Kolkata, April 14 -- In a bid to promote Bengal's traditional handloom products under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's 'Banglar Saree' brand initiative, the West Bengal State Handloom Weavers' Cooperative Society Ltd (Tantuja), under department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T), has decided to engage franchisee to increase profit margin for the weavers by closing the gap with buyers.

Handloom industry in Bengal employs 6.32 lakh people (direct and indirect) and engages 3.51 lakh household units across 496 Primary Weavers' Cooperative Societies (PWCs) and 191 handloom clusters.

An MSME&T department official confirmed that an expression of interest (EOI) has been issued to engage franchisees for the 'Banglar Saree' brand. The aim is to improve the marketing network of the handloom products.

Engaging franchisee for the 'Banglar Saree' brand is expected to increase profit margins for the weavers. Presently, the margin apparently gets reduced due to the multi-tiered structures of cooperative societies while also limiting direct access to end consumers which results in hindering scalability and fair remuneration for producers.

The franchisee will provide sustained employment and improve livelihoods for handloom weavers by ensuring extensive marketing support. It will help revitalise Bengal's centuries-old handloom heritage through unique weaves and designs. Further, it will help authentic, high-quality handloom products available at affordable prices. They will operate retail outlets or shop-in-shop setups to sell 'Banglar Saree' products exclusively. However, outlets will need to adhere to brand guidelines, including interior design, product display and pricing.

Under space requirements criteria, for metro cities/district towns, it's minimum 1000 sqft. In subdivisions/blocks, it is 300-500 sqft. For shop-in-shop, minimum 250 sqft. Locations must be in prominent marketplaces, preferably on the ground floor, with visibility from main roads and at least 5 km away from existing "Banglar Saree" outlets.

Financial assistance will be offered by the state. For interior decoration: upto Rs 500-600 per sqft, capped at Rs 5-6 lakh. This is reimbursable post-inauguration with audited bills.

For publicity and marketing: Rs 2 lakh annually for subsequent years, subject to submission of audited vouchers. As part of inauguration support: Rs 2 lakh for advertising and promotional events within West Bengal. The 'Banglar Saree' product range includes traditional sarees such as Santipuri, Dhaniakhali, Baluchari, Tangail, Jamdani, Korial, Garad and Kantha Stitch, among others. The state wants to tap into national and international markets through franchisee networks.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.