One of Bangladesh’s most prominent businessmen, Raihan Zaman is known to be the man with the Midas touch, for whatever he dabbles in, turns to gold. As CEO of the Utshob Group, which is one of the most prosperous conglomerates of Bangladesh, Mr Zaman has strategically placed the company right on top of the ladder. Currently, Utshob Group under Mr Zaman’s able leadership is operating in 45 countries, with its headquarters in New York, USA and a corporate office in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Bangladesh. He is the mastermind behind the fabulous Utshob.com – the first cross-border e-commerce of Bangladesh which has created magic in the e-commerce segment. The history of Utshob Group dates back to 2005 when Utshob.com was born. Now, the group is running 18 corporate units in nine countries and 10 corporate buildings. So what is the group known for? Utshob Group has been marketing high-end cosmetics, lifestyle and electronics consumers products, Business solutions, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture business, IT solutions, Courier business, Creative Advertising solution and many more to B2C and B2B. Moreover, the group is performing its CSR activities through its own foundation – Utshob Foundation. Indeed their corporate strategy which emphasizes efficiency, convenience, innovation, and superior customer satisfaction, is par excellence. Indeed, Mr Zaman is known as one of the top businessman simply because he makes sure that customer satisfaction is top priority. Today his venture the very glamorous and stunning Khubsuurat.com caters for plus sized woman, a sector much neglected. Thanks to his foresight, women of all sizes and shapes can find the most well-designed, beautiful and stunning ensembles to look their very best. Kudos to the very charming and able Raihan Zaman who talks to Stardust about his winning ventures Utshob.com, Khubsuurat.com and more…

Please give us some information about your background – your education/ experience before you started Utshob. com?
I came to the United States to pursue my higher studies in 1993. I started gaining popularity after joining Hillside Honda in New York as a sales representative. Soon I became one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Riding on my previous reputation, I embarked on this project of utshob.com, one of the first platforms of Utshob Group.

Which year did you start utshob.com?
The journey of Utshob.com started in the year 2005.

Under the Utshob umbrella, what are the different businesses that you are involved in?
We have 18 concerns running all under one umbrella of Utshob Group. We have a wide range of different businesses such as high end cosmetic and lifestyle products retailer, clothing retailer, business solutions, agriculture development, courier service, advertising agency, e-magazine, charitable foundation, and much more.

Which other countries do you have business operations other than USA and Bangladesh? Do you have branch offices in other countries?
Utshob group is currently working in 45 countries and has its headquarters in New York, USA. It also has corporate offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Bangladesh.

What was the idea/vision behind starting Khubsuurat.com?
The idea/vision behind our initiative was to provide all beautiful plus-sized ladies around the world with high-end and fashionable clothing crafted to fit them like a custom-tailored glove at reasonable prices that makes them feel exquisite, graceful and serene in their own skin. And we seek to bring the finesse of these ensembles into your personal wardrobe located in any corner of the world.

Please explain the concept of Khubsuurst. com?
At Utshob Group, we are constantly finding new ways to solve the problems of people in different paths of life. We realized that there’s a gap in the clothing industry for plus- sized women. Therefore, we wanted to bridge this particular gap and provide them with beautiful traditional outfits tailored to perfection.

Do you think there is not much choice for women in readymade traditional wear for plus and plus size women?
In readymade traditional wear, there is a great disparity in terms of different body types. In most cases, they have only 2 or 3 basic dress sizes catered to fit all body types. Therefore, plus sized women suffer a great deal because they can never purchase their desired outfits due to the lack of the right size.

What is the procedure and timeline once the customer places the order on Khubsuurat.com?
The customer needs to place their order through our website. They can add their desired specifications for the dress through the website. After an order is placed the tailored dress will take 15 to 20 days to reach the customer.

What choice do you have for selection of fabric?
We provide our customers with a wide range of fabric to choose for that can be used for any occasion. The types of fabric we have available are georgette, cotton, net, art silk, velvet, chiffon, organza, masoori silk, chanderi and lawn.

How do your tailors take measurements for stitching?
Our customers provide us with their desired measurements while ordering through the website. Later the measurements are provided to the tailor to get the best customized results.

Where do you stand in terms of pricing? Is it more expensive as it is custom made?
We have kept our pricing quite standard by keeping the current market in mind. The fact that our dresses are specially tailored to our customer’s choices does not affect our pricing policy. Even with our tailor service, I would say that the prices of the dresses are reasonable and easily affordable.

How do you manage after sale? If the fitting is not correct, how do you rectify it?
Usually there isn’t any chance of incorrect fitting as we take the measurements beforehand and customize it accordingly. However, if such occurrences do take place, the customer will be getting a fair return policy that aligns with our terms and conditions.

Are all the dresses stitched locally in USA or some in Bangladesh too?
We have our dresses manufacturing in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the USA.

Do you intend to host a fashion show for Bangla/Indian traditional wear?
We are not planning anything like a fashion show at the moment. But we are definitely open to the idea in the near future.