Faculty:SaimaHasin.United International university .

By Wahida Zahin.

Introduction

There are some popular business in Dhaka City ,selling old books is one of them. Old books selling business is most popular and profitable in Nilkhet.Nilkhet serves as a multipurpose destination, where a student from any campus of the country is likely to find the basic necessities needed for school and university. Starting from small items like stationery to absolute essentials like books is available here.

Background Old book business in Nilkhet began

immediately after Independence, when four young booksellers started selling second-hand books and magazines on the pavement outside the Balaka cinema hall.

Within years, that small business has become large profitable business.

Because of its proximity to Dhaka University and BUET as well as several Universities and major colleges such as Dhaka College and Eden College. The Nilkhet market has also become a major source of academic material for the city’s students.

Background The market has long been the center of the second-

hand book trade in Dhaka. It contains several dozen shops that deal in used books

and magazines, especially English-language material published in the West.

Foreign books, journals and comics that are either unavailable elsewhere or only available new at a prohibitive price.

Ownership of shops that were once upon a time sold at Tk 400,now advance of 10 lakhs needs to be given and rent of Tk 30000 per month.

Textbooks of all levels (from primary to tertiary) and for all disciplines may be purchased at Nilkhet. It is known to have the largest collection of books for students belonging to almost all sections. Since, Bangladesh is a country consisting of three separate education streams, namely, Bangla, English and Madrasa medium, books for each category are required round the year. And what better place to find them other than in Nilkhet, where there are different 'alleys' dedicated to different sections of education. It also has many shops that provide auxiliary services for students, such as photocopying, word-processing and book-binding. Indeed, “photocopying at Nilkhet” is a common rite of passage for nearly all students.

SWOT analysis is an analytical method which is used to identify and categorize significant internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) factors faced either in a particular arena, such as an organization, or a territory, such as a region, nation, or city.

It provides information that is helpful in matching the firms' resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates and is therefore an important contribution to the strategic planning process.

Strength1 Monopoly business ,Market leader.2 No competitor exists.3 Competence high.4 Greater Customer base .5 Location Advantage6 Costs of running the business low.7.Vertical integration,e.g.printing and selling.

Weakness 1 Variable prices. 2 Customers have to bargain a lot.3Original books are not available.4 Low Quality Printed books.5 Rent cost is high .6 Unable to finance needed to improve the market structure.

Opportunities1Employment opportunity in book selling business.2Contribute income to the economy.3 Adequate supply of books to the students.4Students can exchange old books .5 Faster market growth.

Threats1Copyright and patented books are sold illegally, which may be threat in the future if company sue the traders.2 Lack of space and congested area. If fire lightens accidently then many books get destroyed in few minutes.3Growing customer bargaining power.

“SWOT ANALYSIS of Old Book Business of Nilkhet”

Findings

Everyday many students come to Nilkhet to get books, handouts and notes to be photocopied, they cannot do without Nilkhet.

The Nilkhet book market, being a cluster of shops, makes it beneficial to the stores in a unique way. Often one shop owner provides another shop keeper with a book he is looking for according to the customer's demand. A lot of books especially old ones are donated by students to the shopkeepers or sold to them at very reasonable rates. Recently the problem of frequent load shedding and his incapacity to find alternative electricity supply has resulted in loss.

Findings Most of the footpath sellers who vend books on the

pavements of Nilkhet seem to earn the most profit since they do not really need much to set up their stacks of books, and they usually sell pirated books of low print quality, and are able to cater to the large number of students who usually have limited cash in their hands.

There are also many shops that make fake certificates and documents according to customers' instruction. Although the entrepreneurs confirmed that such shops exist, they deny knowing their exact location.

The presence of vertical integration in the form of countless printing, publishing and specialized book binding houses significantly enhances the sustainability of this book selling business.

ConclusionHowever ,despite its popularity there are many threats and weakness that owners of book shops should try to avoid ,especially issuing certificates ,selling books illegally by avoiding patent and copyrights which may be a major threat in the future.

They should try to improve the interior market place and improve the structure to avoid accidents caused due to fire and reduce congestion.

They should match strengths and opportunities which they have especially greater competitiveness and market base to become more successful in the future and continue their business for the foreseeable future.(Many information are collected from different online articles ).