Peddling Activities of Aluminumware Sellers in Bangladesh

Abstract

In present Bangladesh peddling is one of major marketing channels. An investigation of peddling affords us valuable new insights into the Bangladesh society. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the peddling activities of aluminumware sellers, from both spatial and temporal points of view. First, the author studied the marketing channel of aluminumware. Then he examined the sales areas of the peddlers, and investigated the daily, weekly and seasonal changes in their life. As for the marketing channels of aluminumware, after importing aluminum ingot from foreign countries to Chittagong, it is transported to the factories in Dhaka and processed into final products there. These products are distributed to the customers throughout the country through wholesalers first, and then retailers or peddlers based in local centers. Their life style changes radically from the dry season to the rainy season. While they peddle aluminumware in the dry season, they fish in the rainy season. During the peddling season, they rent a lodge in the local center and live in a group. One of them visits a wholesaler once or twice a month to restock their supply. They peddle in villages within about 6 km of their base, carrying the merchandise on a pole with nets on both ends. They visit about 10 to 20 baris (homesteads) in 1 to 3 grams (villages) a day. In their weekly schedule they visit villages of established patronage on a fixed day of the week and usually take a day off on Friday, which is a Muslim holiday. Each peddler usually does business with about 200 customers and it promotes his business to sell on credit and trade in used aluminumware. Such business strategies are convenient for customers and also bring more profit to the peddlers. Their net profit is rather high compared with that of other traders in periodic markets. Many women are among their customers. Transactions with peddlers are the only shopping opportunity for the women in Bangladesh, who rarely go out of their house because of the purdah dominated society of Muslims. Only men do shopping at market places located everywhere in Bangladesh. This seems to be one of the important reasons why peddling still thrives in Bangladesh. © 1987, The Association of Japanese Geographers. All rights reserved.