Fifth Avenue in New York with my son," Nasiruddin recalls another turn in his life. "I stopped in front of the GAP shop and then went inside. I looked up the trousers on the front rack -- all marked USA and Mexico. I told my son: One day soon, my products will be on these racks. I tell you."

His son, Tanvir, laughed. "Baba, isn't it too much of a dream?"

"I tell you son. I will be here one day soon."

And he was right. It took him another one and a half years to bag GAP orders. Today, the main rows of the Fifth Avenue store are decked with his products, proudly labeled 'Made in Bangladesh'.

Dedication, honesty and determination led him to a level he earned today in the country's business arena. And these were the driving forces of his march and he has built a big business empire.

Born at Salimpur village in Sitakunda of Chittagong district, Nasir has a good sense of business, which contributed to grow such an empire worth Tk 3.5 billion. The annual turnover of his business is now over Tk7.5 billion.

It may seem to be unbelievable today that Nasir in a bid to make a variation in his business started importing tyre and tube and light machinery with a meager amount of Tk 50,000 soon after the War of Liberation.

His most famous enterprise Pacific Jeans' sister concern NZN Fashion, NZN Washing Plant Limited, Diamond Fashion Ltd, Jeans 2000 Ltd and Pacific Accessories Ltd now employ over 20,000 people.

The visionary businessperson, Nasir, always puts his efforts on bringing about new dimension in his business, so he sometimes switches over to new ventures for more value addition and earning foreign exchange.

"I strived my whole life to work on upholding the country's image abroad with involving more people in my business. I found the readymade garment sector ideal for this purpose," he said.

Maintaining good relation with partners is another secret of achievement, Nasir went on.

He believes continuous research and observation before starting any business helped him achieve his goals.

Construction of another major jeans industry, Universal Jeans Limited, is going on. Nasir hopes production is likely to be started by July.

He has already set ambitious goals for the future. His vision is to launch his own brand of apparel product line in the fashion retail markets of the west.

He is also committed to corporate social responsibilities involving him in different social welfare organisations. He is one of the financial patrons of an organisation that provides assistance to leukemia-affected children. He contributes towards education of the rural people, especially for girls' education by managing and funding for 100 students every year. He established four schools in his native village. He is also founder member of Bepza Public High School & College at the CEPZ.

Nasir has been a commercially important person (CIP) for the last 9 years for his remarkable contribution to garments export. Pacific Jeans was awarded with the National Export Trophy for 4 consecutive years for its outstanding export performance. It also received recognition in Europe for its creative product development.