Bangladesh University of Professionals
Term Paper
Course Name: Business Communication
Course Code: ALD1202
Prepared by
Name: Md. Tariful Nafees
ID: 23230114085
Batch: 2022-23
Section: A
Department of Business Administration- General
Faculty of Business Studies
Prepared for
Saiful Islam
Associate Professor
Department of Business Administration- General
Faculty of Business Studies
Date of Submission: June 5, 2024
Walton: Story of Electrifying Bangladesh
Letter of Transmittal
5 June, 2024
Saiful Islam
Associate Professor
Department of Business Administration- General
Faculty of Business Studies
Bangladesh University of Professionals
Dear sir,
I am pleased to submit the term paper titled ‘Walton: Story of Electrifying Bangladesh’ -
prepared as part of ‘Business Communication’ course, the purpose of this paper is to provide a
comprehensive analysis of Walton, a conglomerate based in Gazipur, Bangladesh.
I hope you find this term paper informative and insightful. I would like to express my gratitude
to you for your guidance and support throughout the course. I look forward to your feedback
and further discussions.
Sincerely,
Md. Tariful Nafees
ID: 23230114085
Section: A
Session: 2022-23
Department of Business Administration- General
Bangladesh University of Professionals
[Enclosure: Term Paper – Walton: Story of Electrifying Bangladesh]
Table of Contents
Letter of Transmittal .................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
Evolution .................................................................................................................................... 5
Early Days.............................................................................................................................. 5
Venturing Into Manufacturing ............................................................................................... 5
Expansion............................................................................................................................... 5
Post COVID Progress ............................................................................................................ 5
Evaluation of Global Presence ................................................................................................... 6
Presence in Local Market....................................................................................................... 6
Presence in Asian Market ...................................................................................................... 6
Presence in European Market ................................................................................................ 6
Presence in African Market ................................................................................................... 6
Presence in American Market ................................................................................................ 7
Assessment of Success............................................................................................................... 8
Financial Standpoint .............................................................................................................. 8
Growth Standpoint ................................................................................................................. 8
Reputation Standpoint............................................................................................................ 9
Awards: .................................................................................................................................. 9
Challenges ................................................................................................................................ 10
Challenge 1: Technological Advancements......................................................................... 10
Challenge 2: Breaking into International Market ................................................................ 10
Challenge 3: Rupantor Controversy..................................................................................... 10
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 11
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 12
Introduction
In the aftermath of the liberation war of 1971, S.M Nazrul Islam founded a company named
Rezvi & Brothers (R.B. Group) in 1977. It was named after his eldest son. In 1980, the country's
economy grew, and with that, the rate of income followed. RB group took this opportunity to
become an importer of CI sheets. Walton Hi-Tech Industries, the current flagship industry of
Walton Group, was set up in 2006. R.B. Group rebranded as Walton Group in 2008. The name,
Walton comes from ‘Wind of Alteration’, signifying the change the want to bring in the
landscape of Bangladeshi electronics market and worlds’ perception of Bangladeshi products.
Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC. was incorporated as a private Limited company on April 17,
2006 under the Companies Act of 1994, vide registration certificate no. C-61272 (3281)/06 and
started its business operation from 2008. Subsequently, the company was registered as a
“Public Limited Company” on May 14, 2018 (Walton, 2023).
Walton is the first ever company in Bangladesh, mostly reliant on Research & Innovation
(R&I) for the production of Electrical and Electronics Appliances in Bangladesh, a resounding
factor that differentiates Walton from all of its local competitors. The company has broken the
heavy consumer dependence on imported Electrical & Electronics (E&E) products and brought
the locally produced Electronic Appliances within the reach of the masses through its
innovation, use of advanced technology and incredibly affordable pricing for people of all
income classes. Products Walton currently offers are Refrigerator & Freezer, Air Conditioner,
Television, Elevator, Home, Kitchen & Electrical Appliances, Compressor, Mold, Die,
Fasteners and Automobiles.
Beyond its impressive product portfolio, Walton is a major job creator, employing over 30,000
people across Bangladesh. Their commitment to sustainability is another noteworthy aspect.
Walton actively invests in eco-friendly practices and boasts one of the most sophisticated
manufacturing plants in South Asia.
Evolution
Early Days
Upon foundation R.B. Group was not even an electronics-based company. They entered the
electronics market in 2000 when they started to import televisions, refrigerators, air-
conditioners. During this shift, they also started their own research and development to start
manufacturing one day.
Venturing Into Manufacturing
As a part of their continuous growth, R.B. Group established Walton Hi-tech Industries in 2007
and set up their first manufacturing plant in Gazipur in 2008. This was their first stepping stone
into manufacturing electronics first hand. However, they started off by light assembling of
televisions, refrigerators and motorbikes. They mainly started manufacturing refrigerators and
motorbikes in 2010. Walton also entered the smartphone market later that year.
Expansion
In 2017, Walton set up first compressor manufacturing plant in Bangladesh. This made
Bangladesh 15th in the world, and 8th in Asia to have a compressor manufacturing plant (Dhaka
Tribune, 2017). In a gradual process of expanding, they also set up their computer
manufacturing plant in 2018 and became the first Bangladeshi company to export laptops to
Nigeria (Eplaza Walton BD, n.d.). Walton expanded their export to over 34 countries including
Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy and Romania (The Business
Standard, 2024). In February 2020, Walton acquired a contract manufacturing license for
‘Made in Bangladesh’ smartphones with an undisclosed brand from USA.
Post COVID Progress
Although sales took a hit during the COVID, Walton has not stop expanding their business and
has acquired In April 2022, Walton took over three European brands, boosting its annual
compressor production to 4.8 million units. Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC declared the
acquisition of three additional brands, Zanussi Elettromeccanica (ZEM) and Verdichter (VOE),
Wanbao-ACC. In June 2022, Walton established a R&D center in South Korea (Dhaka
Tribune, 2022). In the same year, Walton set up first lift manufacturing plant in Bangladesh
and are working to finalize production.
Evaluation of Global Presence
Presence in Local Market
Walton is the market leader in the local market of Bangladesh with over 75% market share in
the refrigerator market, 50% market share in television market and 40% market share in the
air-conditioner market (Business Inspection, 2021). With the rising taxation of foreign products
and devaluation of taka, Walton is getting a unique advantage over foreign brands by offering
cheaper alternatives and more and more customers are being attracted. It is safe to say that
Walton will stay as the market leader here for a very long time.
Presence in Asian Market
Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd has opened branches or liaison offices in six countries,
including India, Nepal, the UAE and South Korea. Walton is regularly exporting products to
India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Qatar (Walton BD, n.d.).
Walton also set up a Research and Innovation Center in South Korea to improve the product
quality to international standard (Dhaka Tribune, 2022). These indicates the rapid and
successful spread of Walton across Asia.
Presence in European Market
Walton’s 95% of TV export earnings come from European market. Walton started to export
televisions to Denmark and Ireland in 2020 as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Since then, the demand for Walton television in European countries has gone up every year,
attracting more and more countries which is now at 14 including Germany, Denmark, Ireland,
Poland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy and Romania. Walton has exported TVs worth nearly $2.5
million to this market (The Business Standard, 2023). Walton also have been exporting
microwave ovens to Romania and Hungary since 2021 (The Daily Sun, 2021). In 2022, Walton
has acquired 3 European companies to boost their compressor production by 4.8 million (Tuhin
& Noyon, 2022). All this indicates that Walton’s commitment to constantly provide better
quality products is being gradually recognized, accepted and popularized in Europe.
Presence in African Market
Walton regularly exports product to Nigeria and West Africa (Walton BD, n.d.). Walton started
their journey in Africa by exporting laptops to Nigeria in 2018 (The Daily Star, 2018). Then
refrigerators and air-conditioners were also started to be exported. In March 2021, Walton
started to export to Mali and Senegal as OEM (The Business Standard, 2021). In May 2023,
Walton started export of Walton air-conditioners to Mali and Yemen (The Financial Express,
2023). Whilst the presence is not as strong as European or Asian market, the presence in Nigeria
and West Africa is consistent with gradual but constant expansion.
Presence in American Market
Walton became an OEM manufacturer of an undisclosed smartphone company in USA in 2020.
Walton made agreement with Amazon in 2019 to market ‘Made in Bangladesh’ products but
the results are nothing but void (The Daily Star, 2020). Therefore, Walton’s first move in USA
was a failure and they are yet to make another move in the market.
Assessment of Success
Financial Standpoint
From a financial standpoint, the growth of Walton has been astonishing from the beginning has
been astonishing. Since starting its manufacturing in 2010, Walton’s total sales have gone from
2.5 billion Tk. (Azam, Rahman, Zaman, Haque, & Saadat) to 663.74 billion Tk. in 2023.
However, it peaked in 2022 with 816 billion Tk. (The Wall Street Journal, n.d.). So, if we
assess from the beginning, financial growth of Walton has been a huge success. However, if
we take a look at the data from last 5 years, whilst Walton was on a gradual growth, it took a
big hit in 2020 and 2023.
Sales (BDT Million)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
However, both declines can be explained.
• 2020: Due to COVID
• 2023: Due to devaluation of Taka
Therefore, considering the state Walton’s financial growth has been on par with country’s
economy and net positive.
Growth Standpoint
Walton’s success is not just limited to Bangladeshi market and it is apparent from their
continuous expansion in foreign markets. Walton now exports their products to over 40
countries all over the world. Walton has established regular trades in India, Nepal, Bhutan,
Myanmar, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Mali, West Africa, Germany, Denmark,
Ireland, Poland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy and Romania as discussed in the ‘Evaluation of
Global Presence’ chapter.
Reputation Standpoint
o Brand Reputation: Walton when started had a bad reputation of being low quality but
they have slowly but surely changed that around. They have adopted a ‘quality first’
motto and have a ‘Quality Assurance’ division (Prothom Alo, 2021). This is observable
from their continuous growth in the market. Their alliances with foreign companies and
expansion into foreign countries only signify their reputation. However, this is
applicable for their home appliances, their computer and smartphone market reputation
has been weak and their presence there is constantly fading. A controversy around
marketing a membrane keyboard as a mechanical keyboard also raised people’s distrust
in Walton for computers (r/MechanicalKeyboards, 2021). However, from an overall
standpoint, considering home appliances are the main focus points of Walton, their
brand reputation is overall positive.
o Employer Reputation: Walton has a 30,000 strong workforce working across their
400 sales centers (Business Inspection, 2021) and 30 factories. Walton provides
excellent employee incentives such as free meal, bonuses which all escalate Walton’s
reputation as an employer. (Prothom Alo, 2021)
Awards:
o HSBS Export Award
o First Prize for General Pavilion Category, DITF-2019
o First Prize for Premier Pavilion Category, DITF-2019
o 2nd Prize for Highest VAT Payer, DITF-2019
o Best VAT Payer DITF-2019 Award from NBR
o The Golden Globe Tigers Summit Awards, 2015
o Global Brand Excellence Awards, 2014
o Bangladesh Master Brand
o 1st Prize for Highest VAT Payer, DITF-2018
(Walton BD Awards, n.d.)
All these awards only affirm Walton’s success as a brand.
Challenges
Challenge 1: Technological Advancements
The world of technology is rapidly changing and Walton has to constantly work on their R&D
to ensure they keep up with it.
Mitigation:
o Brought in experts from foreign country.
o Heavy investment in R&D every year (Recorded 81 million BDT in 2023). (The Wall
Street Journal, n.d.)
o Set up R&D center in Thailand, Germany (Crevar, Henze, Tun, Adhikari, & Jørgensen,
2019) & South Korea (Dhaka Tribune, 2022).
Challenge 2: Breaking into International Market
Electronics is a very competitive market and breaking into the market as a new company was
very challenging for Walton.
Mitigation:
o Heavy early investment into marketing whilst first entering Indian and Nepalian
market.
o Accepting contract manufacturing as OEM. ‘Through those contracts they were able to
get access to the latest technological knowledge, expand value chain and improve
management efficiency.’ (Crevar, Henze, Tun, Adhikari, & Jørgensen, 2019)
Challenge 3: Rupantor Controversy
In April 2024, Walton faced criticism for sponsoring a drama ‘Rupantor’ which allegedly
promotes transgendarism, LGBTQ+ rights. Due to demographic of Bangladesh, it is a serious
topic and hurt Walton’s brand image.
Mitigation:
o Took down the drama from internet.
o Sent legal notice to production company.
o Issued public apology for hurting sentiment and beliefs with offensive content and
assured it is against Walton’s policy.
Conclusion
Taking into account Walton’s journey as a group in 2007, it is incredible to see Walton come
so far ahead in 2024. Their success is nothing short of a miracle considering Bangladesh’s
technical and economic difficulties. The fact that they have been able to expand to over 40
countries is a testament to how well they are doing.
Other local electronics brands like Minister, Jamuna, Butterfly Rangs, VISION etc. have a lot
to learn from Walton considering Walton is the undisputed market leader. Here are the
implications of Walton’s story for other brands:
o Focusing on R&D: Walton has a huge focus and investment in R&D to keep itself ahead
of the competition.
o OEM Manufacturing: Walton focuses on contractual manufacturing for other brands to
get valuable industry insights, knowledge and connections.
o Maintaining Reputation: Walton has a huge focus on their reputation and have
dedicated divisions for each aspect related to maintaining reputation which has helped
them create a good brand image.
o Diversifying Offers: Walton offers a huge variety of products allowing them to cater to
a larger audience.
Bibliography
(n.d.). Retrieved from Walton BD: https://waltonbd.com/global-operation
(n.d.). Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/market-
data/quotes/BD/XDHA/WALTONHIL/financials/annual/income-statement
(2017, April 7). Retrieved from Dhaka Tribune:
https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/18106/walton-sets-up-first-ever-compressor-
manufacturing
(2018, March 22). Retrieved from The Daily Star:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/export/walton-export-laptops-nigeria-1551628
(2020, February 18). Retrieved from The Daily Star:
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1869784
(2021, November 17). Retrieved from Prothom Alo:
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ষ
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Crevar, K., Henze, M., Tun, P. P., Adhikari, Y., & Jørgensen, J. J. (2019, September 30).
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