Ha-Meem Group is one of the largest Bangladeshi conglomerates in textile and garments sector.[1][2] It owns 26 garments factories,[3] sweater factory, poly bag industry, label factory, jute mill, chemical formulation plant, tea estates, transport company, Channel 24 and Samakal, a widely circulated national daily newspaper.[4][5] The newspaper are under Times Media Limited of Ha-Meem Group.[6] It employs 50 thousand people.[7]

Ha-meem Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryComposite textile, tea, leather, transport, media
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Key people
Abdul Kader Azad (Chairman, CEO & Managing Director)
RevenueIncreaseUS$550 million
Number of employees
75,000
Websitewww.hameemgroup.net

A. K. Azad is the chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and managing director of the group.[8][9] Colonel (retired) Md. Delwar Hossain is the deputy managing director of the group.[10]

History edit

Ha-Meem Group was established in 1984 by A. K. Azad and Md. Delwar Hossain with a single garment factory.[11]

Garment workers vandalized their factory in Ashulia after which the group filed a case against 1600 unidentified people in 2009.[10] The group denied the workers were from their own factory.[10][12] The protests started after 1000 garment workers in an unrelated factory were fired.[13] The group chairman, A. K. Azad, filed police case requesting security from Bashundhara Group after Samakal wrote news articles against the Bashundhara Group.[14]

On 14 December 2010, 26 workers died in a fire at Thats it Sportswear, a Ha-Meem Group factory, in Ashulia and 100 were injured.[15][16] The fire exit and gate of the factory were locked which increased the death toll.[16]

In June 2012, labour unrest broke out at the subsidiary of the group, Artistic Design Limited, in Ashulia.[17][18]

Labour unrests in the group's factories in Ashulia stopped production as workers went on strike demanding increase in salary in May 2013.[19][20] About 80 per cent of the group's export went to the United States.[21]

In December 2016, the group terminated 368 workers over labour unrest.[7]

Ha-Meem Group invested 60 million USD to expand Denim production in 2017.[22] Bangladesh Bank rejected a proposal by Ha-meem group to invest 10 million USD in Haiti to export to the United States.[23][24] That's It Fashions Limited announced plans to buy 11 million shares of Pubali Bank.[25] Ha-Meem Group invested in tea plantations.[26]

On 21 March 2018, the house of the group's chairman, A. K. Azad, was demolished in Gulshan by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, led by director Aliur Rahman, for not having an approved design.[27][28] Ha-Meem group claimed the demolition took place despite them showing legal documents and stopped after it was shown to the chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha.[29] Anti Corruption Commission summoned Azad on the same day as the demolition.[30] Azad is the senior Vice-President of Faridpur District unit of Awami League and director of Shahjalal Islami Bank.[30]

In April 2020, workers of Sharmin Group and Ha-meem Group participated in violent labour protests.[31]

A worker of the group was seriously injured in police firing at a workers protest.[32] The workers of That's It Garments Limited and Creative Collections Limited were protesting when the police shot them on 10 May 2021.[33]

In April 2022, Ha-meem Group announced plans to increase garment export from 580 million USD to one billion USD per year by 2024.[34] It sold 200 million USD worth of garment products in the Bangladeshi market.[34] Refat Garments Limited is the biggest exporting unit of the group with exports worth 172 million USD in 2017-2018 fiscal year alone.[34]

Subsidiaries edit

  • Artistic Design Limited[35]
  • Ha-Meem Apparels Limited[35]
  • That’s It Garments Limited[35]
  • That’s It Sports Wear Limited[35]
  • Apparels Gallery Limited[35]
  • Refat Garments Limited[35]
  • Creative Collections Limited[35]
  • Next Collections Limited[35]
  • Ha-Meem Design Limited[35]
  • Refat Packaging & Printing Industries Limited[35]
  • That’s It Knit Limited[36]
  • That's It Sweater Limited[36]
  • Modern Washing Plant[37]
  • Sajid Washing Plant[37]
  • Creative Washing Plant[37]
  • Express Washing Plant[37]
  • Ha-Meem Denim Mills Limited[38]
  • Ha-Meem label[39]
  • Ha-Meem Design Studio[40]
  • Embroidery Factory[41]
  • Printing Factory[41]
  • Carton Factory[41]
  • Poly Bag Industry[41]
  • Label Factory[41]
  • M. H. Jute Mills Limited[41][42]
  • Chemical Formulation Plant[41]
  • Channel 24[43][42]
  • Samakal[42]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Long days a staple of garment industry in Bangladesh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  2. ^ "Top exporters awarded". The Daily Star. 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  3. ^ "Gap, Old Navy, and the Living Hell of a Bangladeshi Sweatshop - San Diego Free Press". San Diego Free Press. 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  4. ^ "About Us | Ha-Meem Group". Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  5. ^ "Diversification makes them stronger". The Business Standard. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  6. ^ "AK Azad says he has recovered from COVID-19". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  7. ^ a b "Ha-Meem Group fires 91 workers". The Daily Star. 2016-12-26. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  8. ^ "Policy support, reforms can ward off macroeconomic challenges". The Daily Star. 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  9. ^ "UIU Debate Club wins BUTEXDC National Debate Festival". Dhaka Tribune. 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  10. ^ a b c Karim, Elita (10 July 2009). "An Unsolved Mystery". Star Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  11. ^ "About Us | Leading wholesale clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  12. ^ Mirdha, Refayet Ullah (2009-06-30). "Spillover effects". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  13. ^ Mridha, Refayet Ullah (2009-06-29). "It all started with the sacking in a sick unit". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  14. ^ "Samakal publisher files GD". The Daily Star. 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  15. ^ "26 killed in factory fire". The Daily Star. 2010-12-15. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  16. ^ a b Ariquzzaman, Shudeepto. "Locked Doors and Lost Lives". Star Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  17. ^ "100 RMG factories suspend production". The Daily Star. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  18. ^ Sarkar, Kailash (2012-06-14). "Ashulia industrial zone now battlefield". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  19. ^ "Labour unrest halts Ha-Meem". The Daily Star. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  20. ^ "30 hurt in RMG worker-cop clash". The Daily Star. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  21. ^ "Mozena fears flight of foreign investment out of Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  22. ^ Mirdha, Refayet Ullah (2017-03-13). "Ha-Meem Group bets big on denim". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  23. ^ Alo, Jebun Nesa (2017-03-21). "3 firms barred from investing abroad". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  24. ^ Rahman, Sajjadur (2017-09-19). "Akij may get nod to buy Malaysian firms". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  25. ^ "That's It Fashions to buy 1.1cr shares of Pubali Bank". The Daily Star. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  26. ^ Rahman, Sajjadur (2017-02-22). "Large firms investing in tea plantation". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  27. ^ "Rajuk demolishes parts of AK Azad's house". The Daily Star. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  28. ^ "RAJUK demolishes Azad's house at Gulshan". New Age. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  29. ^ "RAJUK demolishes parts of Ha-Meem Group owner's house in Gulshan". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  30. ^ a b "Bangladesh graft watchdog summons Ha-Meem Group owner AK Azad". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  31. ^ "RMG workers' protests turn violent in Gazipur, 8 injured". Dhaka Tribune. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  32. ^ "Shot by police, incapacitated for life". The Daily Star. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  33. ^ "10 RMG workers hurt as police fire on their demo". The Daily Star. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  34. ^ a b c Mirdha, Refayet Ullah (2022-04-26). "Ha-Meem Group eyes $1b exports by 2024". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Woven | Ha-Meem Group". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  36. ^ a b "Sweater | High quality sweater manufacturing factory in Bangladesh". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  37. ^ a b c d "Laundry | One of the biggest washing facilities in Bangladesh". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  38. ^ "Ha-Meem Denim Mill | State of the art denim jeans company in Bangladesh". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  39. ^ "Embroidery, Printing and Accessories | Ha-Meem Group". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  40. ^ "Ha-Meem Design Studio - Keeping pace with the modern trend | Sample Section". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g "Ancillary | Ha-Meem Group". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  42. ^ a b c "Ha-Meem Group | Top Ranking Bangladeshi Clothing Manufacturer". www.hameemgroup.net. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  43. ^ "Channel 24 | News Video, Latest Bangla News & Live TV". Channel 24. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

External links edit