“I have been a fan of various bands since childhood. At that time, I used to look for the t-shirts of local and foreign bands like Linkin Park, Nirvana, and Warfaze. But I could not always find it,” recalled Arefin Sowrob, an avid rock band lover and entrepreneur, on what led to his entry into the rock music t-shirt business.
“There was no single entity. It was there that I came up with the idea of how to work by printing band logos on t-shirts. During the initial stage, a difficult path passed. But the youth's craze and love for band music motivated us to continue the business.”
Sowrob is a prosperous entrepreneur now working with band t-shirts and a market leader of rock metal t-shirts.
Currently, the company has more than 900 t-shirt designs in its various showrooms across the country.
The company also sells hoodies, wristbands, caps, wallets and other music related accessories at affordable prices.
The beginning
The journey of rock metal t-shirts started in 2017 when two friends met. At first they started working with various foreign bands on their t-shirts such as Metallica, Pantera, Linkin Park, AC/DC, Nirvana, etc. There was no showroom then. They opened a Facebook page for business.
But then came the first blow.
After just three months, Sowrob’s partner left the business.
“Within just three months, a friend of mine lost faith in the enterprise. He withdrew himself from the business. Then the business was about to shut down. But I decided to run the business alone even if I struggled, because I believed that there must be buyers for such t-shirts. Who we may not have reached yet.”
Sowrob still continues to run an online business on Facebook called Rock Metal T-Shirt.
Turning around
By the beginning of 2021, quite a good response started coming. Sales continued to increase. Then he decided to open a showroom.
“In 2021 when our customer base is ready. All of which are actually students. Because the price is affordable, the demand for t-shirts is increasing rapidly. You can get our premium quality t-shirts usually between Tk 450 and Tk 650.”
"That same year, the showroom business started online. I opened the first showroom in Chittagong. After that we opened showrooms in Mymensingh, Habiganj of Sylhet, Rangamati, Patuakhali, and Dinajpur, one after another. Another showroom is opening soon at Durgapur in Netrakona.”
Consumers and competition
By strengthening this business position, this young entrepreneur wants to give more new gifts to the customers of rock metal in the future. He wants to manage rock metal t-shirt showrooms all over the country. There is currently an automated product delivery system across Bangladesh through their Facebook page.
“Rock metal has now established itself as an emotional brand among our customers. Hopefully, its brand value will increase in the future. Rock Metal has already started its journey as a limited company.”
Sowrob said: “There have been many times when a person comes to buy a t-shirt of his favorite band and ends up buying another band's t-shirt because he likes the design. Seeing him again, another person came and found another named t-shirt. It always inspires us.”
“We consider any T-shirt brand in the country as our competitor. The quality and popularity of our products is no less than theirs. However, we want to maintain the trust and love of our customers by presenting our products in a better way,” Sowrob adds.
