Market opportunity analysis and branding strategy in the

apparel industry of Bangladesh

Internship Report Submitted for Post-Graduation Diploma in Garments

Business

Submitted by

Md. Fazlay Rabby

Roll-11553

Batch-2, Section-1

Supervised by

Shakil Huda

Professor

Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

Submission Date: 29.07.2022

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At first, I would like to express our gratefulness to the Almighty ALLAH for being with me and enabling
me to finish the industrial training.

I convey my heartfelt respect, appreciation and sincere gratitude to Mr. Shakil Huda, Professor, IBA-DU
for his valuable and helpful guidance and supervision.

I would like to thank Associate Professor Khaled Mahmud, Coordinator SEIP, IBA-DU for his sincere co-
operation to execute this internship.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Ahmed Quamran, Team Leader, Merchandising
Department for being so cooperative in my project work at Fashion Step Ltd. I also want to thank whole
Merchandising department of Fashion Step Ltd. for their help and valuable advices whenever needed to
complete our industrial attachment successfully.

Finally I will show my gratitude to all the Management & Non-Management staffs that have helped me
during the internship period & the entire persons who somehow have impact on me in completing my whole
report.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

Out of all the industries operating in Bangladesh, RMG (Ready-made garments) contributes the most
foreign exchange. Next to China, Bangladesh is the country that exports the most RMG. The RMG industry
in Bangladesh has dramatically grown over the past 40 years to become one of the top global sourcing
centres for garment purchases. Most of the well-known clothing brands in the world import their goods
from Bangladesh and sell them as their own. Bangladesh's cheaper cost in comparison to other nations that
produce clothing is the primary factor in its prominence as a sourcing hub in the RMG industry. Despite
earning a sizable quantity of foreign currency and having the means to launch its own global brands,
Bangladesh hasn't been able to launch any well-known global apparel brands in the forty years of its RMG
industry. But now is the right time to launch Bangladesh's own international brands because both the global
market economy and the level of competition are slowly changing. This essay defines various branding
concepts and outlines potential tactics that could help Bangladesh establish its own international clothing
companies.

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 CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-5
2. ABOUT FASHION STEP GROUP-----------------------------------------------------------------Page-7
3. CURRENT ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF INTERN IN HIS ORGANISATION----Page-8
4. EXPLORING NEW BRAND FROM FASHION STEP LTD----------------------------------Page-8
5. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY-------------------------------------------------------------Page-9
6. BRAND AND BRANDING-------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-10
7. CURRENT STATUS OF BANGLADESHI APPAREL BRAND IN INTERNATIONAL
MARKET-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-10
8. STRUCTURE OF CLOTHING INDUSTRY OF BANGALDESH----------------------------Page-11
9. PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR LAUNCHING OWN BRANDING IN THE GLOBAL
MARKET-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-17
10. LIMITATION & CHALLENGES FOR RAPID GROWTH OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN
BANGLADESH---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-18
11. CONCLUSION----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-19
12. REFERENCE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page-20

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 1. INTRODUCTION

Building a brand is an essential aspect of business strategy for any organization. Through branding, a
corporation not only improves its reputation but also that of the nation it represents. Due to the fact that
many well-known apparel brands from across the world already use Bangladesh as a sourcing center for
their products, Bangladesh has a unique opportunity to become famous throughout the world in the RMG
industry. The Bangladeshi RMG industry got its start in the late 1970s. In under three decades, our RMG
sector has grown from an annual revenue of just 69 thousand dollars in 1978 to an estimated 28094.16
million dollars in the 2015–2016 fiscal year, placing us second only to China in terms of RMG exports.
This brief statistical analysis demonstrates how quickly this industry has developed and how much potential
it has to contribute significantly to the nation's future economic expansion. Around 82 percent of all foreign
currency revenues come from this region. More than 4 million people work in 4328 garment factories in
Bangladesh. Additionally, this industry provides more than 14% of Bangladesh's GDP (Gross Domestic
Product). The key reason that multinational businesses are so keen to purchase their products from
Bangladesh's RMG sector to sell on the international market is the facilities that are available there. Low
labor costs, effective workers, organizational assistance, and government support are the RMG sector's
primary strengths.
Bangladesh does not currently have the capacity to develop any large global clothing brands, despite the
fact that foreign firms are using this chance to boost their brand value. It is true that Bangladesh generates
a sizeable amount of foreign exchange by serving as a sourcing hub for worldwide clothing companies, but
for a number of obvious reasons, it is now time to consider developing Bangladeshi global brands. Along
with the rest of the globe, Bangladesh's economy is going through some remarkably slow adjustments.
Bangladesh benefits from a number of amenities as an LDC, including low-cost labor and access to
international aid for business.
However, the country's quick economic expansion demonstrates that the current state of affairs will not last
indefinitely. According to the present government of Bangladesh's agenda, the nation will quickly become
a developed one. Therefore, some of the facilities that are currently keeping selling prices lower than in
other nations won't be available. China, for instance, is on the verge of relinquishing its top spot in the
export of RMG because it has been compelled to shift its focus to other industries as a result of the declining
cost-effectiveness of the RMG sector. It makes sense to explore for alternate ways to maintain the income
from the garment sector because Bangladesh does not have many alternative businesses to switch to.
Therefore, the most practical strategy for surviving in the global clothing market is to create as many global
brands as possible. It is a huge undertaking to develop new global apparel brands and to compete with those
that are already well-known on the international market. The good news for Bangladesh, however, is that

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it has all the resources and other necessities to establish itself as a major player in the worldwide market for
apparel companies. However, the task requires a lot of work, including thorough study of all the aspects
involved in the entire process, meticulous and realistic planning and tactics, and successful execution of
them.
The first and most crucial step in this approach is to develop some successful Bangladeshi clothing brands
for the international market. The initiative taken by established local garment brands to introduce their
goods to the international market is crucial in this regard. Some Bangladeshi clothing companies have
already begun operating internationally, but more companies must follow suit if they want to strengthen
Bangladesh's position in the global clothing market. Making products for the global market is currently a
very difficult task. It is required to take action in order to be able to do that. Bangladesh's RMG industry
has experience producing clothing for numerous global brands. Additionally, setting up a Research and
Development (R & D) facility for the production of clothing for the global market can be beneficial. Since
the items are intended for the global market, some strategies for product diversification are required. Given
that Bangladeshi brands must compete with well-known worldwide names in the market, they must
guarantee high product quality while offering prices that are significantly less than those of other foreign
brands.
A solid marketing strategy is crucial for any organization. The most important component in establishing a
healthy market for Bangladeshi companies in the international market will be a strong marketing and
promotion strategy. By promoting them through all available marketing channels, Bangladeshi brands must
thereby expand the presence and visibility of their brand names and products in the worldwide market. The
Bangladeshi brands must ensure and maintain a positive company reputation in order to continue operating
successfully in the global market. Maintaining a company's reputation is heavily dependent on a number of
factors, including well-developed infrastructure, continuous access to all resources, improving employee
abilities to boost productivity, etc.
Therefore, with a larger focus on upholding the reputation of the company, the government and the relevant
authorities must take the necessary steps to upgrade the communication system, to ensure proper supply of
all necessary resources, and to provide sufficient skill development training for the workers.
RMG is a strength for Bangladesh, and by utilizing this strength, Bangladeshi garment businesses can
find a niche in the international market. Bangladesh has all the resources required to demonstrate to the
world that it can produce clothes for the world as opposed to only filling orders for other nations. With the
use of this resource, Bangladeshi clothing businesses could find a niche in the international market.
Bangladesh has all the resources required to demonstrate to the world that it can produce clothes for the
world as opposed to only filling orders for other nations.

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 2. ABOUT FASHION STEP GROUP

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 3. CURRENT ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF INTERN IN HIS
ORGANISATION

Designation: Sr. Merchandiser

Role & Responsibility

 Monitor and contribute to all merchandising activities from order confirmation to shipment.
 Develop and maintain excellent business relationships with the buyers to serve their interests and
requirement for smooth Business.
 Coordinate with the planning department to determine the delivery schedule and sequence of
implementing all order in the lines.
 Monitor and contribute the sourcing, purchase & procurement of necessary fabric & accessories.
 Follow up team to ensure fit and pre-production & production samples with the Garment
technical department.
 Coordinate with Production, Quality, commercial & logistics departments to ensure on-time
shipment.
 Maintain Weekly progress reports with up to date information on all orders & outstanding issues.
 Inspecting the production process on day to day basis & resolving all the problem.
 Supervising the activities of junior team members & mentoring them.
 Implementing different cost reduction & quality development tools & techniques in supply chain.

4. EXPLORING NEW BRAND FROM FASHION STEP LTD

Though many companies now recognize the value of branding, most of the businesses are still not able to
understand the elements required to create a standard brand. Five elements are instrumental in
establishing a good brand. They are as follows

 Creating a brand requires clarity about its purpose and mission.

 Creating a brand needs understanding and leveraging its uniqueness.
 Creating a brand requires clarity about the target market.
 Creating a brand needs consistent maintenance of on-board message.
 Creating a brand needs the continuation of building a strong relationship with the associated
community.

The aim of this report is to study about market opportunity analysis and branding strategy in Bangladesh
so that I can work for my organization to utilize the application of this details study.

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.
5. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY

Objectives

1. Board Objective

Bangladesh already has the groundwork in place to introduce its garment brands to the global market due
to the country's forty years of substantial expertise in the RMG sector. There are certain restrictions,
though. Bangladeshi textile items surely have a stable future in the international market if those
challenges can be reduced. The results of a survey of textile industry specialists offer some
recommendations for how to introduce Bangladeshi clothing businesses to the international apparel
market.
2. Specific Objective
 Taking initiatives from already-established local companies to help them become more well-
known on the international market.
 Upholding company reputation and implementing a product diversification strategy.
 Providing the greatest quality at competitive prices to draw in clients; utilizing a solid marketing
plan.
 Establishing a research and development (R&D) facility for the production of clothing for the
global market.
 Building relationships between consumers and brands.
 Properly managing compliance-related issues.
 Increasing marketing resources and comprehending the market and rivals.

Methodology

The report is presented as an experience based report which share the research, finding, strategies that I
produced during internship. For data Sourcing I have taken help from different textile related magazine,
Official website of different company and local brand, Consumers (Field experiments) and I have taken
interview many experts who are contributing different department in this sector.

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 6. BRAND AND BRANDING
Even while the term "brand" is often used to refer to a trademark associated with a certain product or
provider, it is actually a negative perception that people have of that trademark or that specific product. A
brand is a marketing identity developed for a generic product to set it apart from its rivals (Penman, Textile
Branding). In the past, people have left marks on things to indicate ownership of the item, membership in
a tribe or clan, or to denote the political and religious authority that still reigns today as a brand. Quality
and dependability are two of the numerous intangible characteristics that a brand name always carries
subtly. Although a place, a product, or a country can all be separately branded, they are all interconnected
and ultimately can contribute to a country's branding. Branding for a product is almost always more flexible
than branding for a nation or location. Companies are permitted to make changes to products after they are
released in response to market demand, but when it comes to location or national branding, a country cannot
switch its beaches for mountains.

Branding can be used at different levels in the textile and apparel industry, most frequently at the clothing
level. IKEA, a global manufacturer of textiles, and Nike, a clothing company, bring in more money than
certain tiny nations' GDPs. Raymond, Sitaram, Arvind, and other well-known global textile fabric names
for shirts, suits, and other types of formal clothes are of Indian descent. Indian apparel, textiles, and fabrics
are seen as trendy in several nations.
Positive garment branding enhances the perception of a nation. The high-end apparel labels Armani and
Gucci, like Nike for the United States, H&M for Sweden, Zara for Spain, Hugo Boss for Germany, and
others, enhance the image of the Italian nation.

7. CURRENT STATUS OF BANGLADESHI APPAREL BRAND IN

INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Cat's Eye, a well-known local apparel brand producer and retailer, debuted branded clothing in 1980. Since
then, a number of brands have entered the garment market, and they are succeeding. In Bangladesh, there
are 56 fashion labels that are listed. Some of them, like Yellow, Artistic, and Kay Kraft, have crossed the
border and are engaged in the sale of branded clothes. We have yet to see significant international exposure
for our consumer clothes brand. Some people are successful in their high-risk (self-entry) entrepreneurial
endeavors.

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 8. STRUCTURE OF CLOTHING INDUSTRY OF BANGALDESH
Bangladeshi apparel has not yet entered the brand market. The majority of our output is geared toward
providing purchasers' brands to the market. When companies engage in the essential marketing to drive
customers to their stores and we produce high-quality clothing in a compliant environment, Bangladesh
benefits from win-win business relationships. The structure of Bangladesh's textile industry has altered over
the past few decades from just CM (Cutting-Making) to FOB (free on board). Input sourcing, financing,
production services, finishing, and packing can all be handled by FOB apparel companies for distribution
to retail stores. Most clothing companies were CM one and a half decades ago, while the remainder were
CMT (Cutting-Making-Trimming). According to a World Bank study (World Bank 2005b), two-thirds of
Bangladeshi garment companies engaged in CMT production in 2005. The Bangladeshi apparel industries
are broken out in the following table:

Although information on the various categories of clothing companies is lacking, it is clear that Bangladesh
has less than 2% of "Collection" clothing companies. CM, CMT, and RTS make up the lion's share of the
companies (FOB). Less hazardous than FOB or Collection business, CMT business produces lower
margins. Currently, the value addition in exported garment products might not exceed 25% of export value.

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The textile sector is a significant backward link for the apparel sector. The relationships between the many
processes and sub-processes are complex since the textile and apparel industry chain is one of the longest
and most complex industrial manufacturing chains. I prefer to use the following diagram to demonstrate
the relationships between the various processes from Bangladesh's perspective:

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In Bangladesh, there are three different kinds of textile clothing producers: (1) integrated manufacturing,
where factories import the cotton or fiber and carry out the rest of the manufacturing process (spinning,
weaving/knitting, cutting, and sewing) on their own; (2) factories that import yarn and then carry out the
rest of the manufacture; and (3) factories that import fabric and sew the garment in CMT factories. The
majority of the woven factories and the first two groups each include knit manufacturers (World Bank,
2005b)

Assistance for Bangladesh's textile industry

The industry's success is due to a number of factors. Bangladesh is a member of the Least Developed
Country (LDC) category, which grants it privileges when conducting business abroad in the clothing
industry. These privileges include the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and/or GSP Plus
facilities, the Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement, and the Duty-Free- Quota-Free Market Access
(DFQFMA) initiative. In addition, the government has made the apparel industry a primary focus by
offering tax breaks and cash incentives for exporting clothing items. Two crucial local features that have
helped to make our garment sector competitive are the enormously plentiful low cost labor force and the
low cost utilities. Due to the influx of foreign customers, the situation in Bangladesh is like "less honey,
more flies. "Roles of clothing manufacturer and brand developer-seller:

The relationship between a clothes manufacturer and a brand developer-seller is depicted in the next
straightforward diagram.

Even though branding businesses are engaged in selling manufactured goods to consumers, producing and
exporting apparel is largely a marketing activity (selling of things before those manufacture). The roles of
the brand manufacturer (the sector's anticipated future status) and the manufacturer (the sector's existing
position in Bangladesh's apparel industry) are shown in the following table:

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Bangladesh's apparel industry operates in the following ways:

Bangladesh's economy is dominated by the export-oriented apparel industry. Among the several ways to
conduct company internationally, exporting is the most secure business approach. Poor risk and high
flexibility are two benefits of conducting business abroad, but there is also a low profit margin. Self-entry
(i.e., selling own-branded apparel) is a highly lucrative, well-known, and effective method of conducting
worldwide business, but it is also very dangerous and flexible. Branding clothing articles requires a self-
entry method.

The rapid expansion of buying houses, sourcing offices, and satellite offices in Bangladesh suggests a
significant challenge for the "marketing performance" of apparel companies. In Bangladesh, there are
around 1200 buying offices in operation. 90 percent of clothing firms are thought to be involved with buying
agents or homes. The structure of Bangladesh's current apparel industry is shown in the following figure:

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Buyers and a few groups of competent human resources have been running intermediary businesses in
Bangladesh successfully due to a dearth of skilled human resources for marketing.

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The following table was put up using key criteria for branding issues, which are essential for operating a
profitable branding business in the global market. The current state of Bangladesh's apparel industry is as
follows:

Consumers around the world are familiar with Bangladeshi sweatshop production. Burning questions for
the global garment business include the deadliest fires in the industry, labor unrest, strikes, the death of a
labor union leader, poor salaries, and other compliance difficulties. The initial branding of clothing
products from any nation ensures that social and environmental problems exist locally.

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 9. SUGGESTIONS FOR OPTIMIZING OWN BRAND IN THE
GLOBAL MARKET
The global market economy is evolving more quickly than ever, and fierce rivalry is mostly the result of
wider globalization. The commercial tool of cheap prices is losing significance as our natural resources
become more expensive and scarce. Thus, it is crucial to use innovative techniques, such as product
branding, to maintain commercial competition in the worldwide market. Developing an individual brand
and knowing how to maintain it will increase profitability as well as the perceived value of the goods and
the nation. Developing a suitable brand strategy is a crucial part of launching a brand and its image.

Prior to going global with apparel branding, the particular nation must ensure its brand power in the nation,
which is referred to as the "laboratory test". The pass-fail outcome will also include advice and instructions
on what to do before joining the global market in terms of corrective measures. Because these citizens will
ultimately serve as your brand's ambassadors and clients when traveling to and staying in other nations, the
acceptance of the apparel products by their own people helps the products gain recognition on a global
scale.

Bangladesh is unable to launch its own brand of apparel on the international market. As a Least Developing
Country (LDC), Bangladesh has benefited from a long number of international assistance programs that
significantly increase our export. Government initiatives have a significant impact on the growth of the
apparel export industry. Gas, electricity, and other low-cost services are also directly contributing to the
increase of exports. However, the government backing and the low-cost labor and utilities will not last
forever, and the international assistance will be withdrawn as soon as the nation transitions from LDC to
DC classification. The Bangladeshi economy needs to get ready so that it can remain competitive once all
the supports are restored. The industry should concentrate on the above-mentioned table, which shows
Bangladesh's current situation, and make every effort to raise those conditions.

A good brand is always associated with excellent quality, a reasonable price, dependability, and services,
and in order to create a brand, one must first understand the characteristics of the market's consumers.
Therefore, the nation must develop branding tactics. The experiences in locally based clothing marketplaces
and affiliations may play a significant influence in the beginning of branding operations when introducing
clothing items to worldwide markets.

The following objectives should be included in strategies: building up national capacity through
collaboration between the public, private sector, and government; managing national clothing brands

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through a master plan and brand index; developing a national brand motivating force through the expansion
of a common national response; and the government collaborating with the association by fostering
investment and working to improve the business climate.

Clothing branding that has any distinguishing characteristics, a clear vision or mission, or enduring values
will fail in the mass market. Therefore, the presented branding's objective and vision should be well
developed. Typically, a purpose or vision is founded on a strong intuition or a deeply held conviction.

To present and popularize our clothing items in foreign markets, the government, associations of clothing
producers and exporters, as well as local associations of branded clothing makers and merchants, can
collaborate. Their team might identify a few worldwide regions and set up a generic superstore to showcase
their own clothing designs, product innovations, and branded clothes while also meeting with potential
merchants who would carry our branded clothing.

10. LIMITATIONS AND DIFFICULTIES FOR THE RAPID GROWTH

OF BANGALADESH'S TEXTILE INDUSTRY
• The cotton industry lacks research and development (R and D)
• Inadequate modern equipment
• Energy, electricity, and gas shortages
• Insufficient new investment
• A rise in raw material prices
• The impact of Inflation
• Demand Production Gap

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 11.CONCLUSION

Bangladesh is a popular location for textile manufacture because of the government's encouragement,
foreign assistance, and relatively inexpensive materials. Bangladesh has never taken the initiative to
establish or popularize its own brands or brand awareness campaigns in the international apparel industry.
However, specialists have been promoting Bangladesh for the business of apparel brands. However, if
Bangladesh takes the initiative to build its brand, international backing may be changed or withdrawn.
Bangladesh must seriously address the issue of clothes branding. The time is not right to start any such
initiative at the moment; instead, Bangladesh should focus more on pressing issues like compliance with
social and environmental issues, resource efficiency, and productivity improvement. The nation should
focus on "fair trade" commerce in the apparel sector after resolving its basic compliance problems since it
may generate more money and value for its national brand than clothing branding. Before presenting a
clothing brand to the foreign market, "fair trade" may be one of the "home works."

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 12. REFERENCE

Abrar Ahmed Apu, S. Q. (2006). Launching a Fashionable Woman’s Wear Brand in International Sales
Market, Hugo from Hugo Boss .
Akanda, D. A. (2012, April 12). Branding Bangladesh through RMG. Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangaldesh.
Apu, A. A. (2000). Bangladesh: Transforming into Global Clothing Sourcing Hub. Bangladesh Textile
Today (5), 20-22.
Apu, A. A. (2010). Potential of Branded Menswear in Bangladesh. International Conference on Textile
and Clothing.I, pp. 45-49. Dhaka: Bangladesh Textile Today.
Malinowska-Olszowy, M. (2005). Brand Strategy in the Clothing and Textile Market. FIBRES &
TEXTILES in Eastern Europe, 13.
Marazza, A. (2007, November). A country brand is more than just a logo.
Mekong Project Development Facility . (200). VIETNAM’S GARMENT INDUSTRY: Moving Up the
Value Chain.
Penman, J. (n.d.). TEXTILE BRANDING. CMA Global Fibers & Feedstocks Report .
Penman, J. Textile Branding. CMA Global Fibers & Feedstocks Report, 4.
Sigler, L. (2000). Why Brand?
Report, S. B. (2011, December). Branding for RMG comes under focus. Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Cepolina, S. (2011), “Fostering the Garment Industry Competitiveness: The ICT Contribution”, Global
Journal of Enterprise Information System, Vol. 3
Costanza, R. & Patten, B. (1995), “Defining and Predicting Sustainability”, Ecological Economics, Vol.
15
Doshi, G. (2006), “Overview of Bangladesh Garment Industry”, Available: http://ezinearticles.com
[Accessed July 2013]
Gerffi, G (1999), “International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain”, Journal
of International Economics, Vol. 48, pp.37-70

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