Rahimafrooz (Bangladesh) Ltd., founded in 1954 by A. C. Abdur Rahim as a trading company in

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, is one of the largest business groups in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It consists of eight

strategic business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though ...

s and several other affiliations. The group

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

is Afroz Rahim and the

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

are Feroz Rahim, Niaz Rahim, Mohammed Ismail, Munawar Misbah Moin and Mudassir Moin. In 2012 it received permission from the government of Bangladesh to open a manufacturing unit in India. Rahimafrooz operates in three broad domains: automotive after market, power and energy, and retail chain. It sells tyres, batteries, lubricants, emergency power products, diesel and gas generators, lighting products, electrical accessories, solar systems, energy systems using compressed natural gas, and power rectifiers. The group also runs

Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

, the first retail chain in Bangladesh. Rural Services Foundation is the charity branch of the group.

History

A. C. Abdur Rahim was born on 20 January 1915. After being orphaned at age seven, he was raised by an uncle, who employed him in his departmental store. Rahim partnered in a small tailoring and textile business in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, then in the early 1940s began trading independently on a modest scale. He married in 1945, and two years later, after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, moved his family to

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. In 1950, he formed a small

trading company Trading companies are businesses working with different kinds of products which are sold for consumer, business, or government purposes. Trading companies buy a specialized range of products, maintain a stock or a shop, and deliver products to cus ...

with a capital of 200,000 Pakistani rupees ($42,000 as of 1950). On 15 April 1954, he incorporated the business as Rahimafrooz & Co, named after his eldest son, Afrooz Rahim. Initially, it focused on garment retailing.

References

{{Authority control Retail companies of Bangladesh Conglomerate companies of Bangladesh Retail companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in East Bengal