Apparel makers target upscale market
L-R: Employees at a lab in a garments factory run tests for high-end apparel items. Garment makers in Bangladesh, which is popular for basic garments, now look to the high-end market.Photo: Amran Hossain
Garments producer Ananta Group is going to open a factory at the Adamjee Export Processing Zone (APEZ) on the outskirts of Dhaka to exclusively produce high-end suits for a buyer in Europe.
The $20 million factory is now under construction and is expected to go into production from next July. The group has been sending apparel to international buyers over the years, but mostly basic garment items.
Many garment makers are now going for high-end garment products as profit margins from the sales of basic garments are deteriorating.
Industry insiders say that apparel makers are now shifting focus to more upscale products and markets, as demand for such products is on the rise globally.
High-end products add more value for the makers. Experts say garment makers are unable to remain competitive from the sale of basic garment items for long, as global fashion and designs change quickly.
More and more international buyers are choosing Bangladesh to manufacture such sophisticated items as the production costs in China, the world's largest apparel supplying country, are rising for higher wages and a shortage of workers in this sector.
Bangladesh is globally well-known for basic garment items. But the country is recently shifting to high-end garment products as demand is increasing.
China is no more a viable option for buyers, and as a result, they are shifting orders to Bangladesh, industry people say.
Asif Zahir, a director of Ananta Group, said he has a target to produce a few million units of suits per year, exclusively for a European buyer.
The products are high-end for a combination of great designs, flawless craftsmanship, quality and meticulous attention to detail.
“The country will have to go for high-end products as this is the demand from the buyers' end. You have to diversify the products and follow fashion trends if you want to be competitive. So, we are going for product diversification.”
“You have to follow the latest trends in fashion to make goods for upscale customers. People get bored wearing the same design for too long,” he added.
Factories catering to upscale markets have to use special fabric, specialised machinery, yarn and trained operators, he said.
Ahsan Kabir Khan, managing director of Interfab Shirts Manufacturing Company Ltd, a unit of Viyellatex Group, said he is expanding the factory's capacity to produce some exclusive high-end garments.
He said production in one unit will start in December, while production at the other unit will begin next year.
“The arrival of many buyers for high-end garment products symbolises that the country's garment sector is shifting to upper scale production. We are receiving a lot of response from the buyers for such products,” he added.
“You have to be very careful about quality in making high-end products, as those are displayed on the shelves of globally renowned brands,” he said.
The company signed an agreement with Germany's Olymp recently to produce exclusive shirts. Viyellatex Group has already tied up with Hugo Boss, another high-end brand from Germany, last year.
“Now some Italian high-end brands are also contacting us to get the products from us,” Khan says. The company has a target to produce 14 million units of shirts a year to supply to the high-end market.
Binoy Kumar Pal, general manager of Chittagong Denim, a Gazipur based factory, said denim products have added a new dimension to high-end products in Bangladesh.
Now, most denim factories in Bangladesh work for upscale customers. International buyers are placing orders in the bulk with them.
Up to 2001, there were only four denim mills in the country, but now the number stands at 20, he added.
“Chittagong Denim worked for Diesel that is a high end brand. The denim products have more potential to grab a greater share of the pie as demand for such products is increasing because of a change in global fashion,” he says.
Demand for high-end sports wear is also high. Youngone Group is a factory in Bangladesh that is supplying high-end sports wear to international buyers.
“We produce such items with special fabric, as per demand from our buyers. Demand for such products is increasing as other competitive countries are losing their market to us for a higher cost of production,” says Zahidul Hoque, production director of Youngone Group.
Some high-end fashion brands like Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, G-Star, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Nike, Benetton and Mango have been outsourcing garment products from Bangladesh over the last few years.
Comments