APEX COMPANY LTD

TEAM: PEGASUS

MEMBERS : IFAZ AKBAR(Introduction,CSR and conclusion)

KHANDAKAR MOHAMMAD AYMAN

FAYYADH(PESTLE and conclusion)

SHEIKH BELOWAL UDDIN SIAM(SWOT ANALYSIS)

TAUSIF HOSSAIN(COMPETITION)

INTRODUCTION:

When it comes to the operations of businesses, market research and the method to procure
such information is vital for a business to succeed. Thus, the implementation of data from
PESTLE(Political, Economical, Social, Technical, Legal, Environmental), Competitiveness and
SWOT(Strength,Weakness,Opportunity,Threat) analysis can help a business grow and flourish
if the data procured is used properly.

Businesses not only need data to improve market share and market growth but also need to
maintain an ethical image and uphold ethical responsibilities throughout society. This is where
CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) comes into play. CSR activities can help a business to
improve its image and in turn is able to play a role in improving market share as well. With these
factors in consideration let us talk about a local business that has put these factors into practice.

Apex company Ltd is a PLC(public limited company ) that was founded on January 4, 1990
(https://wsj.com). It was founded by Syed Manzur Elahi who is regarded as a philanthropist and
has founded a multitude of businesses and organizations.
(https://www.apexfootwearltd.com/company/leadership/). Apex company Ltd is a company that
specializes in manufacturing and retailing in footwear and is one of the more popular shoe
brands in Bangladesh.

Macro-environmental factors(PESTLE) affect businesses in various ways and apex is no

different. Let us look at such factors affecting the company and how they affect the
surrounding environment.

Political
Bangladesh in recent years has evolved into a very politically unstable state, where corruption
and bribing is considered rather normal for getting operational projects completed. This affects
apex financially as they cannot meet their normal budget due to the illegally imposed obstacles
that are solved through bribes, hence making the operations slower than they usually are on
regular circumstances. The tax laws in Bangladesh are very dynamic and ever changing due to
which business confidence could be negatively impacted. Moreover, the time taken to complete
legislative documents can create bureaucracy which can slow down business operations. Thus
political factors are key for the betterment of the business.

Economical
During the fiscal year 2021-22, Apex made a substantial payment of BDT 1001.67 million taka,
demonstrating its commitment to fulfilling tax obligations. Apex making such high tax
contributions for the government allows for greater economic growth.

Social
Bangladesh in terms of population is not very demographically diverse, hence Apex’s target
demographics include middle to upper socio-economic classes, and all age and gender groups
within that class.
Furthermore, Apex being a very socially conscious company has taken various initiatives for the
betterment of it’s own employees and the surrounding society
● Free transportation for workers
● Free medical treatment
● Member of SLCP (Social Labor convergence program) from-2022.The SLCP aims to
develop and implement an industry-wide Converged Assessment Framework (CAF)
which efficiently collects social and labor data to support stakeholders in improving work
conditions.

Technological
Apex has an advanced factory that encompasses tanning, component manufacturing, and
production units. The production facility is equipped with 120 cutting machines for precision
cutting, 24 sewing lines, and 12 assembly lines. In a single-shift operation they can produce up
to 9,000 pairs of shoes per day. In addition, they have a dedicated sports shoe production
facility as well inside the same campus that is equipped with two assembly lines capable of
producing 3,000 pairs per day.

Legal
The Bangladesh government, not being powerful enough, cannot strictly enforce their laws and
legislations over large businesses due to the corruption and bribing system in Bangladesh.
However Apex is very strict in maintaining the laws provided by the country’s constitution. They
are obliged to not promote discrimination and promote gender equality in the workplaces,
prohibits forced labor, child labor and maintains health and safety measures for both customers
and employees.

Environmental
Apex Footwear’s primary products are footwear made of various materials which are sourced
from sustainable tanneries that are either LWG-rated or adhere to globally acceptable
environmental practices. Their tanning unit imports wet blue with 100% traceability marked from
LWG Gold-rated tanneries. They also import some finished leather from LWG-rated tanneries in
the European Union (EU) and Asia.
These materials, primarily leather, are locally sourced and these leather products are often
refined in the local tanneries. Thus, due to using leather as a primary raw material, Apex has
some negative environmental impacts.
However, Apex being a very environmentally conscious organization, they have taken several
steps to make their products and production process more eco friendly.
Some of the key green milestones they reached in the past decade are-
● Received Green factory award in 2021 from the government of Bangladesh
● Focusing sustainable supply chain (76 % leather material sourced from LWG rated
sourcing). LWG is a leading certification for the green leather manufacturing industry.
● Align with CO2 emission project

(Apex annual report 2022-2023)

(Apex sustainability report 2022)

Competitors

Apex footwear is the most loved, trusted and largest shoemaker in South Asia. Apex footwear
has Bangladesh’s biggest chain of own stores.Apex footwear has over 260+ retail outlets of
their own. https://www.apexfootwearltd.com/company/local-presence/retail/
Vision:
Honest growth
Mission:
1-vendor of choice for their customers
2-ensure sustainable growth
3-shareholders value creation
4-responsible corporate citizen

Their Gross Profit Margin is 20.73% and their….

Sales/Revenue 16,536 11,764

Sales Growth 27.45% -0.39%

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) 13,107 9,219

incl. D&A

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/BD/XDHA/APEXFOOT/financials/annual/income-state
ment
There are more Bangladeshi footwear retail companies like Bay emporium,Bata etc.

Bay Emporium Ltd. is a family Footwear Retail Company which established in 2003.Their target
market includes metropolitan & semi-urban areas, Neo-traditional customers of middle-income &
upper-middle-income group. In the Organization Family of Footwear Retail Market, Bay
Emporium Ltd. stands in third position with 75 shops in different areas in Bangladesh.
https://www.amarbay.com/en/page/about/

Bata started its operation in 1962. Currently Bata Shoe Company Limited operates two
manufacturing facilities.One is in Tongi and the other one is in Dhamrai. With a production
capacity of 160,000 pairs of shoes daily. Annually their shoe sales are currently stands about 30
million pairs. https://www.batabd.com/pages/about-us
Their vision is To make great shoes accessible to everyone.

Bata shoes limited and Bay emporium are one of the biggest shoe retail companies of
Bangladesh who compete head to head with Apex.

One reason for Apex’s incremental success is the possession of Apex tannery Ltd. Due to this
they have certain competitive advantages over there
competitors.(https://www.apextannery.com/)

Due to Apex being a large local business they have the ability to reduce Long run average
costs(LRAC) through the implementation of economies of scale. This can help them decrease
the cost of production and sell their products at a lower price.

Furthermore, we can also see that Apex footwear Ltd possess their own tannery called Apex
Tannery Ltd . This helps them remove any third parties in the production process which can help
cut costs. This could lead to lower prices which would boost revenue leading to larger profits
and provide a competitive edge for Apex.

Moreover, the possession of a tannery gives Apex the freedom of designing their own shoes
which would help them be versatile with changes in trends for shoes causing an exponential
increase in demand for them furthermore, causing an incremental increase in market share and
marginal profit.

Moreover, it can also be said that due to the possession of a tannery they can cut costs in
production and reduce LRAC through economies of scale due to which they can increase
revenue and profit margins.

Due to the possession of a tannery Apex is able to produce footwear at good quality at cheaper
prices due to outsourcing materials. This gives them a USP(Unique selling point) due to which
their profit margins are bound to go up.

SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis offers an in-depth study of a company's potential, risks, and internal and
external strengths and weaknesses. This framework provides useful data on the organization's
strategic position in relation to its competitors. Strengths are those natural attributes and assets
that provide a business a competitive edge. Threats are external issues that may harm or
complicate the performance and sustainability of the company, but opportunities are outside
variables that the company can use to grow and expand.

SWOT analysis of the company “Apex” are as follows:

● Strength:

1. Branding : Over the years Apex has established an excellent reputation for producing
high-quality, long-lasting, and highly comfy shoes. Customers trust Apex because they are
confident in the high standards and long-lasting comfort of each pair of shoes they purchase.
People can choose Apex with confidence because of its solid reputation when it comes to their
footwear demands.

2. Innovations of products: This is another significant strength for Apex. Apex is continually
innovating and growing its product offering to include new styles, materials, and technical
developments in order to attract new customers and keep hold of present ones. The brand's
continuous dedication to innovation keeps it relevant in the marketplace by providing new
options for customers to consider and fulfilling the changing needs.

3. Distribution and network: The quality of the leather in Apex is also excellent. This results in
higher product quality when compared to closely competitive shoe brands in the markets.

4.loyal customers: Apex constantly makes sure their shoes are of highest quality, trustworthy,
and satisfy customers, the company has a large following of loyal customers.

● Weakness:

Limited international market: Apex might have a small international footprint despite having a
large domestic market presence, which limits its potential for growth and expansion on an
international level.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY;

(R) https://www.apexfootwearltd.com/responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility/

Pathao TranSend Collab

Pathao had done a collaboration with TranSend and Apex where they recruited 50 trangender
people along with the provision of ID cards, Smart Phones, food bags and bicycles. This
initiative could result in more employment as transgender people would be able to work.
Moreover, this initiative would help reduce the discrimination against transgender people who
are a minority in the country.

Adopt-A-LIBRARY

Apex had funded a program on 8 May where they distributed Books to three schools in Shafipur.
This program was sponsored by Apex,University Press Ltd and Asialoka Trust. The books were
distributed to Shafipur Model School,Shafipur Ideal Model School and college an Bhasha
Shaheed Abdul Zabbar Ansar VDP School and College.It was also mentioned that around 1200
books were distributed. This initiative would help in providing education to the needy which
would help improve employment in the country in the long run and is a initiative that would show
the world that Apex cares about the wellbeing of society.

Apex and Moyeen Foundation Collab

During mid September 2017 Apex along with Moyeen foundation ran a campaign where more
than 1200 disabled people were provided with prosthetics which could help them live a better
life. Moreover, Apex had also donated around 700 free shoes to these people. This initiative
could help these disabled people live a more normal and better life thus, making a society a
more better and hospitable place for these people.

Safe drinking water campaign

In 2017 October to December Apex had launched a campaign with Safety Assistance for
Emergencies (SAFE). The key task of this campaign will be installing tube-wells in remote
areas, raising the flooded tube wells on a higher ground, and labeling them to ensure that the
community does not get affected by using contaminated water and thereby saving them from
various potential water-borne diseases as well.Apex has donated 15 Lac Taka to the campaign,
out of which, 7 Lac Taka has been funded by the one day salary contribution of Apex’s
Employees.This initiative was taken to help the flood victim community in 2017.

Donations to SEID(Society for Education and Inclusion of the Disabled)

On June 19 2016 Apex had donated shoes to all the disabled students present in SEID. The
number of students in SEID is roughly 450. This initiative which could be seen as an act of
kindness would help enrich the lives of these students.

Shoes to the visually challenged:

On Jan 6 2018 Apex had donated shoes to Sporsho Braille Prokashona (SBP) which is a
company that publishes braille books to the visually impaired.During the aforementioned date
Apex had donated shoes to the visually impaired kids. Apex was able to contribute to their
decade long celebration through this act of kindness.

Sprint to share2

On October 1 2015 Apex had initiated a campaign called SPRINT TO SHARE where every pair of
shoe that was sold, 10% of the revenue would be given to charity. The campaign ended on
January 24 2016 where they donated tk 227702 to SOS children's village which is the biggest
governmental institution for taking care of orphaned children.Apex had done this charity
campaign in celebration for their 25th anniversary which helped fund the orphaned children.

Conclusory statement:

Apex footwear limited as one of the largest brands in Bangladesh is working very hard to
establish a positive impact on the macro environment, but they are mostly affected by the macro
environment in a not so sustainable way.

Moreover, further research indicates that they operate their business on extremely ethical
conditions which has lead the business to possess an extremely positive public relation(PR).
This PR can help the business achieve better success in acquiring market share which has lead
the company to great expansion. Moreover, Apex’s activity in CSR has made it a notable brand
that not only sought to improve financially but also made it a brand that has helped the economy
in ethical ways.