Apparel Online in its commitment to provide an engaging platform for interaction and networking has made a foray into sports with the ‘Golf Day’ initiative. The first event held at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka earlier this month attracted many industry golfers and some celebrity golfers too! The brainchild of Mayank Mohindra, Director, Apparel Resources and a passionate golfer himself, ‘Golf Day’ has been designed for the industry where stalwarts can enjoy a day of interaction and networking while celebrating the corporate game of golf, away from the shop floor and meeting rooms, among the greens of the golf course.
Not even an exceptionally hot October Sunday, just after the Eid holidays, could dampen the enthusiasm generated at the inaugural edition of the Apparel Online A&E Golf Day , when many well-known names of the Bangladesh RMG industry came together over a day of golf. Conceived as a heady combination of golf and business for the garment industry, the event attracted buyers, exporters, logistic companies and accessory/technology providers for the first time ever in such a unique fun-filled networking event. Organised by Apparel Online, and supported by A&E as title sponsors, with Shima Seiki, Le Méridien Dhaka and HueTrap (retail venture of Eastman Exports) co-sponsoring the event, ‘Golf Day’ brought the who’s who of the RMG industry, addicted to golf to the world class greens of the Kurmitola Golf Club for a satisfying day of golf.
Among the players who enthusiastically participated, were names like John Anthony Fowler, Director, Dewhirst; F. H. M. Nazrul Islam, Director, Opex Group; KB Mamoor, MD Asrofashion; ShawkatUz-Zaman, MD, Bengal Jeans; Leslie Durairaja, Head of Compliance, C&A; Rashad Chowdhury, Chairman, Banga Garments; Robert Jarvis, Country Manager, Poeticgem International; and Nizam Uddin, MD, Nitexpo International to name some of the 50-odd players who took part in a four-ball format tournament. Also adding a celebrity touch to the event were Heath Streak, Ex Zimbabwean cricketer and Ruwan Kalpage, ex-Sri Lankan cricketer, both avid golfers from BD Cricket Board, who enthusiastically enjoyed the game of golf with other participants and stayed on till the end. Ruwan went on to win the trophy for ‘closest to pin’ making the day extra special for him.
Though the sad news of the killing of an expat a day earlier did spread a bit of gloom in the morning when the participants divided into two groups were preparing for a tee-off, with some expat buyers reluctantly pulling out at the last minute because of advisories from their embassies, the spirits were high and many of the participants appreciated the way the event was managed. “Thank you for arranging such a nice and well-managed ‘Golf Day’, we enjoyed a lot. I love the whole idea and the way Apparel Online has designed and managed the event,” said Abul Kalam Azad, Executive Director, Style Creator, post the event. “For me it was even more special as I won the championship of the first ever ‘Golf Day’ by Apparel Online in Bangladesh,” he added.
With close coordination of the team at Kurmitola Golf Club the game, played in two sessions, 9 holes in each session with a short lunch break in-between went off well. In fact a few groups were so charged up that despite the heat they preferred to play in one straight game instead of taking a rest in-between. Robert Hallett, Senior VP International Market Development, American & Efird LLC, and Chris Alt, VP Global Sales & Marketing, both of whom had flown down from the United States for the event, were happy with the gathering of such diverse players from the industry as also the passion with which the game was played.
Winners list for Apparel Online A&E Golf Day
WINNER Abul Kalam Azad, Director, Style Creator
RUNNER-UP Shawkat-uz-Zaman, MD,Bengal Jeans Ltd.
BEST GROSS Brig. Gen. G M Quamrul Islam, MD, Elegant Team Development (85 Gross with Handicap of 14)
2ND BEST GROSS Nizam Uddin, MD, Nitexpo International (91 Gross with Handicap of 11)
LONGEST DRIVE Omar Hamid Chowdhury (246 Yards)
NEAREST TO PIN Ruwan Kalpage, Asst. Coach Bangladesh Cricket Board (12 Feet 0 Inch)
The evening event after a hot and tiring day on the golf course pepped up everybody’s spirits with the mood of the evening set by Naveed Mahbub, the worldrenowned stand-up comedian from the country, who kept the gathering smiling with his sense of humour. His brand of satire was in sync with the occasion, commenting dryly on the attitude of expats, Dhaka traffic, the US presidential elections and also poking fun at himself for making fun of others. Naveed’s performance was followed by presentations from the sponsors, all of whom acknowledged the event as a successful endeavour to combining golf with networking. “We are already looking forward to the next edition,” said Chris Alt. Ikuto Umeda, Executive Director, Shima Seiki and Tadanori Ueno, GM Bangladesh Operations expressed satisfaction of a day well-spent.
Drawing the maximum involvement was the award ceremony, with the 6 award winners proudly accepting the trophies amid loud cheer. The trophies specially designed by the organizers also drew much applause. Many of the participants expressed appreciation of the initiative. “It was great golfing together and hoping that we will be playing again very soon. Thanks Apparel Online for a wonderful experience,” said Tanvir Ahmed, Director, Elegant Team Development. Giving big thumbs up to the event Asif Ibrahim, Vice Chairman, Newage Garments said, “Next time I am sure that the event will have a bigger turnout as the message will travel fast and attract many more golfers from the RMG sector.”
Dhaka with its rich culture of golf was an apt backdrop for the unique event conceived by Apparel Online Bangladesh, the most widely read and appreciated magazine for the garment industry in the country. Running B2B publications, Apparel Resources is always on the lookout for new ways to bring the various players of the industry on to a single interactive platform and with the launch of the first ‘Golf Day’, a new beginning of business networking over a passionate game of golf has been made.
The industry’s keenness in having a second edition and the positive feedback from sponsors has ignited the organisers to look into another edition soon. Many useful feedbacks have been received and the organisers are already working on the feedbacks and an announcement of the next event will be made after analysing the suggestions.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
