An overview of a Conglomerate Company in Bangladesh
Company name: City Group
Course Outline: Principles of Management, Course Code: MGT 101
Section:06, Semester: Fall-24, Term paper: An overview of City Group
Submitted to: Abdullah Al Sayed
Lecturer, Department of Business Administration
East West University
Submitted by:
Group 4
Name
Nafis Ahmed
Sarkar Ziad Zafri
Sutapa Roy Arpa
Md. Sayedur Rahman
Maisha Alam
Marfia Alam Piya
Date of submission: 5th January, 2025
ID
2023-1-10-131
2022-3-10-168
2022-3-10-279
2022-2-10-034
2022-3-10-245
2023-1-10-063
Letter of transmittal
5th January, 2025
Abdullah Al Sayed
Lecturer, Department of Business Administration
East West University
A/2 Jahurul Islam Avenue, Dhaka 1212
Subject: A Term Paper on “An overview of a Conglomerate Company in Bangladesh”
Dear Sir,
We should like to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to create a term paper on the
overview of City Group company, which is conglomerate company. During the process of
preparing this term paper, we had the chance to learn a great deal about this prominent company.
We made every effort to collect and present all the necessary information comprehensively.
We acknowledge that there may be some errors in our findings and writings, but we endeavor to
provide the best work possible.
Sincerely
Nafis Ahmed
On behalf of the Group-04
Acknowledgement
Achieving success requires both support and effort. With the correct help, anyone may achieve
their goals, regardless of the obstacles we confront.
First and foremost, we would like to thank our honorable course instructor, Abdullah Al Sayed,
Lecturer in the Department of Business Administration at East West University, for allowing us to
observe and analyze such an important topic. From the term paper, we gain knowledge about
conglomerate company City Group. Sir’s instruction helps us a lot to prepare this term paper.
We also want to extend our appreciation to each member of our group.
Executive Summary
The term paper is about the overview of Bangladesh’s conglomerate company ‘City Group’.
City Group is a prominent conglomerate company of Bangladesh. It has great contribution in
Bangladesh’s industry and economy. This company has creative marketing approach. It has a rich
history. It has a diversified portfolio of brand and product. The term paper provides an overview
of this company.
Table of contents
1.Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..7
2.Objective of the study……………………………………………………………………………7
3.Limitations of the study………………………………………………………………………….7
4. Company overview
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Back ground ……………………………………………………………………………8
Vision & mission………………………………………………………………………..8
Organigram of company …………………………………………………………………..9
Sister concern and products………………………………………………………………10
Activities of Key Functional Department……………………………………………11
5.Main text-Analysis
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SWOT Analysis ………………………………………………………………………12
Marketing Strategies……………………………………………………………………13
Financial Condition……………………………………………………………………..14
Recruitment……………………………………………………………………………15
Contribution to the Economy of Bangladesh…………………………………………..17
CSR Activities……………………………………………………………………………18
Global Operations………………………………………………………………………..19
Exporting…………………………………………………………………………………19
6.Findings and discussion………………………………………………………………………..20
7.Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………21
8.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...22
9.Reference……………………………………………………………………………………23
10. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………24
Introduction
There are many conglomerate companies in Bangladesh. City group is one of them.The company started
its journey in 6th February,1972.It was established by Fazlur Rahman, a business magnet.In this term
paper, we will know about City Group’s business strategy,market condition and so many things.The
term will describe SWOT Analysis of City Group.Their mission vision etc.
Objectives of Study
1.Understand the SWOT Analysis of City Group.
2. City Group’s background, history
3. Understand Marketing strategy
4.Know about City group’s financial condition
5.City Group’s CSR activity
7.City Group’s initiative about international market.
Limitations of Study
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The lack of availability of enough information.
Complexity of information
Company Overview
City group is a Bangladeshi leading conglomerate. It began 52 years ago as a mustard oil
company venture under the City Oil Milles. The group has grown substantially over the period in
value creation and production. Presently it owns more than 40 major concerns located throughout
in Bangladesh each specialized in different products and services.
Background
City group was build by Fazlur Rahman a business magnate in the private sector of Bangladesh.
The journey of City group began by establishing oil mills on 6 February 1972 in Gandaria,
Dhaka. The group literally started from scraps. Starting with a single product (Mustard Oil), the
overwhelming demand for the product continued to expand into numerous industries. Like City
group started refining soyabean oil in 1992 in its new production unit. Then in 1995 they expand
it to consumer good “TEER” the first brand that includes Atta, Maida (Flour), Suji(semolina).
From 1999 to 2001 City group consecutively launched three sector, In 1999 City group
established Printing and packaging unit then 2000 started City Navigation to support carriage of
raw material from mother vassel to production unit lastly in 2001 jibon pure drinking water was
launched.
Vision, Mission and Core Values
Vision
Mission
To become leading Bangladeshi conglomerate Blending world class technology, innovation
in global arena operating responsibly and
and local entrepreneurship to provide
sustainably for making a better society.
hygiene, health and excellence to consumers.
Core Values
Innovation
Quality
Productivity
Accountability
Integrity
Team Work
Organigram Of City Group
Chairman (01)
Vice Chairman (01)
MD (01)
Director (04)
Deputy Sells Manager, National
Sells Manager, General
Manager.
Area Manager, Sales, &
Marketing (03)
Assistant Area Manager
Senior Zonal Executive
Zonal Executive
Zonal Officer
Senior Sells Representative
Sells Representative
Sister Concern and Products
Sister Concern-City Groups has over 40 sister concern Rupushi Foods LTD.
 Purbagaon Economic Zone.
 Hoshendi Economic Zone.
 Rupushi Flour Mills LTD.
 City Edible Oil LTD.
 Economic Zone Economic Zone LTD.
 City Auto Rice and dal Mills LTDE.
 Khan Brothers ship Building LTD.
 City Tea Estate LTD.
 Shampa Flour Mills LTD.
 Rahman Synthetics Ltd.
 C.S.I Power & Energy Ltd.
 City Sugar Industries.
 City Seed Crushing Industries Ltd.
 Deepa Food Products Ltd.
 City Feed Products
 VOTT Oil Refineries Ltd.
 Farzana Oil Refineries Ltd.
 Shampa Oil Mills Ltd.
 City PET Industries Ltd.
 City Navigation Ltd.
 Hasan Containers Ltd.
 Hasan Printing and Packaging.
 Hasan Flour Mills LTD.
 Hasan Plastic Industries Ltd.
 City Fibers Ltd.
 City Vegetable Oil Mills Ltd.
 City Oil Mill.
Products- City Group offers a diverse product portfolio, categorized into the following:
 Food Products:
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Teer Flour, Sugar, Edible Oil, Rice, Lentils, Candy Salt, Ready Mix Masala, Whole Spice
 Beverages:
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Bengal Premium Tea and Jibon Mineral Water
 Consumer Goods:
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Detergents, Handwash
 Animal Feed & Agro Products:
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Teer Soya Bean, Feed
 Industrial Solutions:
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Packaging and Printing, Power Plants
Activities of Key Functional Department
The organizational Structure of City Group in Bangladesh typically follows a common structure
in corporations. Here are the broad steps:
1.Board of Directors: At the top of the hierarchy is the Board of Directors, responsible for
strategic decision-making and governance.
2. Chairman/Chairperson: The Chairman leads the Board, providing direction and oversight.
3. Chief Executive Officer (CEO): The CEO is responsible for the overall management of the
company, implementing the Board's decisions, and ensuring the company s success.
4. Production and quality Control Manager/ Team Leaders-Ensures products meet strict quality
and safety standards.
5.Research and development 7 Human Resource : Innovates new products. Recruits and trains
employees
6.Finance and budget-Manages budget, investment and financial reporting.
7. Employees/Staff: At the base of the hierarchy are the employees who carry out
the tasks necessary for the organization's functioning.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is the overall evaluation of a company’s strength, weakness, opportunities and
threat.
SWOT means
S: Strength
W: Weakness
O: Opportunity
T: Threat
Strength:
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Goodwill: City Group has a good will of business.
Experience: City group is an old company with more than 40 years of experience.
Financial position: City Group has strong financial position in market. It’s export import
turnover was USD 224.3 billion tk in 2023-24 fiscal year.
Weakness:
 Inventory management: Inventory management for a company that deal with FMCG
is very hard. Because there are many kinds of products that have to be marketed to the
consumers very fast and even a slight delay of any kind can result in huge loss. (Sharif
Mahmud,2018)
 Controversy related with quality control: City Group’s chairman, Fazlur Rahman,
faced arrest warrant issued by Chittagong court in July 2022. The allegation was about
‘Teer’ branded oil’s quality. BSTI said that, this oil did not meet the requirement. The
requirement was Vitamin A fortification standards. So, we can say, City group has
quality control issue.(Sakib Al Nayeem,2019)
Opportunity:
 Market niche: City Group targets all types of people of Bangladesh. So,it created market
niche to serve individual people’s different choice.First, it will fill up the needs of the
individual customers.
 Build strong customer awareness: City group has a lot of products and brands. But many
products and brand is not known to many people.But putting some effort on brand awareness
can attract new and diverse customers. .(Sakib Al Nayeem,2019)
Threats:
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Global Market challenges:
Changes in global price, foreign countries business law and regulations, supply chain
disruptions can give City group hard time.
 Economic Instability: Political disturbance leads to economic instability. Inflation,
Currency depreciation are potential threats for City group
Marketing Strategies:
Marketing strategy contains four things;Pricing, distribution, promotion, product line.
Pricing: A company has to set up price for its product. The pricing policy should satisfy the customers
customers in a profitable way.City Group goes for total pricing strategy as well as separate pricing
strategy. Pricing is done on the basis of the existing competitive products. Because if the price is higher
than the competitive brands product than customers will buy the competitive brands products. Also it
should not be too less. Less price is only applicable for the starting level of company, because they need
to capture the market. And City company is already established company.
Distribution: There is a series of marketing intermediaries between City Group and customers.The
supply chain is well constructed. City Group has strong distribution facility because of effective supply
chain system.
Promotion: Successful marketing campaign can promote brand awareness. Promotion mix is a mix of
personal selling, direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion. City group promotes its product through
these promotion mix elements.
Product line strategy: Product line contains three categories; length, width, depth. Three categories
identify the product difference and homogeneity. The length of a product portfolio is the total number
of items in the mix. Width is the number of items in the mix. Depth is the number of variants in each
product. City group also has these three categories in product portfolio.
Financial Condition of City Group Bangladesh:
City Group is a large business group in Bangladesh. We have already talked about its various
types of business portfolio, now it's time to highlight the financial statement of City Group.
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Total Investments: 663,315,559
Total Cost: 10,975,647,047
Total Written Down Value: 5,555,753,013
Total Current Asset:3,579,152,345
Total Liability :3,518,173,148
This figure reflects the financial statement of City Group Bangladesh. For better understanding
and detailed information you can refer to City Group official annual report 2023.
Recruitment of city group:
City group is one of the largest business groups in Bangladesh and it is well known for its
different types of business portfolio such as manufacturing,consumer goods and trading to
services.The requirement process of city group is structured faithfully to attract,access and retain
top hardworking,creative and talented people in such competitive job market.By highlighting it's
strategic planning,execution and key factors, a detailed overview of requirement process of
group Bangladesh will be provided by this term paper.
1.Overview of City Group Bangladesh:
Fazlur Rahman began the journey of the city group in February 6,1972 with the establishment of
City Oil Mills.It has now developed into a combination of operating access in various
factors.City group operations has covered various sectors including consumer goods,industrial
manufacturing, services and others.
2.Objectives of City Group’s requirement:
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Identifying and attracting talented individuals who can fit the company's and culture.
following steps like understanding business goals,identifying skill gaps,adopting
challenges quickly to meet the strategic workforce need of an organisation.
Ensure inclusion in the workforce by setting clear goals,creating welcoming culture,fair
policies and benefits,seeking feedback, educating,training and reviewing.
Promote initial talent for career progressing such as transparent job postings,skill
mappings,upskilling opportunities and more.
3.Stages in requirement process of City group:
A.In this stage Human Resource (HR) professionals collaborate with department heads to:
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They identify current and future manpower needs.
They also define the rules,regulations and required qualifications for each position.
They made a requirement calendar for hiring.
B.To advertise job vacancies, ensuring maximum reach City Group uses of multiple channels.
These include:
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Company Website:City Group’s official career portal provides job updates.
Social Media Platform:LinkedIn,
Facebook, is the form of social media through which they provide job updates.
Newspaper Advertisement:Reputed Bangladeshi newspaper is one of the major sources
of advertising.
Campus Recruitment Drive:The company visits top universities to recruit new
graduates.
C.Candidates can apply for given positions via the companies online application system or
email.the required documents are:
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CV or updated resume.
Cover letter adjusts to the job description.
Educational and professional certificates.
D.The HR team conducts shortlisted candidates.Key criterias are:
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Educational qualifications.
Relevant work experience.
Coordinate with job requirements.
Leadership potential.
E.Shortlisted candidates after give written exams, to evolute their:
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Technical knowledge which is related to their job.
Problem solving and analytical thinking
Language proficiency, communication skills both in English and Bangla.
F.Shortlisted candidates go through interview after written exams.Which involves:
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Preliminary Interview: HR team conduct to access personality,
motivation and cultural fit.
Technical Interview:This is managed by the respective department.
Final Interview:It involves senior management for final evaluation.
G.Once candidate is selected,City Group conducts a detailed background to verify:
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Educational certificate.
Employment history.
Reference provided by the candidates.
H.After successful completion of the selection process an official job offer is extended. the offer
includes:
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Job designation.
Compensation package on benefit.
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Employment term and conditions.
Expected joining date.
I.City group has designed an on boarding process to familiarize new hires with company's
culture, operation and policy.It includes:
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Orientation program.
Departmental introductions.
Training session.
4.City Group’s key feature of requirement:
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Ensures that the entire process is clear and fair for all candidates.
The company highlights hiring individuals who are skillful, motivated and aligned with
the company's value.
The requirement process involves online platforms and tools to make the application and
assessment procedure smooth.
5.Challenges in Recruitment Process:
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There is always a high competition between top talents in the market.
Retaining employees in a competitive job outlook.
Ability to balance both the and modern recruitment practice.
This term paper outlines the recruitment process of City Group Bangladesh.
Contribution of City Group to the Economy of Bangladesh
City Group is one of the largest groups in Bangladesh. City Group started its journey in 1972.
This group has various sub-groups like Teer,City Rice and Dal Mill,City Oil Mill,City Sugar
Industry,City Oil Mill,City Seed Crushing Industry City Steel Industry,City power generation
Company, City Feeds Ltd,City Fiber etc and over a hundred diversified and market-active
products. Due to the vast market presence of City Group, it plays a significant role in the
economy of Bangladesh.As a result, Bangladesh's progress has been increasing day by day.The
notable aspects that we will discuss which will impact on City Group's economic contribution in
Bangladesh are Employment Generation,Industrial Development,Contribution to GDP,Export
Revenue,Ensuring Food Security,Infrastructure and Logistic.The following points have been
discussed in this regard:
1. Employment Generation:
In terms of employment generation, City Group plays a very important role. Bangladesh is a
densely populated country, with its population being much higher than the land area. Due to this
large population, the number of unemployed people in Bangladesh is also very high, as the
demand for workers is much lower than the available workforce. City Group stands against this
massive issue because it employs 15,000 direct employees and many indirect employees.They
have created opportunities for both skilled and unskilled workers.City Group not only assigns
skilled workers to their company but also trains candidates through proper training programs to
make them suitable for the work before hiring them.Local farmers are a major source of raw
materials for City Group. Thousands of farmers see the benefits through indirect earnings as City
Group works to improve their livelihoods as well as socio-economic development.
2. Industrial Development:
City Group is playing a crucial role in industrial development through its 40 business units,
which produce consumer goods such as edible oil, sugar, flour, rice, tea, etc.City Group's modern
production facilities and investment in advanced technologies are not only increasing the
country's productivity but also reducing dependence on imports, making efforts toward
becoming self-sufficient.This group is working towards modernizing agricultural-based
industries by creating value chains.City Group's main focus is diversification, which enhances
the competitiveness of Bangladesh's industrial sector.
3. Contribution to GDP:
GDP or Gross Domestic product is the total value of all of its domestic product that made within
the country boarder in a specific period of time.City Group in Bangladesh plays a significant role
in the country's GDP. Most of the essential products of City Group are agriculture-based, which
are produced as a result of the relentless hard work of the country's skilled farmers. This vast
amount of locally produced goods is contributing to increasing the GDP and helping to build a
prosperous nation.
4. Export Revenue:
City Group maintains a sharp focus on foreign revenue generation. The group consistently
prioritizes producing high-quality products. On one hand, they deliver high-quality products, and
on the other hand, they offer a variety of products, including edible oil, flour, sugar, and
packaged food items that are popular in many of the countries and continent.Exporting a huge
quantity of product city group earned a huge export revenue that enhance the trade balance of
bangladesh that important for economic growth.City group is the high class exporter that export
with loyalty.As a result country’s reputation and growth is also increasing steadily.
5. Ensuring Food Security:
City group is highly aware in maintaining their food security.City group has vast of consuming
packaged foods for the human being.The group's strict directive is to maintain the proper quality
and nutrition of food products.They also maintain the direction that are ruled by the country's
law.City group generally used certified and approved food added colour with no preservative.this
is very challenging on the perspective of the country because country's law is very weak.As a
result most of the company doesn’t maintain the food laws and rules.But City Group is a
domestic as well as exporting group also.they are also loyal for the customer.As a result they
highly maintain they rules and regulations everyday.
CSR Activities of City Group
City Group is actively working on CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility)activities.To
sustain and for the word of mouth amd after even thinking about the country’s people
City group is highly aware on the CSR activities.It's CSR activities has different sectors
like education,sports,community development,Culinary initiative and environmental
sustainability.
1.Educational Support:City group made their contribution in education.In Bangladesh,there are huge children
those are unable to be educated due to under poverty.City group are contributing along
with the NGO's to educate these kinds of underprivileged children.Notably,City group
made their monetary contribution for the students of Dhaka University to stand with the
brilliant poor students.
2.Sports Development:
City group is highly committed with the archery fedaration of bangladesh.They launched “Teer
Go for Gold”. their main aim is to achieve gold medal in Olympic.Their 5 years commitment
helped in the archery sector beacuse of the contribution.For the contribution bangladesh archery
Federation able to hire international coach and qualityful equipments.Roman Sana is the
achievement of this bdchause she directly qualified in Tokyo Olympic in 2020.
3.Community Engagement:16 th May is the birthday of chairman of city group named Mr. Fazlur Rahman and this day is
denokinated as “Thank you day”.On this day city group provides gatitude to their valuable
stakeholders and do many CSR activities and contribute with the society.
4.Culinary Initiatives:
To find out the culunary talent City Group made a culinary operation named by “Teer Little
Chef” and “Teer Advanced Kitchen”.” Teer Little Chef” is available for 12-16 years children to
avail their talent and motivated them by cirtificates,trophies,prize money and crests.In
addition,”Teer Advance Kitchen” is a television reality show where set a ordinary kitchen to
cook with host and one home maker guest or celebrity to encourage the other home makers.
Global Operations of City Group
City Group has a diverse portfolio of businesses that operate both within Bangladesh and
internationally. It is operating it’s work in different key sectors, like- food production, edible oil
processing, flour milling, consumer goods, packaging, and more.
1) Economic Zones: After observing the potential in its two already operational economic zones, City
Group has embarked on its third venture – the Purbagaon Economic Zone – in full swing to attract
substantial investment from both home and abroad.
2) Infrastructure and Technological Investment:City group made a partnership with Asian
Development Bank(ADB) to build energy-efficient oilseed crushing plant to support food security in
Bangladesh.
3) Sustainability Efforts: City Group is focusing on integrating sustainability by its operations, with
specific steps and their aim is to reducing carbon emissions in manufacturing and improving energy
efficiency across its industrial units .
Export :
City group is one of the largest exporter company of Bangladesh.They export different types of products
like-edible oil.
1) Sugar Exports: City Group was gIven permission by the Bangladesh government to export sugar,
marking an important achievement in the company’s export journey in 2017.As their production of
sugar is sufficient, they are exporting it.
2) Food Products and Edible Oils: City Group exports a large number of food products, specially edible
oils, to different countries.They also export-Soyabean oil,Mustard oil,Canola oil,Palm olein,Whole wheat
atta and many other products. The company focuses on maintaining high product quality to fulfil
international market standards.
3)Global Presence: City Group’s export activities are mainly dependent by its broad network of
suppliers, logistics infrastructure, and global partnerships. Their products are found in many countries,
to compete in international markets .
Findings
1)Different CSR Activities: City group focusing on different CSR activities likeeducation,sports,community development and culinary initiatives.They give financial support to the
Dhaka University’s poor students.They also work with different NGOs.
2)Strategic focus on sports:They made a partnership with Bangladesh Archery Federation.Their vision
is to achieve success in Olympic games.
3)Community Engagement:They observe a special day which name is “Thank You Day” which
indicates that they are focusing on stakeholdes appreciation.
4)Swot Analysis Summary:
1)Strengths:They have a strong market goodwill,extensive experience and strong financial performance.
2)Weakness:They have a challenges in inventory management and quality control issues.
3)Opprtunities:Rising brand awareness can increase their growth.
4)Threats:They have many strong competitors.
5)Quality Control Issues:There was a allegation of “Teer” branded oil.This indicates that they
need to improve their product quality.
6)Culinary and Cultural Contributions:Different TV shows like-“Teer Little Chef” and “Teer
Advanced Kitchen” not only promote culinary talent but also increase brand value and customer
engagement.
Discussion
City group’s CSR activities and economic growth are balanced.Because of investing in
eduacation and sports their goodwill is increasing.However, they have challenges in inventory
management and product quality.Their strong financial position and extensive experience allow
them to contribute in CSR activities.The company have to focus on brand awareness.They have
to focus on their product quality to avoid controversy.If they don’t do that they will loss
customers trust.
Recommendation
City group selling their products only to the customer market. They can expand their business to
to business market eg. Real Estate Companies. As a result, it will increase their market share. They
can also put more focus on international market. They can provide after sells service such as
warranty, provide help line number. They can introduce installment system to their customer. They
should focus on building customer loyalty. Their customer loyalty can be increase by giving them
discount cards while buying items of the company. City group should increase their promotional
activities. They should market their product through creativity.City group need to build unique
competitive strategy,if they want to outsmart the competitors.
Conclusion
It is impossible to have a crystal clear idea of a big company within a short time. City group has
so many potential to become iconic industry in Bangladesh. City group has diversified brand
portfolio. It has a strong position in stock market. The company should focus on product quality.
City group gives so many people jobs, decreases unemployment. It has lot of contribution in
Bangladesh economy.
References
Arif, H.(2023,August 10)
Assignment on Marketing Activities of City Group.
Academia.edu
https://www.academia.edu
Mahmud, S(2018, March 05)
City Group, direct marketing, SCRIBED.COM
https://www.scribed.com
Dhaka tribune.(2023,October 17)
https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/328304/city-group-wants-to-export-its-surplus-sugar
Nayeem, Sakib(2020,N.D)
Qualitative analysis of City Groups marketing strategies and CSR activity for Teer
Brac University
http://hdl.handle.net/10361/14010
The Business standard.(2024,March 5)
https://www.tbnews.net/bangladesh/city-group-wants-to-export-its-surplus-sugar
Appendix
City Group was recognized by Saskatchwan Pulse Growers, Canada in 2009.City Group also
received Best brand Award many times in different categories..TEER got prestigious brands of
Asia in 2017-18 .