Skip to content
  • Our data is copyright protected — copying without permission is prohibited
  • We handle no money, ever
  • No business is promoted for payment
  • Tell us if something is wrong — we check and fix it
AyRojgar

Electrical goods shop

A retail shop selling cable, switches, sockets, holders, lamps and fans. Fifty of the 315 products on BSTI's mandatory certification list are electrical, and selling uncertified cable brings a fine and a sealed shop.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Electrical goods shop

Electrical goods shop

Starting capital
৳2,50,000 – ৳15,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
1 – 5 people
First sale
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
14 – 36 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Shop · Medium difficulty

About the business

The goods look small but the rules here are the tightest of any shop trade. BSTI's list of 315 products under mandatory certification marks has a whole section for electrical and electronic products, fifty items. It includes PVC insulated cables non-armoured for power and lighting (BDS 900:2010), insulated flexible cords in six parts (BDS 899), cross-linked polyethylene insulated cables (BDS 1521), electric circulating fans and regulators (BDS 818:1998), electronic fan regulators (BDS 1323:1991), cut-out or main switches (BDS 1395:1993), switches for household fixed installations (BDS IEC 60669 Part 1:2018), plugs and socket-outlets (BDS IEC 60884), circuit-breakers for over-current protection (BDS IEC 60898 Part 1:2016), tungsten filament lamps (BDS 17:2006), self-ballasted fluorescent lamps (BDS IEC 60968:2022) and ceiling roses. Nearly the whole shelf is inside the mandatory list, and uncertified stock on it is the shop's liability. On 21 July 2022 at Nawabpur electric market in Dhaka a retail shop was fined Tk 10,000 for selling counterfeit branded cable while the maker was fined Tk 1,00,000 and ordered shut. In December 2022 a BSTI mobile court fined a cable factory Tk 25,000 under the BSTI Act 2018 and Tk 20,000 under the Weights and Measures Standards Act 2018 for making counterfeit PVC insulated cable, and sealed it. The counterfeit trade is entrenched: in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar, Lalbagh, Islambagh, Imamganj and Nawabpur, 112 counterfeit factories were sealed in two years. Duties are high too: cable and wire 25%, other switches 25%, lamp-holders 25%, filament and tube lamps 25%, but LED lamps 10% and automatic circuit breakers 5%.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳1,48,095 – ৳5,86,210Editorial estimate
Selling price৳3,090 – ৳8,490 / unitMarket quote
Variable cost৳2,472 – ৳7,811 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin8% – 20%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue15 – 60 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time14 – 36 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle30 – 90 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss1% – 3%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity6 – 23Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A measuring rod and cutter for cable, a multimeter or tester, a short ladder, and a sales register recording which batch of cable went where.Equipment
  • BSTI-certified electrical goods. The main mandatory items: PVC insulated cables BDS 900:2010, insulated flexible cords BDS 899 (six parts), XLPE insulated cables BDS 1521, fans and regulators BDS 818:1998, electronic fan regulators BDS 1323:1991, cut-out switches BDS 1395:1993, household switches BDS IEC 60669 (Part 1):2018, plugs and socket-outlets BDS IEC 60884, circuit-breakers BDS IEC 60898 (Part 1):2016, tungsten filament lamps BDS 17:2006, self-ballasted fluorescent lamps BDS IEC 60968:2022.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. Dhaka North: online application, issued in 3 working days, renewed in 2. The fee is set under section 10(4) of the City Corporation Model Tax Schedule 2016; the amount could not be read from our source. Renewed each financial year.Licence
  • An understanding of load: which cable size and which breaker for how many amperes. Selling the wrong size starts fires, and the shop shares the blame.Skill
  • Certified makers or their distributors, plus a copy of the BSTI CM licence for each line. Customs duty: wire and cable 25%, other switches 25%, lamp-holders 25%, fuses 25%, LED lamps 10%, automatic circuit breakers 5%.Supplier
  • A street-front shop with wall racks and space to hang cable coils. It must stay dry: damp ruins cable insulation and metal parts.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. In Dhaka North the application is online and takes 3 working days; renewal takes 2.
  2. 2Find out first which goods are on BSTI's mandatory list. Section E of BSTI's 315-product list carries 50 electrical items: cable, flexible cord, switches, plugs and sockets, circuit breakers, fans, regulators, lamps and ceiling roses.
  3. 3Ask the supplier for a copy of the BSTI CM licence for every line you buy, and check the mark on the packet. That paper is what stands up in a drive.
  4. 4Be especially careful with cable. Counterfeit branded cable is an old problem in this market, and cable that is unusually cheap means less copper inside.
  5. 5Choose a location on the electricians' and contractors' route. Much of this trade comes through the electrician, not straight from the householder.
  6. 6Weight the opening stock towards small fast movers: cable, holders, switches, sockets, LED lamps. Keep fans and costly breakers thin and build them up as demand shows.
  7. 7Measure accurately when cutting cable by the yard. The Weights and Measures Standards Act carries its own penalty; one factory was fined Tk 20,000 under it.
  8. 8Set and record a credit limit for electricians and contractors. You get paid after the contractor gets paid for the wiring.
  9. 9Bring fans in before the hot months. Money locked in fans all year is money not available for the rest of the stock.
  10. 10Settle the returns rule with the supplier before you buy. A burnt-out fan or a failed breaker that will not be taken back is the shop's loss.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarHigh
  4. AprHigh
  5. MayHigh
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulLow
  8. AugLow
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · Imported cable and components come in through the port and there is a great deal of wiring work in the city.
  • Strong fitDhaka · Nawabpur electric market is the country's main wholesale market for electrical goods, with Chawkbazar, Lalbagh and Imamganj supplying around it.
  • Strong fitGazipur · Garment factories and workers' housing keep expanding, so there is new wiring work all year.
  • Strong fitNarayanganj · Dense with both factories and housing, with a separate demand for industrial cable and breakers.
  • PossibleBogura · The commercial hub of the north, spreading goods to the surrounding districts.
  • PossibleCumilla · A large highway market from which electricians in the surrounding upazilas buy.
  • PossibleKhulna · A divisional city from which the surrounding upazilas' retail shops take stock.
  • PossibleMymensingh · A new divisional city with public and private building work under way.
  • PossibleRangpur · A divisional city where demand for cable and switches has grown as village electrification spread.
  • PossibleSylhet · Remittance-funded house-building keeps demand for new wiring up.

Risks and cautions

  • HighCompliance: Selling uncertified or counterfeit electrical goods is an offence and the shop gets caught with the maker. On 21-07-2022 at Nawabpur electric market the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate fined a shop Tk 10,000 and the maker Tk 1,00,000 for counterfeit branded cable and ordered the maker's operations suspended. On 18-12-2022 at Kadamtoli a BSTI mobile court fined a cable factory Tk 25,000 under the BSTI Act 2018 and Tk 20,000 under the Weights and Measures Standards Act 2018 for counterfeit PVC insulated cable, and sealed it. Both reports are more than twelve months old.
  • HighDependency: Counterfeit cable is widespread and the cheap cable is what sells. In Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar, Lalbagh, Islambagh, Imamganj and Nawabpur, 112 counterfeit factories were sealed over two years, 173 people were jailed and Tk 6.15 crore in fines was collected, yet the workshops reopen soon after paying. A shopkeeper who buys without checking the certificate is the last link that gets caught.
  • MediumWorking capital: Filling the racks means carrying many small lines: every cable size, every switch, every holder, every breaker rating. Each is cheap but together they tie up the cash, and the size nobody asks for sits there for years. A coil of heavy-gauge cable holds the most money of all.
  • MediumDemand: The trade rises and falls with new wiring work. When building slows, cable sales fall straight away, and fan sales bunch into the hot months, so the money in fans sits on the shelf for the rest of the year.

Sources

What changed

No corrections have been published yet.

Questions and answers

No questions yet. Be the first to ask.

Similar businesses

Retail & wholesale

Rice wholesale trading

Buying rice by the sack at the mokam and selling it to retail shops. Dhaka wholesale coarse rice is Tk 43-45 against Tk 50-55 retail, but the wholesaler keeps only 50 paisa to one taka a kilo.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Second-hand book shop

Buying used books and selling them on. In the Purana Paltan market in Dhaka used books went at roughly Tk 20-30 a book in May 2024. In Nilkhet shop rents ran from Tk 12,000 to Tk 50,000 a month on advances of Tk 2 lakh to Tk 8 lakh.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳9.5 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
3 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Cosmetics shop

A retail shop for creams, shampoo, face wash and make-up. At least 18 cosmetic categories are on BSTI's mandatory list, and uncertified or undocumented imported stock is the shopkeeper's liability.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
1 – 5
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Optical shop (spectacles)

Buying frames and lenses and assembling spectacles over the counter. A complete ordinary pair retails at Tk 649 to Tk 5,400 (online prices, 21 Sep 2026). No BSTI certificate is needed; the trade licence is the only paper.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate