It was his father’s letter to his then Malibagh address in July 1993 that marked the beginning of Mahfuzur Rahman – one of the five brothers who own and operate HATIL Complex Limited – at the helm of H. A. Timber Industries Ltd.
H. A. Timber Industries Ltd – a small timber shop on the bank of the Buriganga River – was founded by the late Al-Hajj Habibur Rahman in 1963, at 2/1 Ultinganj Lane in Old Dhaka’s Farashganj area.
Despite being a part of a family with a three-decade-long involvement in the wooden furniture business, Mahfuzur Rahman chose a distinctly unconventional path for his career in the beginning.
After completing his graduation from Dhaka College, Mahfuzur Rahman started his own monthly publication called “Computers and Electronics” with his friends in September, 1991.
Two years into his publication business, Rahman got a letter from his father, urging him to join H.A. Timber Industries Ltd. as an Executive Director. In August 1993, he joined the family business with a salary of Tk 4,000 per month, Rahman recalled – now managing director at H.A. Timber Industries Limited.
During an exclusive interview with UNB, Rahman shared how HATIL became the furniture giant it is today.
Rahman is one of the directors at HATIL Complex Ltd., one of the top furniture brands in Bangladesh, established by his father late Al-Hajj Habibur Rahman in 1989.
Bangladesh’s furniture industry has seen rapid growth over the past few decades, which is expected to continue in the coming years.
According to Statista, revenue in the furniture market in Bangladesh was US$ 2 billion in 2023. The global furniture market size was valued at $ 541.52 billion in 2023 as per ‘Fortune Business Insights’ data. The furniture market in Bangladesh is further expected to grow annually by 9.71 percent (CAGR 2023-2028).
HATIL Complex Ltd., now the top exporting furniture brand in Bangladesh, is a leader in driving that growth in the industry.
During his interview with UNB, Mahfuzur Rahman shed light on HATIL’s past, present and future as well as the challenges it is facing due to the ongoing crises around the world.
Rahman attributed HATIL’s success to his brother Selim H. Rahman’s leadership, the hard work of his four brothers, and HATIL’s commitment to not compromise on its product quality.
H. A. Timber Industries Ltd. installed 1st Seasoning plant in the private sector in 1988 with a motto to make available seasoned timber for furniture, doors and door frames.
When asked about the rationale for choosing “Slim is Smart” as the company’s slogan, Mahfuzur Rahman said: “Consumer preferences are changing over time. When people from this generation go to the market to purchase furniture for their apartments with limited space, they look for products that are both compact and affordable. Taking their preferences into account, HATIL employed the ‘Slim is Smart’ strategy.”
It is worth noting that the furniture industry in Bangladesh can be divided into two types: branded and non-branded. Currently, non-branded industries dominate 65 percent of the country’s furniture market.
For Mahfuzur Rahman, the non-branded or traditional furniture industry is currently a threat to the branded furniture market.
“As a brand, when we do business, we have to pay taxes to the government, which the non-branded ones may or may not pay. For a product sale worth Tk 100, we have to incur a cost of Tk 47 that includes VAT, income taxes, among others.”
“The government can earn huge tax revenue if the traditional furniture market can be brought under the tax regime,” he said.
What is HATIL doing to get ready for the inevitable in light of the country’s impending LDC graduation and analysts’ calls for diversifying the economy, particularly its exports?
Mahfuzur Rahman responded: “To prepare for the changes in the local furniture market, we are replacing our machinery with automated machines from Germany to keep up with the changing nature of the market.”
HATIL currently sources its major raw materials from various countries around the world. For wood, HATIL uses FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified beech-sawn timber and red oak, which are imported from Germany and Canada.
For hardware or furniture accessories such as handles, locks and keys, hinges, screws, latches etc., HATIL goes to China.
HATIL Complex Ltd. has to pay import duty for all these products (16 - 31 percent for wood and 60-90 percent for hardware), which, according to Rahman, is one of the biggest challenges the company faces right now and will continue to face in the future.
On the trend of using automation in production, Mahfuzur Rahman said, “With the change of time, we also have to change our way of thinking. That is why we are focusing on research and development and recruiting qualified manpower in those places.”
Among the two most tumultuous events in the last 4-5 years – Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine – the latter has had the most profound impact on the furniture industry, according to Rahman.
“We went into lockdown in March 2020 due to the pandemic. In that case, even though our manufacturing and revenue generation had completely shut down, we paid the salaries and bonuses of our employees on time and even gave them increments. Then, in September of that year, we turned around. In 2021, we were in a slightly better position after overcoming the effects of the pandemic.
“However, in 2022, we were confronted with a dire situation due to the supply chain disruption, inflation, and dollar crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. And I personally think this crisis will persist until at least June-July next year,” he said.
During the interview, Mahfuzur Rahman talked about H.A. Timbers Industries Ltd. For him, holding onto this timber business, which has lost its past glory, is more about holding onto his family’s heritage than about business.
Apart from his involvement with HATIL Complex Ltd, Mahfuzur Rahman is involved with numerous other organisations. He is the president of the Dhaka College HSC '89 Foundation. The organisation is involved in several health programmes.
They also provided financial support to many lower-income people during the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, they are considering establishing a vocational institute for health in Manikganj’s Singair Upazila.
Mahfuzur Rahman is a member of the trustee board of Bhola Children’s Special School Bangladesh. He is also an associate member of the Dhaka University Club and a lifetime member of Farashganj Sporting Club (Farashganj SC) and Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA).
Rahman is also a goodwill ambassador of Bijoyphool, an initiative aiming to make the youths aware of the struggles during the Liberation War of Bang.