All is well on the apparel export front

Major Western clothing retailers said they are yet to cut back on their work orders from Bangladesh for the coronavirus outbreak in Europe and the US -- where most of the country's apparel products are headed -- in a reassuring development for the sector that rakes in 84 per cent of the exports receipts and employs about 4 million.

The Daily Star spoke with the country managers of four major clothing brands, all of which are household names in the Western world, and they all said the same thing: that there are no plans to revise down their sourcing targets from Bangladesh.

The four brands' combined sourcing accounts for about 20 per cent of Bangladesh's receipts from apparel shipments every year.

The disclosure is in stark contrast to the news coming out of the headquarters of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the sector's apex trade body, which is foreboding doom and gloom.

"We are facing a grave situation with coronavirus. The brands are reducing their orders and are asking us to hold on to uncut fabric," BGMEA President Rubana Huq said Thursday.

And those who are producing are being asked to hold their shipments as global consumption is coming to a halt, Huq said in a WhatsApp message.

But the retailers the correspondent spoke with yesterday remained buoyant, even though Europe has now become the epicentre of the novel virus, shifting away from China.

"Until now, the company has not slashed any work order," said the country manager of a European retailer asking not to be named as he is not authorised to speak with the media without getting the clearance from the headquarters, which is closed for the weekend.

In fact, the company has placed 5 per cent more work orders in Bangladesh compared with last year, he said.

"We consider this country as an important place for our business."

If the situation worsens in the EU and the US further, then consumption might be hit hard.

But, given the advent of online shopping, consumers' staying away from shopping centres or even a lockdown in large parts of the Western world would soften the blow of the virus.

"While our stores currently remain open for business, we recognise you may choose to shop from home. Our ck.com customer service team is available 7 days of the week, and we have extended our return window for all purchases after February 1, 2020 to 60 days," said Cheryl Abel-Hodges, chief executive officer of Calvin Klein, in a press release yesterday.

Besides, the timing of the spread of the virus is opportune in a way: the stores have started to put out their spring/summer collections, so the country's apparel manufacturers have already shipped out a big chunk of their work orders.

"We have been running our office as normal. We did not ask for any work order cancellation in any of the factory until now in Bangladesh," said another official of a multinational clothing retailing company of Europe.

He too requested not to be named as he did not get authorisation from the company headquarters to speak with the media on such matters.

His company is taking strong health and safety measures, so that the staff are not infected by the coronavirus.

"I hope the situation will improve soon now that the governments in Europe and America have been stirred into action to contain the virus," said the official who sources garment items from nearly 250 garment factories in Bangladesh.

At the time of writing, Italy is in lockdown, and the Spain, the second most affected country, is considering following suit, too.

Meanwhile, China, where the virus originated from and the apparel sector's source for 46 per cent of the raw materials, has got the novel virus under control and is on course to restarting production.

"Things are improving in the supply chain with China," said Kabir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA).

For instance, normally some 550 tonnes of cargoes are unloaded in a day at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

However, the quantity declined to nearly 250 tonnes a day in February, when coronavirus was at its peak in China.

But, over the last two days, nearly 300 tonnes of cargoes have been unloaded a day.

"This means, normalcy is being restored in China," he added.

In fiscal 2018-19, $5.02 billion worth of textiles were brought in from China.

"Nobody complained of any disruption in the supply chain as of now," said Monsoor Ahmed, secretary to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.

The association's members import machinery, cotton, dyes chemicals and other industrial raw materials mainly from China.

Besides, most of the international clothing retailers and brands have extended the period of execution of work orders for two weeks due to the virus, according to Kyaw Sein Thay Dolly, managing director of Cloths "R" US, a garment buying house in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based QIMA, a leading provider of supply chain compliance solutions and which partners with brands, retailers and importers to secure, manage and optimise their global supply network, surveyed the executives of more than 200 globally renowned companies between February and early March and found that Bangladesh stands to benefit from the fallout of the coronavirus.

The reason being, most of the globally renowned companies are planning to shift their work orders from China to other Asian countries, including Bangladesh.