Damaru Value Stores, a new low-price grocery chain, is facing questions over Tk31 million (about €217,000) in alleged supplier deductions and hundreds of unresolved customer complaints, months after a chaotic launch in Dhaka. Nineteen suppliers and shoppers interviewed by The Plausible Post say the chain’s advertised savings did not match what customers paid or small vendors received.
The company opened eight outlets on 18 February, promoting a basket of 30 staples at least 15% below nearby prices. On the first weekend, customers at five stores found that several till prices exceeded the shelf labels. Damaru apologised for a software error, but suppliers say the opening also marked the start of deductions they had not agreed to.
Launch prices failed at checkout
Nadia Guerra, who bought rice and cooking oil at the Mirpur-10 branch, kept her receipt after being charged Tk168 more than the displayed prices. She said staff told her the till had not been updated and offered a refund form. “The whole point was that we could count on the price on the shelf,” Guerra said. She has not received the money.
The company’s online help page logged 1,842 refund requests over the opening month. Damaru says it has resolved 611, worth Tk2.7 million (about €19,000), and is checking the rest. Walter Dare, a spokesperson for the consumer protection directorate, said inspectors compared tags and receipts at six branches in September and recorded 16 overcharges among 47 purchases. The directorate has not issued a final finding.
The low-price promise brought people in; the bill at the till drove them away.
Nadia Guerra, shopper
Suppliers describe hidden charges
Marta Frank, who supplies lentils to three Damaru outlets, said the chain deducted a “launch support” fee from invoices between April and August. She and 18 other suppliers showed the newspaper account summaries recording deductions that they say total Tk31 million. Frank said she had not agreed to pay a fee, but feared losing shelf space if she objected.
The suppliers’ claims vary, and the newspaper could not independently confirm the full total. Frank’s records show Tk420,000 deducted from her invoices. The vendors say they have received no clear breakdown of how the charges were calculated or how much remains unpaid.
Company disputes the allegations
Bolli Jennis, Damaru’s finance director, said the chain had agreements with 11 suppliers for promotional contributions worth Tk12.4 million, and rejected claims that payments were compulsory. Jennis said the company was reviewing disputed accounts and had refunded customers where till errors were confirmed. The company did not explain why supplier account summaries showed deductions from vendors outside the 11 agreements.
Dare said the directorate had given Damaru 10 working days to provide price lists and supplier agreements. The company says it will comply. Six of the original eight outlets are still trading, and Damaru has paused plans to open more while it checks its pricing system. For customers who came looking for cheaper essentials, the unanswered claims now reach beyond the first weekend’s till error.
