Plastic and household goods shop

About the business

Buckets, mugs, jugs, chairs, tables, bowls, dinner sets, water tanks, tiffin boxes and the small things a kitchen runs on. Stock comes from domestic factories - RFL, Bengal, and the many brands of the PRAN-RFL group. The selling price is printed by the factory: every item carries a maximum retail price and that is what the customer reads. On 16 September 2026, on PRAN-RFL's own online store, a 36-piece opal dinner set listed at Tk 4,190 and sold at Tk 3,855; a Sera 500-litre water tank listed at Tk 5,400 and sold at Tk 5,130; a 25-litre thermal ice box was Tk 1,880 and a six-compartment fridge storage box Tk 176. One thing needs saying plainly. Dealership terms and the commission rate are set by the manufacturer, but neither RFL nor Bengal nor PRAN publishes that rate anywhere. So before opening the shop you cannot know what you keep on each sale; you find out sitting with a company sales representative, and unless it is in writing it can change later. On top of that the manufacturer sells through its own online store and its own showrooms at 5 to 8 percent below the printed price, which makes your supplier your competitor.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• From cheap everyday items (buckets, mugs, jugs, bowls, tiffin boxes, hangers) up to costly ones (36-piece dinner set Tk 3,855-4,190, 500-litre water tank Tk 5,130-5,400, 25-litre ice box Tk 1,880). Every size and colour of an item has to be on the shelf.Starting stock
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, non-judicial stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee. Issued in 3-5 working days, renewed yearly.Licence
• A Tax Identification Number (TIN) from the National Board of Revenue, needed for a dealership or any factory agreement. VAT registration may also apply by size of business, but the VAT rate applicable to retail of these goods could not be verified here.Licence
• Tracking how fast each item turns. There is nothing to do about price here - the factory prints it - so profit comes from picking the fast movers and not taking in dead stock.Skill
• Domestic factories or their distributors: RFL (PRAN-RFL Group), Bengal Plastics and PRAN. RFL runs its own household, kitchenware, furniture and home decor and toy ranges, and its own Best Buy and exclusive franchise outlets.Supplier
• A market-facing shop with tall shelving and hanging hooks inside. The goods are light but bulky, so height matters more than floor area.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Take a shop inside the market or on the road leading to it. These goods are light but bulky - chairs, tanks and buckets need height to hang and stack.
2. 2Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and a TIN from NBR. A factory will ask for both before giving a dealership.
3. 3Decide whether to become a dealer or simply buy from a local distributor. A dealership gets the factory rate but usually carries a minimum monthly offtake condition.
4. 4Sit with the company's sales representative and get four things in writing: your buying price, the list price, the credit period and the territory. No manufacturer publishes these rates, so do not open on a verbal promise.
5. 5Before taking stock, check whether that factory already has its own showroom or exclusive outlet in your area. If it does, your supplier is your competitor.
6. 6Start the first stock with cheap everyday items - buckets, mugs, jugs, bowls, tiffin boxes. They turn fast and cover the shop's running cost.
7. 7Keep only a few of the big, costly items - water tanks, dinner sets, plastic wardrobes - and order them in when someone asks. One tank alone locks up more than Tk 5,000.
8. 8Sell against the maximum retail price printed on the item. The customer already knows that number, so there is less haggling - but you also cannot go above it.
9. 9Write down how long each item takes to sell. Ask at the dealership stage whether stock that has not moved in three months can be returned or exchanged.
10. 10In the wedding and function season, set out dinner sets, cookware and gift packs separately: that is where the year's big sales happen.
11. 11Line up regular supply to nearby small hotels, tea stalls, schools and offices, but put the credit terms in writing.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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