Written by Content Desk, Brand Practitioners• July 9, 2023• 10:46 am• Article, Blog

HATIL’s journey from Brand to Superbrand

The popular furniture brand HATIL has achieved a remarkable feat by securing the prestigious Superbrands Bangladesh Award in the global furniture category. Superbrands is a UK-based organization that evaluates brands from 90 countries and awards Superbrands based on category. As well as HATIL several other prominent Bangladeshi brands have also garnered recognition as the nation’s most esteemed and valuable brands.

HATIL is one of the most popular furniture brand in furniture market of Bangladesh. Even the majority of the furniture market being occupied by unorganized and non-branded traders, HATIL stands out as the country’s top brand, holding a 10% share of the branded furniture market. Other notable brands in Bangladesh’s furniture market include Otobi, Navana, Akhtar, and Regal. In this article, we will discover how Hatil managed to win the prestigious 2023-24 Superbrands Award in the furniture category, surpassing its competitors.

The Superbrands Award and Selection Process

The Superbrands Award was established in 1994 by Marcel Knobil and initially focused on brands in the United Kingdom. Over time, it expanded its reach to different regions worldwide. Recently, the Superbrands Award is bestowed upon numerous brands from 90 countries each year. To showcase the awarded brands, the Superbrands Authority publishes a magazine featuring the winners. These brands leverage their Superbrand Award across various aspects, including packaging, marketing, and promotional campaigns, as a means to enhance customer trust.

The selection process for the winning brands involves a region based jury council within Superbrands. This council evaluates brands based on five key attributes to determine the best brand in each category. The attributes taken into consideration are brand heritage, brand relevance in the category, perceived quality, perceived performance, and top of mind awareness. Brand heritage reflects a brand’s illustrious history, creating a positive perception among customers. Brand relevance refers to how well a brand addresses the needs of potential and existing customers within its industry category. Moreover, the jury members consider the perceived quality and perceived performance of a brand’s products in the market.

Customers’ perceptions of a brand’s goods are represented by perceived quality. The brand’s Perceived performance indicates the brand’s ability to meet customer expectations. Also, the jury evaluates a brand’s capacity to establish top of mind awareness among customers. Based on these attributes, the Superbrands Jury Council rates the brands, and the Superbrands Award is presented to the brands with the highest scores in their respective product categories. In Bangladesh, the award has been given across 40 product categories, with HATIL being recognized for its excellence in the furniture category.

HATIL Journey to Superbrand Status

These five qualities have played a vital role in establishing HATIL as a prominent brand in the furniture industry of Bangladesh. Also the dominance of unorganized and non-branded furniture manufacturers in the country, This popular furniture brand has thrived in this sector for the past 35 years. While most furniture manufacturers in Bangladesh followed traditional business practices after independence, HATIL’s founder, Selim H. Rahman, envisioned a brand focused approach for the company right from the start. Initially operating as a door selling shop called Hatil Doors in Badda in 1988, the company expanded rapidly from its roots in the timber business to become a comprehensive furniture manufacturer within a few years. Today, HATIL currently has more than 70 showrooms in Bangladesh and 27 showrooms abroad in India, 2 showrooms in Nepal, and 1 franchise in Bhutan.

Bangladeshi customers have a tendency to keep their furniture for extended periods without changing it. Traditionally, they preferred the craftsmanship of diverse designs in furniture. However, as customer preferences evolved over time, the traditional furniture manufacturers in the country failed to adapt their designs to match the changing tastes. At the moment most furniture brands focused primarily on promoting their products and increasing sales. In contrast, HATIL aimed to establish itself as a strong brand right from the beginning.

To align with the changing tastes of customers, HATIL concentrated on modern and contemporary furniture design. They achieved this through participation in furniture design competitions within the country and collaborating with foreign designers to bring innovation to their designs around 2006-2007.

Also the furniture brand HATIL recognized that Bangladeshi customers desired long lasting furniture. To meet this demand, HATIL used world class FSC certified wood in their manufacturing process. FSC Certified wood is sourced from planned forestry that prioritizes environmental sustainability. After sourcing the wood, HATIL applies eco-friendly chemicals during the curing process to ensure durability and strength in their furniture.

The cured wood is then transformed into various types of furniture using advanced robotics technology and state-of-the-art automated machines. Stringent quality checks are conducted at each stage of the manufacturing process, and materials that fail to meet the quality standards are discarded. HATIL maintains its commitment to quality through its ISO (ISO 9001:2015) certification for Quality Management Systems. This dedication to quality has earned HATIL a reputation as a provider of quality furniture in the industry.

To build strong brand awareness among customers, HATIL has always placed importance on branding, marketing, and promotion. In addition to traditional channels such as billboards, newspapers, and TV commercials, HATIL has established a strong online presence through its website and social media platforms. The company emphasizes proper branding in its marketing and promotional communications to ensure that customers are aware of and remember the HATIL brand.

Moreover, HATIL goes beyond branding to provide customers with a superior brand experience. With over 70 showrooms across the country, customers have the opportunity to directly experience HATIL’s extensive catalog of products.

Moreover, HATIL has its own e-commerce platform and mobile app, allowing customers to purchase their products from anywhere in the country. Both the website and app are designed to offer a user-friendly furniture buying experience. Through their e-commerce platform, mobile app, virtual store, and dedicated delivery service, HATIL has gained strong brand recognition and enhanced the overall brand experience for customers.

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