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Established in 2017, Apon Wellbeing is an omnichannel marketplace with low-income industrial workers as its focus group. They sell their merchandise and provide services mainly to these workers, usually at lower prices to help them save money and gain access to goods and services at much lower costs than average.
Apon Wellbeing is based out of Bangladesh and was founded in 2017 to make a difference for the underprivileged. Founded by Saif Rashid, Apon wellbeing mostly works with textile factories to open up fair price shops inside the factory premises. Their main target demographic is the ready-made garment factory workers who make low wages that generally leave them with less disposable income if any.
Their fair price shops sell items at up to 10% lower rates than the open market, leaving the workers with more disposable income from the money that they save. They also offer zero cash health insurance coverage and benefits, as well as loyalty points. As most workers in this industry are not generally covered by health insurance due to a lack of access, Apon is helping a lot of labourers in this regard. The loyalty points also offer them an incentive to purchase goods as well as help them gain assisted access to healthcare.
It is the usual pattern that any company that prioritizes service and their customers over profit may find it hard to last in a competitive market. To counter this trend, the company must have a solid business model as well as the loyalty of their customers to ensure success. This is where Apon Wellbeing shines as a great example of making real changes as a successful business.
The company negotiates with traders for better prices for their goods so that they can sell at lower rates to workers. They also negotiate with insurance companies to give them access to coverage, as well as factory owners to lend them space for their stores. All this allows them to focus more on their customer base, providing them with cheaper, better services.
Apon wellbeing has taken strides in bringing real change to their industry, along with the quality of life of their customers. Using their stores, workers can purchase essentials for cheaper rates, and gain access to healthcare services that they previously were either unaware of or could not avail. They are also benefiting economically, with much more disposable income left for other spending or savings. This has garnered them much respect and acceptance from the industry giants.
Some of their recent achievements include winning the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier challenge in 2020, with a prize of 75,000 euros. This was in recognition of the company’s efforts to help the lower-tier workers of the fashion industry. They also acknowledged their grassroots efforts to make the industry more inclusive, sustainable and to transform the industry for the better with their innovations. They also managed to secure a $100,000 grant at the 2020 Dubai Expo. This would allow them to expand their enterprise.
They opened their 16th fair price outlet at Saturn Textiles Ltd. As the company grows, they aim to impact more families and help more workers improve their quality of life.