Supermarket Revolution in Bangladesh? Evidence from a “blind spot” on the Research Map

Abstract

Even though Bangladesh entered the supermarket era nearly twenty years ago, the country has remained something of a “blind spot” on the research map of the so-called “supermarket revolution” in countries of the Global South. The present paper strives to contribute to filling this research gap by providing an explorative, empirically grounded portrayal of the phenomenon of “supermarketization” in Bangladesh from the retailer perspective. The findings reveal that Bangladesh’s supermarket industry is thus far a “homemade” development, which, despite considerable achievements in the first nearly two decades of its existence, is still being hampered by considerable hurdles on both the supply and demand sides. The exploratory, primary data-based findings of this study provide a valuable base for further research in a dynamic field.