Food retailing landscape: FDI, economic growth and employment in Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe food retail industry in Bangladesh is fragmented and underdeveloped compared to other South Asian countries. In fact, the food retail industry in Bangladesh is facing several major challenges. For instance, there is a shortage of experienced manpower, very high cost of capital, supply chain management problems, and so forth. Many organizations in Bangladesh folded their operations because they were burdened by losses. More interestingly, there is limited academic research that addresses these concerns. Therefore, this research will contribute to fill the existing gaps. The objective of this paper is twofold: first, to provide an overview of food retail sector in Bangladesh and key issues and problems it faces; second, to analyze the contribution food retail industry towards foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth, and labor force in Bangladesh. This study is informed by secondary data sets which were already available in the public domain and were analyzed using associative techniques. The findings of the study suggest that despite the industry is suffering uphill challenges but, there is a significant relationship between the performance of the food retail industry in Bangladesh, FDI, GDP growth and total labor force of the country. Moreover, the industry has the opportunity to overcome these challenges and thereby contribute further towards FDI, economic growth, and labor force in Bangladesh. The results of the study will make the policymakers aware of existing problems within the industry and will help managers to think more deeply about re-organizing the food retail industry.