COVER STORY

Sweater is amajorproduct category – third in line after T-shirtsand

bottoms. However, considering the huge global knitwear market,

Bangladesh’s average annual knitwear export of US $ 12 billion –

in which sweater constitutes little more than one-fourth share of

the country’s total knitwear items – leaves much room for growth

and improvement.

Sweater – Automation leading the way

Manufacturers stress on dual strategy of market

diversification & automation to cash in on new opportunities

hina is still the largest sweaterCmanufacturer in the world with

estimated production volume of

around US $ 50 billion as compared

to Bangladesh’s US $ 3.5 billion

per annum even though Chineseentrepreneurs are moving away from

garment towards hi-tech and heavy

industries in face of rising labour cost

and scarcity of skilled manpower.But,

signs are already here for everyone

to see with visible shift of business

to Bangladesh.

“The kind of capabilities the country

has for sweater manufacturing is

difficult to be replicated by any other

country. As not only is the investment

huge but also the expertise and

support system required has not kept

pace with time in other countries,”

opines Saiful Hoque,Chairman,

Sky Apparels, a 100%export-oriented

sweater manufacturer with 200 state-

of-the-art jacquard machinesand

in-house yarn dyeing and processing

capabilities. Sky Apparels also

manufactures woven items.

Blessed with a robust ecosystem –

significant increase in yarn dyeing

and processing, and enhancing cotton

and acrylic yarns manufacturing

capacities with only the fancy yarns

still missing in its repertoire for which

the country is majorly dependent

on overseas destinations – most

of the sweater manufacturers

in Bangladesh have adopted a

two-pronged strategy ofmarket

diversiftcation and automation

to enhance productivity, expand

product offerings,increase

efftciencies and grab bigger market

share. The sub sector, which shared

US $ 3.41 billion (11 per cent) of total

RMG exports of US $ 31 billion in the

fiscal year 2014-15, and aiming to

reach US $ 8.0 billion export milestone

by 2020 to fulfil the target of US $ 50

billion from RMG exports by 2021, the

stakes are really high!

AUTOMATS TO THERESCUE…With each

passing day

profitmargins

are getting

narrower

and on the

contrary

production

cost isrising

continuously

for the

manufacturers. This

season theasking

price for yarn is reportedly

almost 20-25 per cent more than the

last year; add to it the automatic

increase of 5 per cent in workers’

wages. “The only option to reduce

cost and still remain competitive is

through automation,” underlines

Milan Kanti Barua, Director, Azim

Group. The labour cost in sweater

manufacturing is also much higher

compared to knit or woven factories

due to piece rate in production and 10

hours of running. “Earlier the wages

were between US $ 50-60 but knitting

operators are now demanding and

also getting salary as high as US $ 250

to even US $ 300 a month,” adds

Md. Delowar Hossain, Director –

Raozan Sweaters Ltd., pointing out

how increasingly labour cost is taking

the sheen off Bangladesh, considered

a low-cost garment hub with abundant

manpower and expertise.

As such retraining the manual

flat knitting machine operators on

automatic knitting machines where

the average man-machine ratio in

most factories is 1:4 with some even

trying to replicate one operator

handling 10 automatic machines

as practised in China and Turkey,

industry insiders foresee total

elimination of hand flat knitting

machines from Bangladesh indays

to come.

According to Mohammed

Hatem, former Vice-President

of Bangladesh Knitwear

Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (BKMEA), around

10,000 automatic machines have

been installed indifferentsweater factories

inBangladesh

last year alone

while as per

Md.Mamunur

Rahim,MD,

Desmo S,

ownerof

100-machine-

strong sweater

manufacturing

unitwith

production

capacity of 800

pieces a day,there

are at least 50,000

automats in the country currently.

Deferred payment options offered by

leading automatic knitting machine

providers, under which sweater

manufacturers starts repaying the

capital invested only after a period

of 2 to 3 years of purchasing, is also

pushing the demand for automats.

“Despite sizeable investment, the

RoI has come down significantly

over the years, which is encouraging

the entrepreneurs,” underlines

Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan,

Managing Director of Sonia &

Sweaters Limited, who has already

installed 200 automatic machines from

Shima Seiki with plans to open LC for

100 more soon.

With fashions changing at a

faster rate than ever before, and

Azim Group

Many

feel Bangladesh has

very good prospects

with the markets in South Korea,

South Africa, Russia (especially the

CIS states), China, and some countries in

South America. China’s US $ 100 billion

market for apparel products has many

sweater manufacturers in Bangladesh

aggressively looking at gaining

tractionthere.

A multinational holding company based in Chittagong, Azim

Group has about 20 manufacturing units (in woven garments

and sweaters), with over 26,000 employees in its payroll and

annual revenue of about US $ 200 million. It also has sourcing

and marketing hubs in Hong Kong and a liaison office in

NewYork.

Catering to the leading labels of US and EU – Inditex

(Zara), The Children’s Place, Loblaws Inc. (Joe Fresh),

Sainsbury’s, Eurofrente, Branex, Tesco, Asda, etc., Azim

Group produces around 700,000 pieces of sweaters monthly

through its three sweater manufacturing facilities – Orchid

Sweater Limited (production capacity of 8,000 – 8,500 dz./

month), Savar Sweater Limited (Capacity 16,500 – 17,000 dz./

month) and Creative Sweaters Pvt. Limited (capacity 9,000 –

9,500dz./month).

Inside the factory of Azim Group

“In our group, we have 4,500 manual machines and now we

have introduced 330 auto jacquards in Savar Sweaters and

plan to install another 200 machines shortly,” underlines

Milan Kanti Barua, Director, AzimGroup.

Proficient in manufacturing sweaters – both in heavy and the

fine gauge using different kinds of yarns, Azim Group produces

fashionable and value-added products along with basic items

for its various customers. “Joe Fresh requires high-end

sweaters, Zara in mid-fashion and Walmart and Kmart for

the mass market, which are mostly basics,” explains Barua.

Azim Group is also open to do smaller volumes – 2,000 to 3,000

pieces per style also, but only for the existing clients and plans

to introduce intarsia in near future. “Intarsia will enable us

come up with more complicated and high-end designs,” points

out Barua, underlining that currently the demand is more for

fine-gauge sweaters in complex designs and colours.

“Exporters prepare samples based on the drawings sent by the buyers and then redesign it according to the

buyers’ inputs. However, what they do not realize is that making a sample is more difficult than manufacturing

1,000 sweaters.” – Tadanori Ueno, General Manager, Bangladesh Liaison Office – Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd. p20

necessitating greater machine

flexibility to come up with

innovative designs, styles and

value-additions, manufacturers

are also opening up to invest in

automation, keeping future in

perspective. “Now buyers are not only

looking at basics but also seeking

fashionable items, which is not

always supported byhand

flats,”maintained

HabiburRahman,

Manager,

Merchandising

andMarketing

of Pretty

Group with

monthly

sweater

production

capacity of 1.8

millionpieces.

The combined

hand flat machines

strength of Azim

Group in its three sweater

factories – Savar Sweaters Ltd.,

Orchid Sweaters Ltd. (Chittagong),

and Creative Sweaters Ltd. (Dhaka)

– is 4,500 machines, excluding the

330 automatic jacquard machines,

and another 200 to be installed soon,

catering to diverse clienteles like

Zara (mid-fashionable products in

volumes), Kmart and Walmart (basics

in volumes) and Joe Fresh (fancy

items), the introduction of automats

have enabled them to diversify

product basket, attain greater

flexibility while also increasing

thecapacities.

“Tops, bottoms, kids’ itemsand

dresses are some of our

produce that we are

exporting now… Withhand flats also we

can docertain

items butthe

productivity

is very low.

Besides,

manual

machineshave

limitations in

terms of quality

anddesigns,”

explains Baruaof

AzimGroup.

For Sonia & Sweater,

automation is more for

capacity expansion rather than

value addition. Says Enayetuddin:

“We can design almost everything

on our manual machines but we

intentionally don’t produce dresses

and other fashionable items. We

are doing 3-4 million pieces a year

and with installation of automats

Raozan Sweaters

“In

Chittagong there were

at least 70-80sweater

factories 5-6 years back but now

the number has dwindled to 15-20…

Even when you don’t have orders, workers’

wages and other overheads pertaining

to maintenance is something that one

cannotescape.”–Md. Delowar Hossain, Director –

Raozan Sweaters Ltd.

Milan Kanti Barua, Director, Azim Group

Established in 2007, Raozan Sweaters Ltd. (based out of

Chittagong) headed by Md. Delowar Hossain, as Director

has 500 hand flats and 9 jacquard machines from Shima Seiki,

and exports sweaters mainly to South American countries

(fine-gauge sweaters) including Peru, Chile, Colombia, Mexico;

besidesJapan.

Awarded by BGMEA in 2010 for exporting to non-conventional

markets, Raozan counts Mexico as its principal market

where it caters to chain stores like Almacenes Garcia, Coppel

Corporation, Woolworth, etc. “Garcia has been placing all its

sweater orders to us since 2006; they have around 80 outlets in

Mexico,” underlines Delowar, who manufactures and exports

all kinds of sweaters in diverse makes – acrylic, cotton and

various other blends, like viscose, mélange viscose, etc.

The recent acquisition of the automats, Delowar believes is a

necessity which would help him produce more value-added and

fashionable items while also diversifying his product basket.

“Without upgradation, it is not possible to survive in the

present scenario as profit margins are diminishing drastically

while production cost is going up,” maintains the Director of

Raozan. Making sweaters based on styles and specifications

provided by the buyers, Delowar is more than keen on

developing his own team to create new designs. “Currently

we don’t have the capabilities to come up with our own PD

team but in future we have plans to make designs in-house,”

underlines Delowar.

The new automised production unit of Raozan Sweaters

Desmo S

Md. Delowar Hossain, Director, Raozan Sweaters Ltd. Md. Mamunur Rahim, MD, Desmo S

Helmed by Md. Mamunur Rahim as MD, Desmo S isa

100-machine (hand flats from Honkima) strong sweater unit

with production capacity of 800 pieces per day, catering

mainly to H&M and George in men’s and women’s sections.

Having manufactured around 1,00,000 pieces of sweaters for

George and H&M each respectively, last year, Mamunur is

now planning to double the volumes consequent to increased

demand from the clients. “As there is enough space in the

factory, I am planning to install 50-80 automatic machines,”

underlines the MD of Desmo S, who has already procured land

to come up with a fully-compliant sweater factory with machine

strength of around300.

Alongside increasing capacities, Mamunur is also pursuing

new clients and expecting to make some headway soon.

“Shirtex (importer) based out of Shanghai, China, which

supplies to around 600 entities there, is one of the new

clients I am in discussion with. They also visited my factory

last month,” adds Mamunur, who has also recently started

supplying Chinese metallic yarns in many sweater factories of

Bangladesh, owing to its increased demands.

Production unit of Desmo S focused more on metallic yarns

our productivity is getting better

continuously, so we have no reason to

get into higher fashion categories…”

MARKET & PRODUCT INNOVATION TO ADDRESS SEASONAL BUSINESSTraditionally catering

to Europe, USAand

Japan, sweater

exporters are no

longer content

just with the

established

market places;

the call of the

unknown and

the unexplored

seems too strong

to resist, andwhy

not if potentials

aregood.

“From the very beginning our

market strategy has been different.

Our focus area is South America

where we want to consolidate our

position,” underlines Delowar

Hossain, who has recently procured

9 Shima Seiki machines from Japan

to boost productivity and cater to

non-conventional countries like Peru,

Chile, Colombia and Mexico, which

Hossain considers his principal

market where he supplies to chain

stores like Almacenes Garcia, Coppel

Corporation, Woolworth, etc. Next in

line for Hossain is Russia, where he

anticipates good business. Amongst

traditional markets, Raozan is also

present in Japan.

South Korea, SouthAmerican countries,

SouthAfrica,

Russia (especially

CISstates),

and China

are markets

Bangladesh

has very good

prospects, feel

many. China’s

US $ 100 billion

marketfor

apparel productshas manysweater

manufacturers in

Bangladesh aggressively

looking at gaining traction there.

India is another big nameemerging

as potent non-conventional

market, lately.

“Population wise India makes more

business sense compared to Europe.

Catering to India would be much

easier too in terms of logistics and

With

each passing day

profit margins aregetting

narrower and on the contrary

production cost is rising continuously

for the manufacturers. This season the

asking price for yarn is reportedly almost

20-25 per cent more than the last year;

add to it is the automatic increase of

5 per cent in workers’ wages.

other aspects. The country also has

many big retail chains,” points out

Mamunur, adding, with numerous

established players already in fray

to capitalise on the opportunities,

it would be no cakewalk for smaller

entities like Desmo S. Though India

is shrinking in terms of sweater

manufacturing but market wise

it has lot of potential that has

already earned attention of sweater

manufacturers from Bangladesh.

Mamunur’s observation on India is

also reiterated by Lutfor Rahman

– CEO, Araf Tex Mode, a buying

house, which has already started

exporting to a Delhi-based importer

in smaller quantities, sensing the

opportunitiesthere.

Considered a seasonal business,

market expansion is also helping

sweater manufacturers to deal

with the lean season, effectively by

reaching out to markets as diverse

as Japan and South America where

seasons are different. “In Chittagong

there were at least 70-80 sweater

factories 5-6 years back but now the

number has dwindled to 15-20… Even

when you don’t have orders, workers’

wages and other overheads pertaining

to maintenance aresomething

that one cannot escape,” laments

DelowarHossain.

With demands increasing steadily for

summer cardigans and pullovers that

feel like a T-shirt for layering, sweater

manufacturers seems to have found a

new opportunity to survive even in the

lean (‘off-peak’ season) phase. “Some

buyers call the yarns of such products

as summer yarn, as they are a bit

cooler,” underlined Zahir Rayhan,

Managing Director of Asian Tex

Sweaters with productioncapacity

of 2,00,000 pieces per month. Summer

yarns are mostly blended yarns with

65 per cent rayon and 35 per cent

polyester made in one ply and two ply,

making it more breathable for the

summer season but a little heavier than

just a T-shirt. Giving a further boost to

demands for sweaters, coming up are

many new brands like Alps & Meters,

Jude (Australian knitwear label),

Knyttan (a London-based company),

Wool and the Gang (online platform

for bespoke knitwear production), etc.

alongside the trendsetters – Chanel,

Prada, Marni, Céline, Stella McCartney,

J.Crew, Loro Piana, and traditional

powerhouses – Max Mara, Missoni,

John Smedley, Black Sheep, J.Crew,

Garnet Hill Cashmere, Lands’ End,

Charter Club/Macy’s, Jed and the

likes that have opened up avenues of

growth for sweater manufacturers like

never before.

Sonia& Sweaters Ltd.

Sonia & Sweaters Ltd. is part of Sonia Group

– established in 1998 as a ‘trading house’,

which subsequently branched off to various

related manufacturing processes pertaining

to the Knit Composite Industry – Sonia Ltd.,

Sonia & Sweaters Ltd., Sonia Fine Knit Ltd.,

and Naba Knit Composite Ltd. It also deals in

allied services related to RMG through Hope

Packaging Ltd., Nexus Logistics Ltd., and

Nexus Cargo.

Producing 3-4 million pieces of sweaters

per year in men’s, women’s, and children’s

categories in various yarn compositions for

all age groups and demographics, Sonia &

Sweaters counts names such as Marks &

Spencer, Kenneth Cole, GAP, Metro Group,

Carrefour Group, George, etc., amongst its

clienteles.

“With installation of new machines (already

200 automatic machines from Shima Seiki

have been installed in Sonia & Sweaters

with plans to open LC for 100 more soon), our

productivity is getting better,” maintains

Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan, Managing

Director of Sonia & Sweaters Limited, who

goes on to add that in Bangladesh, sweater

manufacturing started off as a manual

process having entered the phase of semi-

automation lately with linking still done

manually in majority of the factories.

Capable of doing fashionable and high-end

varieties, the company dwells more on basic

items. “We can design almost everything

but we don’t do dresses and other high-end,

fashionable items,” underlines Enayetuddin,

adding, “We basically live on volumes.”

Having created a niche in 12 and 14 gauge

sweaters, Enayetuddin maintains that though

many sweater manufacturers have started

thinking of PD but lack of local availability of

well-trained designers has slowed down the

process, who also observed that Bangladesh

was yet to go some distance before attaining

maturity in sweater manufacturing. “We are

using automatic machines but whether we

are able to optimally utilize the machines is a

big question; that’s why I say that we have not

fully developed yet,” signs off the MD of Sonia

&Sweaters.

Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan, Managing Director, Sonia & Sweaters Limited

STATISTICAL FACTSHEET

USMarketGlobal export of sweaters to USA

marked a marginal increase of

one per cent in 2015 (Jan.-Dec.)

at US $ 13.8 billion as compared

to the corresponding period in

the previous year, and the trend

continues in the year 2016 as per

Jan.-Aug. data.

Interestingly, MMF sweaters

showed growth in the first 8 months

of 2016 (from Jan.-Aug. 2015) as

against cotton which grew more in

2015 compared to 2014.

Though the total US imports

of sweater is standing steady,

Bangladesh registered a major

growth in export of cottonand

MMF sweaters to USA by around

24 per cent value-wise in 2015

(Jan.-Dec). The country exported

cotton sweater worth US $ 260.79

million in 2015 and MMF worth US

$ 112.41 million to the US market.

The growth trend continues in both

the categories in 2016 (Jan.-Aug.)

as compared to the corresponding

period in the previous year.

Bangladesh has a long way to go to

catch up with Vietnam. The export

of sweaters from Vietnam is valued

at US $ 1.98 billion in 2015, which is

around 5 times more than the value

of exports of Bangladesh. Even

India exports more sweaters than

Bangladesh.

Even though Bangladesh sweater

marked an increase by investing

in automation, its export will not

be more than 7 per cent in 2016

compared to the previous year.

EUMarketEU is a smaller sweater market

compared to the US, while the total

exports to EU is US $ 10.7 billion,

to the US market it is US $ 13.8

billion. However, Bangladesh is

major exporter with US $ 2.4 billion

export to EU and will see a growth

of minimum of around 10per

cent in 2016 despite having faced

many difficulties.

Though the cotton sweaters have

much bigger market in US, the EU

prefers both cotton & MMF in equal

quantities. Bangladesh, however, is

more stronger in cotton sweaters.

he data by the InternationalTTextile Manufacturers

Federation shows that the global

shipments of electronic flat

knitting machines (used in fully-

fashioned sweater production)

were up by 31 per cent in 2014, of

which 85 per cent made their way

to Asia. If China grabbed a major

share of the total shipment to

Asia (accounting for 42 per cent),

Bangladesh came a close second

followed by Vietnam in third.

According to Shima Seiki,

around 8,000 machines came to

Bangladesh last year, which has

emerged as a major player in the

Bangladesh market, recording

astonishing growth with unit

sales doubling year over year.

Highlighting the company’s

expanding market in Bangladesh,

Executive Director of Shima

Seiki Mfg. Ltd., Ikuto Umeda,

points out that Bangladesh is

currently the fastest moving

market for them as the industry is

rapidly converting its hand flats

into automated flats and with

economic models to suit the entry

point needs, Shima Seiki is poised

to increase its market share

significantly.

“Shima gives us good service

and fantastic support. They not

only trained our operators in-

house but also took some of our

people to Japan for training.

Spare parts availability and the

locally-based team of Japanese

technicians are excellent,”

underlined Alamgir Kabir,

Managing Director, Best Wool

Sweaters, one of the biggest

sweater manufacturers in

the country with 1,600 hand

flats, 500 Shima Seiki and 400

Chinese semi-automatic flat

knitting machines, vouching

on Shima Seiki’s services and

reliability. Kabir’s sentiment is

reiterated even more strongly by

Enayetuddin Md. Kaiser Khan,

Managing Director of Sonia

& Sweaters Limited, who has

already installed 200 automatic

machines from Shima Seiki with

plans to open LC for 100 more

soon, and who underlined, “Shima

Seiki is the only one to work with

for us,” the statement seconded

by Delowar Hossain, Director –

Raozan Sweaters Ltd., who has

installed 9 automatic jacquard

machines in his facility recently.

The popularity of the

Shima Seiki is also due

to its robust training

programmes for the operators and

technicians. “We are providing

basic training, intermediate

training and higher training

to our customers. We are even

The Race for Automation…

TalkingSweaters

sending technicians of our

customers to Shima Seiki, Japan

for further training,” explained

M. Shahabuddin, Managing

Director of Paciftc Associates,

supplier of Shima Seiki machines

in Bangladesh.

The brand’s flat knitting machine

SSR112, which comes with Shima

Seiki’s patented DSCS- Digital

Stitch Control System technology,

is the most popular.

The machine treats each loop

as digital data and thus is able

to control the length and shape

of every loop. Once a specific

loop length is programmed, the

machine continuously adjusts

Tadanori Ueno, General Manager,

Bangladesh Liaison Office –Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.

Seminar on technology in progress

Ikuto Umeda, Executive Director,

Shima Seiki Mfg.Ltd.,

egardless of thepromisesRand prospects, sweater

manufacturers in the country

are constrained by diverse

challenges, which are however

not unique, they are in reality

applicable on the entire industry

spectrum like short supply of gas

and electricity, infrastructural

bottlenecks, business-unfriendly

banking (non-availability of

loans, high interest rates) for

small and medium segments to

name some while there are some,

which are unique to the sweater

industry. Foremost of these are

workers’ absenteeism and limited

skill set, limitations pertaining

to efficiency and unethical

competition.

Blessed with huge manpower but

high rate of absenteeism during

the festive seasons is something

sweater manufacturers are

hard-pressed to tackle. This

not only affects productivity but

also leads to serious business

loss owing to delivery delays

and cancellations. Automation

although has helped address

this to a great extent, lack of

skilled manpower is still holding

back sweater manufacturers

from reaping full benefit of

automation. Some have already

started retraining manual flat

knitting machine operators on

automatic knitting machines,

but the average man-machine

ratio of 1:4 is still a far cry from

the advanced manufacturing

destinations like Turkey and

China, where an operator is

skilled enough to operate 10

machines simultaneously.

This has helped them cut

manpower substantially while

also increasing productivity.

To counter this, sector experts

suggest initiating knowledge-

based education by updating

the curriculum and opening

sector-related departments in

theuniversities.

Enhancement in knowledge base,

they feel, would also help sweater

manufacturers move up the value

chain by producing fashionable

products. Despite technical

advances, the country is yet to

be considered fully developed

to compete in high-fashion

sweaters, which has many

brands and retailers availing

limited support in terms of

jacquards, with only some parts

of the sweater made in critical

designs, here.

Another interesting

development is constraint due

to rapid increase in capacities,

compounded further by new

players joining the fray to cash

in the opportunities leading to

‘undercutting’. Spoilt for choice,

there’s no blaming the buyers if

they go to who offers the lowest

price. A concerted marketing

effort spearheaded by the

Government in association with

the industry bodies is the only

way to control the malpractice

and give a new direction to

theindustry.

Experts, as such, stress on a

sustainable Government policy

formulated in consultation with

all the stakeholders, including

industry people, to overcome

the shortcomings and achieve

desired results.

yarn feed and tension to yield

consistency in every loop of

each course, within ±1%. This

results in production of knitwear

with uniform dimensions and

shaping, reducing the quality

rejections due to size variations

and deformed shape. The

knitting machine, which comes

in 7, 12, 14, and 16-gauge,

also features Rapid Response

Carriage System, allowing lower

movement of inertia and quicker

carriage returns.

ShimaKnitPLM, which is also

the first PLM solution in flat

knitting, is another offering

worth mentioning. This unique

intervention helps connect

Shima Seiki products with the

customer’s ERP and SCM core

systems to provide high-level

of traceability and eventually

higher productivity through

every stage of the value chain.

“Manufacturers need to focus

on these kinds of interventions

to get better value and minimum

rejections, and also meet on-time

deliveries,” explains Tadanori

Ueno, General Manager,

Bangladesh Liaison Offtce –

Shima Seiki Mfg.Ltd.

The company plans to make it

loud and clear that it is not in

Bangladesh to just sell machines,

but rather help the garment

manufacturers add value to

their produce and production

capabilities.

Apart from the range of flat

knitting machines, Shima

Seiki’s SDS design system

is also said to be of big help

Design studio of Shima Seiki

TalkingSweaters

Challenges for the subsector

to the apparel exporters

of Bangladesh. “Exporters

prepare samples based on the

drawings sent by the buyers

and then redesign it according

to the buyers’ inputs. However,

what they do not realize is

that making a sample is more

difficult than manufacturing

1,000 sweaters,” reasons

Tadanori. By using the SDS

design system, manufacturers

can make virtual samples and

also adjust the size of each part

immediately, using the grading

system, which helps them save a

lot of time and money, spent on

making samples.

In this race for automation,

Chinese automatic machine

manufacturers are a long way

from catching up with the market

leaders (Shima Seiki, Japan and

Stoll, Germany). And now the

stress is building up to increase

capacities by producing high-end

jacquard and intarsia sweaters

by installing machines from

Shima Seiki.

Further, taking note of the

industry heading towards full

automation with potential of

customizable garments in the

long term, Shima Seiki has

also introduced seamless flat

knitting machines. Shima Seiki’s

WHOLEGARMENT takes away

the need for skilled linking labour

in sweater production by knitting

fully finished, seamless garments

while its WHOLEGARMENT

model – MACH2XS, the company

has introduced strategic machine

linked to design systems to

strengthenproduction.

Some have already

started retraining manual

flat knitting machine

operators on automatic

knitting machines, but

the average man-

machine ratio of 1:4 is

still a far cry from the

advanced manufacturing

destinations.

he growth of the knitwear sectorTin general, and sweater as a

product category, is largely due to

the increase in the yarn production

capacity – especially cotton and

acrylic – over the years. “The core

strength of the knitwear sector

is its strong backward linkage

industry that supplies almost all the

required yarns and fabrics except

a few varieties and qualities,”

states former BKMEA President

Fazlul Hoque, adding that the

improvement has been possible due

to the integrated growth of spinning

units.

As per Bangladesh Textile Mills

Association (BTMA), there

are currently around 413 yarn

manufacturing mills that spin

2,250 million kilograms of yarn

annually, 792 fabric manufacturing

units with 2,810 million metres

capacity and 240 dyeing units

having fabric processing capacity

of 2,720 million metres, annually.

To encourage further development,

the Government also provides

cash incentive for using local raw

materials, ensuring flourishing of

the backward linkage industry more

so for the knitwear sector. However,

despite increased self-sufficiency in

basic yarns, fancy yarns still remain

a weak link.

“We have developed a lot of suppliers

domestically but some expensive and

performance-driven yarns still have

to be sourced from China,”underlines

Milan Kanti Barua,Director,

Azim Group, a company that loves

experimenting with different blends,

including spandex. Same is the

case for Raozan Sweaters, which

also banks upon China for viscose,

mélange viscose and other blended

yarns. The consensus remainsthat

for specialised and fancy yarns,

China is still the favoured sourcing

destination.

Spinners and knitters are

relentlessly innovating new yarn

blends, colours, textures and

performance properties like water

and stain repellent yarns using

nanotechnology, the engineering of

functional systems at the molecular

level is expected to further

foster brand new blends of high-

performance and multifunctional

textiles.There already is a very high

demand for functional yarns in the

international market leading to

inventions like Naturetex Plasma

(Plasma delivers fibres with the

same strength and the same or

better pilling performance as

conventionally processed yarns,

along with improved ability

to absorb moisture), H2DRY

(This process gives wool new

performance, making it elastic,

easy to care for, anti-creasing and

breathable), AFC Night Glowing Yarn

(Night Glowing Yarn is a luminous

yarn that automatically glows in

the dark after absorbing light for

10 minutes), Colour-Changing Yarn

(Thermochromic yarn changes its

colour with the rise and decline

of the temperature. This kind of

colour variation uses the difference

of temperature to control the

change of colour), offering sweater

manufacturers newer avenues of

value-additions and growth.

FACTSAs per BTMA,

there are currently

around 413 yarn

manufacturing

mills that spin

2,250 million

kilograms of yarn

annually, 792 fabric

manufacturing

units with 2,810

million metres

capacity and 240

dyeing units having

fabric processing

capacity of 2,720

million metres,

annually.

TalkingSweaters

Basic yarns in abundance locally; China preferred for specialised varieties

“Sustainable Denims...”A new unique selling preposition

for denim manufacturers

lmost everyone at the DenimAExpo, from all segments of the

supply chain had much to share on

progress they had made in making

sustainable denims. “We have taken

lots of initiatives in sustainability.

As of day, mindset is changing and

everybody is trying to adopt the

culture now. Bangladesh is growing

well in this direction,” shared

Shohel Rana, Director –Marketing

& Merchandising, Nassa Group,

one of the largest denim fabric

manufacturers in Bangladesh with

turnover of US $ 600 million in textiles

and US $ 300 million in garments. As a

fabric manufacturer Nassa caters

predominantly to the domestic market

for international brands and retailers

like Marks & Spencer, Walmart, Zara,

H&M, JCPenney, etc, and has started

exporting small quantities to Sri

Lanka and Turkey, of late.

“To carry on with our concept of

making cotton-free denims, we

are replacing cotton with more

sustainable products like tensile,

hempen, etc. Our machines, with

nitrogen system, use relatively

20-30 per cent less water,” revealed

Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser,

Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.,

while expressing that the buyers

should equally be ready to pay the

sustainable price so that everyone

could sustain in the market.

A manufacturer that exports

95 per cent of its production to

European markets, Shasha Denims

is in progress to come up with an

altogether new product of pure

indigo denim.

A regular visitor of the show, Karen

Day, Product Manager, Next

Sourcing Ltd., observed various

unprecedented products in the

current edition. “We have seen lots of

bi-stretch, black overdyed, indigo and

authentic look denims. The washes

are innumerably available.” Another

visitor thrilled with the experience of

seeing different hues and application

in denims, in one go was Guillermo

Fernández, Sales Manager,

Iberlaser – a Spanish company

producing lasers for 60 years. “We

are here because we have ventured

into Asia. Every year, we develop

new technologies for garments as

well as for fabrics. Bangladesh

makes you bullish about everything.

This international expo is a perfect

example.” Having achieved 10 per

cent market share in Bangladesh,

Iberlaser can reduce 40-50 per

cent water in washing as well as in

chemical process without affecting

operator’s health.

In her maiden participation at the

event, Ru Yi Zhong, Marketing

Director, Seazon, exclaimed, “We

are glad that we did not miss this

expo. We are expanding, and what

makes us different is the range of

products available in denims; from 4

ounces to 16 ounces of our indigo

products. Our equipment is the most

advanced in the world with the help

of which we not only produce

different denim products but with 20

per cent lesser water usage.” Based

in China, they sell 70 per cent of

textiles domestically and 30 per cent

oversees. Looking forward to make a

50-50 share, they have now expanded

to Bangladesh.

For Khan Md. Pavel Hossain,

ManagingDirector,BEEBangladesh

Clothing, a regular visitor to the show

over the years, there were only a few

Khan Md. PavelHossain,

Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing

FACTSThe 16th edition of

the show witnessed

participation of

manufacturers

and buyers from

across 46 countries

including the US,

UK, Italy, Germany,

France, Spain,

Egypt, Belgium,

China and United

Arab Emirates. The

show highlighted

55 exhibitors

from 15 countries

with main theme

revolving around

‘Natural Denims’.

new products that grabbed attention.

“The fabrics in this year’s edition

are same with a little combination of

cotton but the prints are innovative

with different varieties available,”

he averred. Pavel came to the expo

with a hope of meeting new factories

who can provide him with different

varieties and designs with a good

price tag. Jahirul Islam, Assistant

Manager Merchandising, Ananta

Group was at the event for bottom

fit jeans and he was very excited to

Mostafiz Uddin, Founder and CEO,

Bangladesh DenimExpo

Ru Yi Zhong, Marketing Director,

Seazon

Jahirul Islam, Assistant Manager Merchandising,

AnantaGroup

“To carry on with our

concept of making

cotton-free denims,

we are replacing

cotton with

more sustainable

products…”

–Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser,

Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.

have seen many suitable fabrics apart

from the invariable denim washes

available in the expo. However, he

expressed his wish of having more

real-time demonstrations in washing

if possible. “If organisers could imbibe

the washing procedure in the next

expo, it would really be a value-add as

washing plays as significant a role as

fabrics in denim production,” added

Islam. To which Mostaftz Uddin,

Founder and CEO, Bangladesh

Denim Expo adhered, and added

that a couple of companies that were

giving a simulation of washing had

seen a larger footfall.

Though happy with the outcome,

Mostafiz also lamented the absence

of many exhibitors in the event.

“Actually, in the present edition, we

had thought it will be 100 exhibitors

but due to some sad incidents

that happened in Dhaka, everyone

couldn’t make it; 45 in textiles, 10 in

accessories and 7 in chemicals are the

only ones present.” Mostafiz added

that he would be happy if there were

more events of such stature taking

place in Bangladesh, “It keeps us

busy and thinking.” He also believes

that Bangladesh is improving and the

way its hard-working manpower is

acclimatising with the things around,

he was very optimistic that they

will be producing the best quality

garments in the world in a few

years. Moreover, he is very bullish

about doubling the exhibitors in the

next event.

Guillermo Fernández, Sales Manager,

Iberlaser

“Our team of experts work closely with customers, assessing their needs using

market research, retail & fashion trend forecasts, and innovative technology.”

– Khan Md. Pavel Hossain, Managing Director, BEE Bangladesh Clothing p28

EXPORTER PROFILE

ast year we exportedgarments“Lworth US $ 67 million and this

year our target is to reach US $ 90

million with the inception of the latest

20-line facility (Galaxy Stitch Ltd.) with

production capacity of 7 lakh pieces per

month to manufacture mainly bottoms–

shorts and casual trousers for Next, Lidl,

Walmart, Carter’s OshKosh, California

Baby, George and other selective buyers,”

informs Md. Mosharraf Hossain Dhali,

Managing Director of Impressive

Group and Chairman of Utilization

Committee of Bangladesh Garment

Manufacturers & Exporters

Association (BGMEA). Galaxy Stitch

Ltd. is a fully compliant green facility,

being looked after and taken care of by

Mosharaff’s son Rahet HossainDhali.

Underlining the secret of success,unlike

many other garment manufacturers

who have diversified their offerings to

increase market share, the company

has been steadfastly augmenting its

product knowledge and expertise in

niche products. “If you do everything

you won’t be good in anything, hence

our focus is on bottoms,” explains the

MD of the Group. Besides, carrying the

tag of ‘specialist’ also helps negate the

competition from rivals who can go to

any extent to eat into the competitor’s

market and business. “Although

competition is everywhere but in

Bangladesh it has gone to an altogether

different dimension. The buyers are

taking advantage of the existing

scenario and pitting one manufacturer

against the other, which they should

not…,” lamentsMosharraf.

Going beyond its traditional market of

Europe and USA, Impressive Group is

now looking at new destinations and

there are reasons for it. “Specialising in

a particular product category requires

one to widen one’s market base that

has demand for the product. As such

we are targeting Australia and South

Africa, both of which have very good

prospects,” maintains Mosharraf.

To cater well his would-be buyers

in these new markets as well as the

existing ones, Impressive Group has

also hired services of a Canadian

company, to take up product

developments and new innovations as

per the global trends and demands.

Impressive Group’s services – fabric

trading entity, Good Link Enterprise,

which supplies imported fabrics (from

China, India and Indonesia) for the

domestic market as well as catering

to the in-house demands, has given

Mosharraf an extra edge enabling him

to have a better control over quality.

“We have our office in China for fabric

development and fabric sourcing. Every

season, we collect new fabrics and

pass on to the buyers. We also take

our buyers to our fabric suppliers’

showrooms wherefrom they can select

the fabrics of their choice,” elucidates

Mosharraf about Good Link, a company

which is manned by a workforce of 45

people, selling fabrics worth around

US $ 35 million annually. Having

in-house accessory (Royal Label &

Accessories Ltd.), printing (G7 Printing

and Packaging Ltd.) and washing (ARK

Washing Ltd.) facilities help Impressive

Group’s cause even more. Aiming to

consolidate operations, markets and

clientele, Mosharraf has decided to

stay put to further expansions, at least

for now. “For the next five years I am

not going to add any new facility. If my

son wants to go on his own, that’s his

prerogative,” says Mosharraf, adding,

“I am happy with my buyers and the

markets we are operating in now,” on

a parting note.

Product specialisation, non-traditional markets to stay on course for Impressive Group

Starting its journey way back in 1992 with a four-line

facility, Impressive Garment (Pvt.) Ltd. has traversed a

long distance to turn into a conglomerate known as

Impressive Group with six garment manufacturing

facilities and even extending into accessory

manufacturing, fabrics and other businesses now, but

yet staying focused on producing ‘bottoms’.

Impressive Group houses

under its umbrella –

Impressive Garments (Pvt.)

Ltd., a 5-linemanufacturing

facility at Kadamtoly

Industrial Area (Dhaka),

with production capacity

of 1,00,000 pieces per

month now and spread

over 45,000 sq. ft.; Civic

Apparels, a 15-line setup

with production capacity

of 3,20,000 pieces per

month; M-YEW Fashion

Ltd. – a 6-line production

setup, with monthly

production capacity of

1,30,000 pieces; TH Fashion

with a setup of 6 lines and

production capacity of

1,20,000 piece per month;

Tivoli Apparels Limited is

a 6-line manufacturing

facility with production

capacity of 2,10,000

pieces per month; and

Golden Stitch Design Ltd.

, a 17-line facility with

production capacity of

5,00,000 pieces per month.

Md. Mosharraf Hossain Dhali, Managing Director, Impressive Group

BANGLADESH CANVAS

six-year-old buying houseAdriven by a group of young

professionals, BEE Bangladesh

Clothing with annual turnover of

US $ 200,000, which may be small

by some standards, works with big

names such as Kato, J Brand,

Vigoss, Admiral, Etam, Indigoskin,

Samurai Jeans, Spalding and Blue-

Button, in markets of Europe (except

UK), Russia and Japan. Along with

apparels, the company also deals in

handicrafts – jute and other hand-

made products.

“We cater to some of the big brands

globally, and growing steadily with

introduction of a wide range of

denim products. Our strategy is

to create and maintain a diverse

product portfolio to fulfil clients’

requirements,” quips the young and

dynamic Managing Director of BEE

Bangladesh Clothing, KhanMd.

Pavel Hossain, adding, “Our team of

experts work closely with customers,

assessing their needs using market

research, retail & fashion trend

forecasts, and innovative technology.”

Working primarily with 5-6 factories

in Bangladesh to cater to clients’

needs, technology is something Pavel

has been leveraging extensively for

generating leads. Starting business

of apparel sourcing with just a

Leveraging social platform for business generation and growth

BEE: A small but efficient sourcing company…

business professionals worldwide

including executives from big and

small retailers and brands) and its

community feature is one such. “By

regularly beefing up the company

profile, we approach prospective

clients and try build personal

relationship with them,” reveals

Pavel, who witnessed order volumes

going up from a mere 10,000 pieces at

one point of time to 100,000-500,000

pieces per shipment today using

such innovative techniques. Also to

be counted is BEE’s database on

Embassies and Consulates through

which it accesses information on

international brands and buyers

registered with the diplomatic

offices. “They give little but very

helpful information but sometimes

we manage to get complete list of

the buyers,” underlines Pavel, who

uses his knowledge of handicrafts for

value addition in garments.

“Denim in particular is very price-

competitive but if you can make

small value additions like a little

embroidery, add a couple of fancy

buttons, a different wash which

stands out, it is possible to increase

the profit margins,” underlines Pavel.

BEE Bangladesh mixes handicraft’s

embroidery art with modern slim

fit trousers (especially for women)

to add that extra punch. “It does

not take much effort and even the

retailers can command good price on

such value additions,” points out the

MD of the buying house.

Going forward, Pavel plans to

diversify his product basket with

addition of woven items and linen

shirts, and try to penetrate new

markets, while keeping true to

his business mantra of ‘client

satisfaction’. “We analyze each

customer’s needs, anticipate

challenges, design options and set

up contingency plans so they never

have to worry about anything…,”

signs off Pavel.

laptop and dreams of making it big

someday, the MD of BEE Bangladesh

tapped the digital platform to good

use apart from the traditional

avenues of business generation like

seminars, events and trade fairs,

many of which Pavel also have to skip

owing to financial constraints. The

resume-based social media website

LinkedIn (used by over 135 million

Khan Md. Pavel Hossain, Managing Director,

BEE Bangladesh Clothing

Some of the denim products sourced by BEE Bangladesh Clothing

authorities will have to inform their remediation progress to

the department within seven days; otherwise, they have to

face legal action as per the labour act.”

According to DIFE’s statistics, out of 319 factories, 22 of

these completed Detailed Engineering Assessment (DEA),

38 started process and four factories were closed under

the recommendations of the Government-set review panel.

However, as many as 255 factories are yet to start the

process for conducting DEA and some of them disagreed

to go through the process. Moreover, corrective action plan

implement progress in 73 factories is zero, 286 factories

achieved zero progress in structural remediation, 160

factories made no progress in electrical remediation and 129

factories made zero progress in implementing fire safety-

related corrective action plan.

319 RMGfactories to face legal actionThe Labour Ministry has ordered the Department of

Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) to

issue notices to 319 readymade garment factories that are

structurally vulnerable.

Preliminary safety assessments in 1,549 readymade garment

factories were conducted under the national initiative

with the support of International Labour Organisation.

Out of these 1,549 factories, 319 were identified as having

vulnerable structures and the factory authorities were asked

to conduct detailed engineering assessment of their factory

buildings to find out the worker’s safety factors due to lack of

structural design and drawing.

Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of DIFE reportedly said,

“After receiving the letter from the DIFE the factory

Observing the fourth anniversary

of the tragic Tazreen Fashions

fire that killed 112 workers and

injured over 200 in 2012, several

trade union leaders in Bangladesh

recently called upon the Government

to ensure rehabilitation and long-

term treatment of the fire victims

while also demanding exemplary

punishment to those responsible for

themishap.

Alleging that even after four

years of the fire incident, good

number of victims are yet to get

proper compensation and as

such are leading a miserable

life, President of Bangladesh National

Garments Workers Employees

League (BNGWEL), Sirajul Islam

Rony maintained, “The surviving

Close on heels of Finance Minister

AMA Muhith expressing desire to

take up the issue of Generalized

System of Preferences (GSP)

facilities with the President-elect of

USA, Donald Trump, US Ambassador

in Bangladesh Marcia Stephens

Bloom Bernicat has reportedly

underlined that she would also

discuss the matter with Trump.

“Certainly, I will discuss the issue

with President-elect Donald Trump

so that Bangladesh could get the US

Generalized System of Preferences

facilities for its products to the US

markets,” Bernicat reportedly said

talking to reporters while handing

victims need long-term treatment

and rehabilitation to come back to

normal life,” adding, “We do not

want to see any further incident in

the industry that would cost lives of

fellowworkers.”

The fire incident that broke

at Tazreen Fashion factory on

24 November 2012 is considered

the deadliest factory fire in the

nation’s history.

Recollecting the tragic incident, a

worker at Tazreen, Monir Hossain

said he is still traumatised by the fire

incident and does not feelnormal

in everyday activities. “I lost my leg

in the incident that has made me

physically challenged. Who will take

the responsibility of my family?”

Monirasked.

over Nargis-Rashid Foundation

Education Stipend to the recipients.

The US Ambassador also reportedly

expressed satisfaction over the

current working atmosphere in

Bangladesh garment factories.

“We are very happy as we see that

working atmosphere in the garment

industry has showed tremendous

development… The owners are

now very much cautious to this end,

especially following the Rana Plaza

collapse,” Bernicat reportedly stated

while adding the country’s RMG

sector has witnessed tremendous

development and gender disparity

has been reducedsignificantly.

Workers' union demands rehab for Tazreen victims

Bernicat to discuss GSP issue with Donald Trump

After a meeting with the visiting

European Union Parliament

delegation at the Secretariat,

State Minister for Labour and

Employment, Md. Mujibul Haque

Chunnu said that the Government

would be able to take the

responsibility to look after the

compliance and other issues in the

readymade garment (RMG) sector

after the tenure of the Accord and

Alliance expires in 2018.

Haque told media, “We’ve formed

a Remediation Coordination Cell

(RCC) and it’s working to create

experts locally. So, we’re confident

that we will be able to achieve the

quality/capability to look after the

RMG compliance issues in absence

of the Accord andAlliance.”

Bangladesh can become anexport

powerhouse at the level of its

East Asian neighbours by improving

its business competitiveness and

trade regime which will help firms

compete globally, according to

the World Bank report – ‘South

Asia’s Turn: Policies to Boost

Competitiveness and Create the

Next Export Powerhouse’.

The report, launched jointly with

the Policy Research Institute in

Dhaka (Bangladesh), pointed out

that South Asia will be home to

more than a quarter of the

world’s working adults by 2030

and should take advantage of

the favourable demographics,

increasing education levels and

growing cities.

The report also identified four

policy levers that can help

Bangladesh enable its firms to

boost productivity and become

more globally competitive,

that is, improving the business

environment, connecting firms to

Govt. ready to handle compliance issues after Accord, Alliance: Chunnu

Bangladesh can become an export powerhouse: World Bank

The two western platforms of

retailers – Accord and Alliance –

were formed to ensure workplace

safety in Bangladesh’s garment

industry in the wake of the tragic

industrial accidents, especially

after the Rana Plaza building

collapse that killed more than 1,100

workers and injured many.

Meanwhile in a separate

development, in order to complete

remediation process of thegarment

factories in Bangladesh, the factory

inspection agency, Accord has

reportedly sought to extend its stay

in the country for another three

years. The legally-binding agency’s

stay is scheduled to end in2018.

Accord, which comprises of 200

European apparel retailers, has

global value chain, maximizing

agglomeration benefits, and

strengthening firmcapabilities.

“To realize Bangladesh’s

competitiveness potential,

the country needs to start by

focusing on improving its trade

policy regime and the business

environment, and address the

acute shortage of industrial land.

With the right set of policies and

been monitoring more than 700

readymade garment factories in

the country since 2013. Rob Wayss,

Accord’s Executive Director

for Bangladesh Operations,

reportedly said, “Several of the

Accord members are indiscussion

to extend the tenure as full

remediation of the factories might

not be possible by the set time.”

However, Bangladesh Garment

Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (BGMEA) has

criticized this move of Accord.

Vice President of BGMEA,

Mahmud Hasan Khan maintained,

“Remediation is a continuous

process. As per recommendations

of the Accord and Alliance, we

have done a lot of work.”

enabling environment, there is no

reason why Bangladesh cannot

become the next Asian export

powerhouse,” said Qimiao Fan,

Country Director for Bangladesh,

Bhutan and Nepal, World Bank.

It may be mentioned here that with

rising labour costs in East Asian

countries, investors and buyers

are now turning to South Asia,

including Bangladesh.

BGMEA

settles 9,670

complaints

via ADR

between

1998-2016

At a seminar on “Building

Construction Labour

Management Relations:

Promotion Alternative

Dispute Resolution in RMG

sector”, organised jointly by

Solidity Centre (American

Centre for International

Labour Solidarity) and

Congress of Industrial

Organizations, it was

revealed that Bangladesh

Garment Manufacturers

and Exporters Association

(BGMEA) settled a total

of 9,670 labour dispute

complaints through

Alternative Dispute

Resolution (ADR)

mechanism during the period

between 1998 and 2016.

During the period, a total

of 38,208 workers had been

able to get BDT 150.64

million as compensation

through the ADR. It was also

informed at the seminar that

the country’s seven labour

courts have to handle 1.5

million cases annually. To

lessen the rising number

of cases which are pending

with labour courts, speakers

at the event however

suggested necessary steps to

settle the invariable labour-

related disputes via ADR.

Mikail Shipar (Chief Guest),

Labour and Employment

Secretary; Kevin Gash,

Director (Acting), Office of

Democracy andGovernance,

USAIDBangladesh;

Alonzo Glenn Suson,

Country Programme

Director of Solidarity

Centre Bangladesh; and

SM Anamul Haque, Joint

Director of Departmentof

Labour amongst others were

present at the seminar.

After registering a record inflow

of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

in textile and apparel sector worth

US $ 445.82 million in Financial

Year 2014, the slump in FDI in the

subsequent years was reversed

in FY 2016 after Bangladesh

registered 11 per cent growth

compared to FY 2015 (when it was

US $ 351.62 million), recording

net FDI inflow of US $ 396 million

in the last fiscal year. This is

according to the latest figures

released by the central bank of

the country. According to reports

World’s leading denim manufacturer,

Bangladesh has seen a stellar growth

of denim exports in the first eight

months of the current year. According

to the Office of Textiles and Apparel

(OTEXA) data, the country’s denim

exports during the period wereup

5.84 per cent to US $ 299 million as

against US $ 282 million (appx.) in

the corresponding period lastyear.

According to the data of Eurostat,

the country’s denim exports to

the European Union were up 6.86

per cent to Euro 568 million in the

first six months as against Euro

Italian fashion brand Benetton

has unveiled a project with a

two-year calendar of concrete

initiatives called – ‘Sustainable

Livelihood Project’ under its

Women Empowerment Programme

(WEP). The project aims to

empower women in the readymade

garment sector in Bangladesh

and also home-based women

workers in Pakistan, to reduce

their vulnerability at home and

workplace.

Presented in October 2015,

WEP is the focus of Benetton

Group’s current sustainability

strategy. Based on the Sustainable

Development Goals set by the

UN for 2020, its objectives –

attaining gender equality and

women empowerment – will

be achieved through five key

efforts – sustainablelivelihood,

non-discrimination and equal

opportunities, access to health,

T&C sector witnesses surge in FDI in FY '16

Country sees surge in denim exports

Benetton commences ‘Women Empowerment Project' in Bangladesh, Pakistan

Subsequently, in Pakistan, the

initiative will support around 1,500

women workers while prioritizing

unemployed women, those working

at home, or in the fields and those

belonging to ethnic and religious

minorities. Benetton willhelp

each of them obtain an ID, which

is a necessity to vote, open a bank

account and get access totraining

courses. The brand will alsohelp

them obtain formal employmentand

will work together with the local

textile factories to make workplaces

more welcoming towomen.

The Benetton Women

Empowerment Programme is

rooted in the brand’s long history of

social commitment and moves on to

recognize that gender equality and

the empowerment of women are not

only human rights, but necessary

steps toward building a peaceful,

prosperous and more sustainable

world for all.

quality education and the end of

every form of violence against

women around the world.

In Bangladesh, the project will

support close to 5,000 women

currently employed in the garment

industry and will organize training

courses that will helpthem

strengthen their professional skills.

In the process, the company will

help garment workers sign up for

basic financial products at banks,

such as loans, insurances and

savings accounts and speak to their

employers with regard to increasing

their safety at theworkplace.

published in the news dailies of

Bangladesh, of the total foreign

investment in textile and clothing

in the last fiscal year, around US

$ 222.86 million was reportedly

injected as reinvested earningsof

the current companies operating

inBangladesh.

South Korean firms, mostly in the

Export Processing Zones (EPZs),

reportedly invested US $ 111.61

million, which is almost one-third

of the FDI, in the textile sector,

followed by Hong Kong, which

invested US $ 89.07 million.

531.50 million in the same period

lastyear.

Denim products contribute about

US $ 6 billion to US $ 28 billion

RMG exports of Bangladesh, which

is expected to reach US $ 7 billion

by 2021. Of the total amount,

EU and US import big chunk of

Bangladesh’s denim products.

According to the study by Cotton

Inc., 71 per cent of people in

Europe and Latin America enjoy

wearing denim, followed by 70

per cent in the US, 58 per cent in

China and 57 per cent in Japan.

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RETAILER CURRENT

Hugo Boss to cut brands; slow down expansion

Next Plc's CEO warns of tough time post-Brexit

Germany-based fashion house,

Hugo Boss AG, has announced its

plans to eliminate two brands (Boss

Orange and Boss Green brands)

and limit expansion of stores while

it will expand its online business.

It’ll only produce apparels under

the Hugo and Boss brands,

contracting its focus to casual wear

and business wear.

Mark Langer, Chief Executive

Officer of the company, reportedly

said, “We have placed a too-strong

focus on a push into luxury price

points and we have to make sure we

are perceived as a lifestyle brand

beyond our suiting capabilities.”

Langer further predicted that 2017

will be a year of stabilization after

an expected fall of up to 3 per cent

in currency-adjusted sales this

year, predicting a return to growth

in2018.

The fashion retailer will also

continue to bring the prices of its

goods in several regions in line,

leading to further cuts in Asia

and a slight rise in Europe, while

prices should stay stable in North

America. The move is expected to

bring the company back on profit-

makingtrack.

taken and asserts that the drop in

pound would lead to an ‘inflation

bubble’ in 2017.

Although he doesn’t expect the

situation to continue into the

following year, Next Plc will raise

the prices of its garments by no

more than 4.5 per cent in 2017 to

offset the higher cost of sourcing

apparel from factories outside UK.

The CEO further stated that the

combination of rising prices and

a tendency of Britons to spend

more money on leisure activities

suggest that UK fashion retailers

should prepare for another tough

year. Shares of Next Plc, Marks &

Spencer Group Plc and Primark

owner Associated British Foods

Plc, have all declined this year on

lacklustre results.

“The underlying problems with

the British economy have been

there a long time before the Brexit

vote. It’s not that we are out of the

woods. We are just going into the

woods,” averred the CEO.

Founded in 1864, Next Plc has

its presence in UK, Ireland,

continental Europe, Asia and

the Middle East with around 700

stores, of which 502 are in the UK

and Ireland alone.

British multinational clothing,

footwear and home products

retailer – Next Plc’s Chief

Executive Officer, Simon Wolfson,

who is one of corporate Britain’s

most prominent Brexit supporters,

expressed his concern about the

hard-line direction the process has

American Apparel to close stores in AustraliaUS-based fashion retailer,

American Apparel is going to close

all the stores across Australia to

stop supporting the businesses

outside of the US. Once the stock is

cleared, around 100 employees are

going to lose their jobs.

Lately, the company has also

liquidated businesses across

UK and Ireland. The closure

comes after recent reports of

the company’s movingtowards

bankruptcy within just a year after

recovering from the same.

American Apparel is an American

clothing manufacturer, designer,

distributor, marketer and retailer

based in Los Angeles, California.

Founded by Dov Charney in 1989.

World’s leading apparel retailer

H&M, which has 1.6 million

garment factory workers working

at around 1,900 factories across

the globe that manufacture goods

for H&M, has signed an innovative

Global Framework Agreement

(GFA) along with world’s largest

sectorial trade union organization

IndustriALL Global Union, which

represents 50 million workers, and

Swedish trade union IF Metall. The

agreement marks a new level of

commitment by the collaborating

parties to fundamental rights of

the workers, and promises to bring

about lasting improvements in

the condition of garment workers

and creation of well-functioning

industrial relations.

“This agreement opens an exciting

new chapter in the relationship

between IndustriALL Global

Union and H&M. It cements

the path towards a sustainable

garment industry with unionized

workforce, constructive labour-

management relations, living

wages through industry level

collective agreements, and safe

workplaces,” said Jyrki Raina,

General Secretary, IndustriALL,

who was also one of the architects

behind Accord on Fire andBuilding

Safety in Bangladesh, which was

first signed by H&M.

Under the agreement, national

monitoring committees will be

set up, initially in countries like

Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia,

and Turkey to safeguard the

implementation of the agreement

from the factory floor upwards, and

to facilitate a dialogue between the

parties on the labourmarket.

The GFA establishes that –

• The parties will jointly promote

signing of collective agreements

both at factory, company and

industrial level betweenrelevant

social partners,

• Workers will have the right to

refuse unsafe work as part of

their health and safety rights,

• The parties will provide training

for both management and union

representatives on employers’

responsibilities, workers’ rights

and obligations, industrial

relations, collective bargaining

agreements and peaceful conflict

resolution,

• H&M will actively use all its

possible leverage to ensure

that its direct suppliers respect

human and trade union rights in

theworkplace,

• Workers’ representatives are

not discriminated against and

have access to carry out their

representative functions in the

workplace.

GFA establis his the best possible

standards on trade union rights,

on health and safety, and on

the labour relations principles

adhered to by the company in

its global operations, regardless

of the standards existing in a

particular country.

H&M commits to fundamental rights of garment workers

In the third quarter, Abercrombie & Fitch exercised a lease

kick-out option for its A&F flagship store in Hong Kong. The

company will be closing its A&F flagship store in Seoul in

January2017.

Commenting on the results, Arthur Martinez, Executive

Chairman of the company said, “As expected, our third quarter

was challenging. While Hollister improved sequentially, it was

more than offset by disappointing performance in A&F. On

a total company basis, conversion trends remained positive

across both channels and the direct-to-consumer business

grew domestically and internationally. While we anticipate

the A&F business will remain challenging through the balance

of the fiscal year, we continue to move aggressively to evolve

the brand across all channels through significant changes in

product, customer experience and marketing.”

Abercrombie & Fitch's net sales down 6% in Q3 FY '16American clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has

revealed its third quarter results. The brand reported that its

net sales declined 6 per cent to US $ 821.7 million compared

to the same period last year. Its comparable sales for the third

quarter also plunged 6 per cent.

Brand-wise, net sales for the reporting quarter dived

13 per cent to US $ 358.3 million for Abercrombie and dropped

1 per cent to US $ 463.5 million for Hollister against last year.

By geography, net sales for the quarter decreased 7 per cent

to US $ 531.4 million in the US and were down by 5 per cent

to US $ 290.3 million in international markets as against last

year. Direct-to-consumer sales in the review period grew to

approximately 23 per cent of total company net sales compared

to approximately 21 per cent of net sales last year.

Ralph Lauren to concentrate on its core business

GAP to close 65 more stores

Fashion retailer Ralph Lauren has

announced its plans to focus on

its core business and has shared

a ‘way forward’ restructuring

plan to be implemented in the

coming months. Stefan Larsson,

CEO, Ralph Lauren has issued a

series of statements wherein his

decision to stop working with the

less profitable multi-brand stores

has been mentioned. According

to the CEO, 20-25 per cent of the

label’s wholesale clients will not be

served any longer. Another decision

taken is to discontinue ‘Denim &

Supply’ – the brand targeting a

younger clientele.

Denim & Supply was created in

2011 and gained recognition for its

style, but struggled to attract its

15-30-year-old target consumers

due to its high price positioning.

Despite enjoying an international

presence, with some 20 Denim &

Supply branded stores, the label

accounted only for a very small

Apparel chain GAP announced

closures of 65 company-operated

stores, compared to its previous

forecast of about 50 stores. The

company is expecting a further

drop in traffic at stores during the

crucial holiday shopping season.

The brand recently decided to

close its Banana Republic stores

in the UK.

Sabrina Simmons, outgoing

Chief Financial Officer,

GAP commented, “Given that

challenging traffic trends have

continued, we are investing

meaningfully in marketing across

our portfolio brands during the

holidayseason.”

The company reported its seventh

straight quarterly sales decline

Destination

XL unveils

Q3 FY '16

results

Destination XL Group Inc.,

the largest omni-channel

specialty retailer of big

and tall men’s apparel, has

unveiled financial results

for the third quarter of

the current fiscal. The

company’s net sales rose

2.3 per cent to US $ 101.9

million compared to last

year’s US $ 99.6 million,

primarily driven by a

comparable sales increase

of 2.3 per cent from the

company’s DXL stores.

In the reporting period,

net loss for the company

stood at US $ 4.5 million

compared to the net loss

of US $ 5.5 million in the

corresponding period last

year.

“The DXL transformation

remains on track, as we

opened 13 new stores

in the third quarter. We

have decided not to spend

advertising dollars on

television in the fourth

quarter. Our marketing

campaign in the fourth

quarter will consist of

radio, digital and social

media, and we will

continue to evaluate the

use of television in the

future,” said David Levin,

President and CEO, DXL.

As per the financial

outlook for the fiscal

2016, the apparel retailer

expects its total sales to

be in the range of US $

451.0 to US $ 457.0 million

with a total comparable

sales increase in the

range of 1.0 to 2.0 per cent.

It will open approximately

25 DXL retail stores and

4 DXL outlet stores, and

close approximately 29

Casual Male XL retail

stores and 4 Casual Male

XL outlet stores.

part of the Ralph Lauren Group’s

business, amounting to not more

than 2 per cent of global net sales.

Additionally, the Group’s top

management intends to cluster as

many segments as possible under

its leading brands, like Polo.

Commenting on his game plan, the

CEO stated, “We are pursuing the

objective of improving our focus

on and the resources available

for our key brands, and we have

recently announced the decision

to discontinue the Denim & Supply

brand. We will respond to the

denim market’s expectations more

effectively through our Polo brand,

bolstering it at the same time.”

in the three months ended 29th

October 2016 as demand for its

GAP and Banana Republic brands

remained sluggish. GAP had been

trying to replicate the success of

its low-end Old Navy brand at its

GAP and Banana Republic chains

since last year.

Traditional apparel chains are

struggling with the growing

popularity of online retailers and

fast-fashion chains such as H&M,

Forever 21 and Inditex’s Zara,

which are known for offering

trendier clothes at cheaper prices.

GAP is a leading global retailer

offering clothing, accessories, and

personal care products for men,

women, and children under the

GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy,

Athleta, and Intermix brands. The

company has 3,730 retail locations

around the globe.

Clothing business has proved problematic as it has been

draining the market share of the company. In Britain too,

M&S has been undermined by shops such as Primark and

Next. Its food business, however, is doing well. Although the

market share is less than 4 per cent, but it sells 22 per cent

of all ready meals and 38 per cent of party food bought in

Britain.

So, the new strategy is to convert M&S from a clothing store

with food attached to a food and clothing business, each on

an equal footing. In the meantime, the firm’s share price fell

by about 6 per cent after the plan was announced.

Fast fashion brands impact M&S' clothing businessUK-based clothing retailer, Marks and Spencer, announced

a turnaround recently. In the next five years, the company

aims to close 30 of its full-line clothing stores (those selling

clothes, food and homeware) and converting 45 more into

food-only outlets as the company faces tough competition

from the fast fashion brands like Zara. Also, the company is

scrapping fashion brands that have not sold well.

The retailer is also giving up its outlets in China and France

which totals the closing outlets to 53 at the expense of 2,000

jobs. To cut management costs, 500-odd more jobs are being

cut at headquarters and another 400 moved out of London.

This leaves wholly-owned stores in only Ireland, Hong Kong

and the Czech Republic.

Canada-based apparel manufacturer,

Gildan Activewear Inc., has entered

into an Asset Purchase Agreement

(APA) to acquire the worldwide

intellectual property rights

related to the American Apparel

brand and certain assets from

American Apparel LLC, a US-based

manufacturer of fashion basics, for a

cash purchase price of approximately

US $ 66 million. The closing of the

transaction is however subject to

approvals by the American Apparel

bankruptcy process and customary

conditions, and is expected to occur

during the first quarter of 2017.

The move aims to create revenue

for the company as American

Apparel is a highly recognised

brand among consumers within the

North American printwear channel.

Kenneth Cole Productions,

New York-based fashion house, has

decided to shut its 63 outlet stores

over the next six months. This will

effectively end its run as a US brick-

and-mortarchain.

Kenneth Cole currently lists just

two full-priced stores in the US,

one in New York and other one in

Arlington, Virginia. The company

will be focusing on its e-commerce

site and international business. It

will continue to sell merchandise

through other retailers.

Marc Schneider, Chief Executive

Officer of the company said,

Gildan will also separately purchase

inventory from American Apparel to

ensure a seamless supply of goods

in the printwear channel while the

company integrates the brand within

its printwear business. However,

Gildan will not be purchasing any

retail store assets of American

Apparel.

American Apparel also voluntarily

filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Protection. The Bankruptcy Court

may require American Apparel to

hold an auction for its assets and

business under which the proposed

acquisition would constitute the

initial bid. Consummation of the

acquisition would be subject

to Gildan being selected as the

successful bidder in any such auction

and Bankruptcy Court approval.

“As we continue on our path of

strengthening our global lifestyle

brand, we look to expand our online

and full-price retail footprint across

the globe. We need to focus our

energies and resources to better

serve the consumer on their terms.”

Kenneth Cole’s outlet shops have

faced increasing competition from

rivals such as Coach Inc. and

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. As part

of its transformation, the brand has

begun relying more on licensing

deals, which generate revenue

from its name without the need for

physical stores.

Gildan Activewear proposes acquisition of American Apparel

Fashion house KennethCole to shut its brick &mortar stores

Vietnamese T&C sector to face challenges even in 2017?

Myanmar's garment exports zoom

Textile and garment sector of

Vietnam will continue to face

challenges even in 2017 due to

fierce competition by other major

exporters such as China, India,

Bangladesh and Pakistan while

global demand is forecasted to slow

down, reports a local Vietnamese

newsagency.

Le Tien Truong, General Director,

National Garment and Textile

Group (VINATEX) averred that

the textile and garment exports

to the US and the EU will also

be under negative impact owing

to the consequences of Brexit

and the lack of support from US

President-elect Donald Trump for

TPP. So, the sector forestalls its

export growth rate at just 5-7 per

cent if there are no appropriate

policies. For this Vietnam Textile

and Apparel Association (VITAS)

has made several proposals to

the Ministry of Industry and

Trade for support of the local

industry, including strengthening

management of both domestic and

foreign investment projects in the

Myanmar’s garment industry

has registered decent growth in

the current year. The country’s

garment export earnings has

increased to US $ 940 million in

the year to mid-October from US

$ 409 million in the corresponding

period last year.

The increase in earnings

was mainly because of the

rise of exports to Japan and

European Union. While Japan

accounted for about the third

of country’s garment exports,

EU and South Korea were

25 per cent each, and United

‘Sri Lankan

apparel

export

may get

affected if

US changes

trade policy'

Sri Lanka’s Deputy

Minister of Foreign

Affairs, Dr. Harsha De

Silva, cautioned the

country about the impact

of any small change in

the US trade policy due

to political alterations

there, on account of

the apparel industry’s

dependence on the US

market.

At Sri Lanka Apparel

Exporters Association’s

AGM held in Colombo,

the Minister observed,

“Given that America is

very important to us, 25

per cent of our exports

go to the US and 70 per

cent of that was apparels,

I don’t think in the short-

term there is going to

be any misalignment.

Any way any small

shock can have a large

repercussion because

of the dependency we

have on the US economy.

Without TPP, is it

possible for Sri Lanka

to create opportunities

in this unsettled global

trade environment?”

The Minister also made

a mention of effects of

Brexit while talking

about country’s exports

to the UK which were

about US $ 1 billion or

10 per cent of the total

exports. However, he

opined that the UK

wouldn’t be as worrisome

as the US on the

backdrop of his optimism

that by mid next year

Sri Lanka will receive

GSP+ concessions from

the European Union.

industry, reviewing policies on

minimum wage raises and working

hours. Additionally, the association

has also asked for adjustments

to the sector’s development and

assistance in human resources

training assistance.

It might be mentioned here that

Vietnam’s textile and garment

export revenues increased

4.8 per cent year-on-year in the

first 10 months of the year to reach

US $ 23.3 billion, according to

VINATEX. The garment and textile

export turnover needs to reach an

BEYOND BD

average of US $ 2.5 billion a month

in the last two months of 2016 in

order to reach this year’s target of

US $ 28-29 billion.

Furthermore, US is the top market

of Vietnam’s textile and garment

products with US $ 10 billion which

went up 4.37 per cent against last

year. It is followed by Europe, with

exports hitting nearly US $ 3 billion

with a year-on-year increase of

2.46 per cent. Additionally, Japan

and South Korea are counted

among key markets for Vietnamese

garment and textile.

States and China accounted for

2.4 per cent each.

Trade with the EU has grown as it

lifted the economic sanctions on

Myanmar in 2013 which resumed

its trade privileges suspended in

1997 over Junta’s human rights

record. The European Commission

reports state that Myanmar’s

exports to the region have

increased from Euro 345 million in

2013 to Euro 548 million in 2015.

As per the Myanmar Garment

Manufacturers Association

figures, the industry employs

more than 300,000workers

in 389 factories of which 171

are Myanmar-owned, 196

foreign-owned and the rest

are jointventures.

The web-based Management Information System (MIS),

which has been devised to monitor skill training

programmes, was also reviewed in the meeting. It is

worth mentioning that ISDS has been in limelight due to

less number of placements. Most of the states having

textile industry often demand to train more, but MoT

has suggested to first improve the placement percentage of

already trained candidates. Even in one of the latest

documents, the same was advised to Gujarat as the state

was asked to enhance the target of training from 30,000 to

60,000 individuals; Rajasthan was also asked to allocate

additional target of 6,000 persons (under ISDS) in this FY

as Central Government allocated target of 5,000 only while

the state wants to train 11,000. Till now, 21,577 candidates

have been trained under ISDS in the textile sector through

556 centres across the country. Also, Rs. 1,029.19 crore

has been allocated for the scheme; however only Rs. 629.05

crore has been received so far by the states.

Indian MoT stresses on ‘strong monitoring' for ISDSStrong monitoring mechanism for Integrated Skill

Development Scheme (ISDS) seems to be on top priority for

Ministry of Textiles (MoT), Government of India. Physical

verification module with a feature to upload videos of visits

in stipulated time can be a good tool for it. ISDS is one of

the most appreciated schemes to train the workforce for

Indian textile industry.

Union Textiles Minister of India Smriti Irani recently had a

meeting in New Delhi (India) with senior officers of MoT to

review the implementation of ISDS and also recommended a

few measures to strengthen its monitoring mechanism and

increase its outreach for imparting training to individuals in

the textile sector. She also discussed functioning of Project

Management Unit under ISDS.

Pakistan’s readymade garments

(RMG) exports have zoomed 3.76 per

cent during the first two months (July

and August) of the current fiscal year

as compared to the corresponding

period last year. According to

reports, 5,109 dozen readymade

garments worth US $ 364.072 million

were exported from the country

during the period as against exports

of 4,944 dozen readymade garments

costing US $ 350.867 million in the

same period lastyear.

In the period under review, bedwear

exports rose by 5.28 per cent with

58,365 metric tonnes of bedwear

worth US $ 355.799 million being

Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of

Labour – Government of Cambodia,

GMAC (Garment Manufacturers

Association in Cambodia)and

ILO’s BFC (International Labour

Organization’s Better Factories

Cambodia) have signed an MoU to

extend the partnership for three

more years, covering a period from

January 2017 to December 2019.

During this period, the partners have

committed to increase collaboration

to work together to improve the

working conditions and boost the

competitiveness of the Cambodian

garment sector to build institutional

sustainability of the programme.

Cambodian constituents have

agreed to contribute approximately

25 per cent to the BFC Budget

over the next three years, while

exported. Made-up articles exports

also witnessed an increase of 11.83

per cent to US $ 102.44 million

compared with US $ 91.61 million

worth export during the same period

last financial year. Besides this, other

textile material exports posted an

increase of 9.35 per cent during the

reporting period as textile materials

worth US $ 69.288 million were

exported compared to the exports

of US $ 63.361 million in the same

period lastyear.

The exports of raw cotton, cotton

yarn and cotton cloth decreased by

55.67 per cent, 16.64 per cent and

4.12 per cent, respectively.

international garment buyers

sourcing from factories that have

deployed ILO Better Factories

Cambodia programme will contribute

to programme based on fees for

servicesrendered.

In addition to its current projects,

BFC will also work with Ministry

of Labour on the implementation

of a joint strategy and action

plan with the objective to support

Government’s capacity and

ownership to uphold compliance with

labour law and support remediation

in the garment and/or other sector

as appropriate. Ith Sam Heng,

Ministry of Labour and Vocational

Training (MOLVT) averred, “BFC has

played a key role in the growth of

the industry and the improvement of

working conditions...”

Readymade garmentsexports from Pakistansurge 3.76%

ILO's Better Factories Cambodia gets 3-year extension

RESOURCE CENTRE

he first things that hit you whenTsitting down to converse with

the MD of Aamra, is his confidence,

visionary approach to business and

sense of humour. Without mincing

words he says that Aamra is in the

driving seat in all its partnerships,

be it with the industry or the

international companies that it

represents in the country. “Even

if we want, we cannot have 100%

market share, so we decide who we

want to work with or rather what

type of companies do we want to be

associated with, and service these

companies with a large basket

of solutions,” says Farhad. The

customer list of Aamra reads like

a who’s who of the industry with

all front runners including Pacific

Jeans, Azim Group, Square Group,

DBL, Standard to name a few, as also

young progressive companies like

Ananta. “What is important is the

attitude of the management… What

is the vision, how responsive are they

to change and new technology,

passion for the industry, are some

of the basic traits that we look for

in companies that we work with,”

adds Farhad.

FACTSAll brands under

Aamra Resources

– Lectra, Barudan,

Ngai Shing, Sclavos,

Santex, Ecotex,

among a few others

have the flexibility to

be suitable for small

to huge operational

needs.

Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director, Aamra Companies

As much clichéd as it may sound, ‘the power of WE’ is truly

a part of the corporate culture of Aamra, which has as many

as 250 out of total 1,200 team members working with it that

have been with the company over 20 years, almost since its

inception in 1985 by the Ahmed brothers – Syed Faruque and

Syed Farhad. “Our name is not a gimmick; we have created a

business that has a work environment which motivates people

to optimize their skills and enjoy the process of working,”says

Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director, Aamra Companies.

Sitting in his plush Banani office, Farhad is extremely excited

about inching closer to his dream of going international with his

own brand after being a service/technology provider in many

distinctive segments including apparel. In a retrospective mood,

Farhad shares with Apparel Online, the key attributes that

makes Aamra different from other companies.

Apparel industry, the root of all expansions and diversifications at Aamra

Another important factor that

differentiates Aamra from other

solution providers is the long term

approach to business. “It is not

about how much money we can earn

from a customer today, but about

creating relation of trust where he

is constant in all our ventures and

marketing becomes a by-product and

not the main thrust of the business,”

avers Farhad. He jokingly adds that

his customers are more like friends

than clients and they want to take

Aamra along with them even when

exploring overseas ventures, quoting

the case of DBL and its factory in

Ethiopia. “Over the years we have

created a bond of understanding

where customers have sought

our advice in setting up factories,

selecting technology best suited

for their factories and managing

their data,” adds Farhad. In this

effort Aamra holds the patents,

distribution and marketing rights of

a number of world renowned high

technology-driven products.

Always on the lookout for new

opportunities, Aamra evaluates

technology carefully before taking

it up for the industry. One of the

important criterions in selection,

is the flexibility of the technology,

how can it scale up as the company

grows. “We want to give solutions

that can grow with the company and

not ones that become redundant

and have to be replaced,” argues

Farhad. All his brands under Aamra

Resources – Lectra, Barudan, Ngai

Shing, Sclavos, Santex, Ecotex,

among a few others have the

flexibility to be suitable for small

to huge operational needs. Only

recently the company received

the SCLAVOS Premium Award

for highest sales of the brand in

any country. And more recently

Farhad was felicitated with the ‘ICT

Person of the Year’ recognition for

his commitment and significant

achievements in growing and

advancing the value of technology

inBangladesh.

Aamra is also very careful while

selecting the companies that it

would want to represent. “We

only align with the technologies

that are the need of the industry

and are coming from companies

that are world leaders. It is also

important that the product will be

accepted by our customer base

and has the potential to give us

good returns in the future,”

shares Farhad. The latest to join

the stable is a biological ETP from

Italian company Panta Rei, which

passes the test of flexibility and

can be scaled up from a need of 30

tonnes washing to over 100

tonnes of washing/dyeing. “Italians

are probably the most expensive,

but we studied the market for one

whole year talking to buyers like

H&M, GAP as also our customers to

ensure that the technology was the

right one to satisfy everyone. It was

even more important as investing in

ETPs was just a formality earlier,

and it is only recently that players

have become serious on why they

want to invest and what they wish

to get in return…, it is all about

offering value,” says Farhad.

What has really aided the growth

of the Aamra Empire is the nose

for opportunities, from apparel

technology to IT solutions to web

solutions to being the biggest

provider of ATMs in Bangladesh to

Wi-Fi and Cloud services and finally

WE Smart Solutions, the company

has come a long way. Interestingly,

the biggest industry in Bangladesh,

garment manufacturing, is never far

from the vision and all expansions

have only helped the industry to

become more efficient and better

global players from managing

uninterrupted email servers to

ensuring fast connectivity and data

management on ERP platforms.

Even the latest ‘WE’ mobile is being

seen as a means to stay connect

with workers as the phone comes

with free Wi-Fi facilities through

Wi-Fi hotspots around the country,

Cloud services for data storage

and intranet connectivity to the

24 most popularly used site on the

internet that account for 75 per cent

of traffic.

The ‘WE’ mobile is a revolution

that will bring even the poorest

of Bangladeshis on to the net and

upgrade their lives believes Farhad.

“We are already doing trial runs at

some factories and the chat groups

will help the worker to communicate

directly with the bosses. The effort

is on to identify how to increase the

user experience. It is our first B2C

platform and we are very excited,”

shares Farhad. Going global is

a very exciting challenge as WE

smart solutions has launched the

first ever locally hosted Cloud

storage and Cloud computing

solution. “There is so much that

can be done on the IT platform and

we are aware of the pitfalls, so our

people are always on their toes to

keep ahead of technology and be in

touch with the industry…, if the

connect is there the power of ‘WE’

will surround all with success,”

concludes Farhad.

ESSENTIALSGarment

manufacturing

is never far from

the vision of the

management

at Aamra and

all expansions

have only helped

the industry to

become more

efficient and better

global players

from managing

uninterrupted

email servers

to ensuring fast

connectivity and

data management

on ERP platforms.

AN IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT DIFFERENTIATES AAMRA FROM OTHER SOLUTION PROVIDERS IS THE LONG-

TERM APPROACH TO BUSINESS. IT IS NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE CAN EARN FROM A CUSTOMER

TODAY, BUT ABOUT CREATING RELATION OF TRUST WHERE HE IS CONSTANT IN ALL OUR VENTURES AND

MARKETING BECOMES A BY-PRODUCT AND NOT THE MAIN THRUST OF THE BUSINESS,

“As of today, the majority of business is from the core apparel segment, but future growth will come from

diversification into categories like lingerie and footwear, as well as volume migration of business from

China.” – Frederic Verague, Managing Director – Bangladesh, Thailand & Myanmar (Coats) p52

he country already has 100TMorgan spreaders installed

at various factories, and moving

forward the company is seriously

thinking of opening a training

centre in Bangladesh given the huge

potential of the technology. The

attractiveness of Morgan solutions

lay in the huge reduction of

manpower by an average 60 per

cent which is very important today,

as labour cost is rising year on year.

On the side-lines of the event, Team

Apparel Online caught up with the

Managing Director ofEastman

Technocrafts Limited (sole agent for

Morgan’s solutions in Bangladesh),

Manik Lal Chowdhury and Country

Manager of Morgan Tecnica,

Prakhar, for a candid interaction.

The duo gave a lowdown on various

issues related to cutting room

technology, need for automation, and

about Morgan’s solutions for the

Bangladesh industry… Excerpts from

the discussion:

AO: The market for cutting room solutions is big in Bangladesh and growing, how are you marketing yourself differently?

Prakhar: Though the industry

is receptive, but they ought to

understand first what are the

kinds of solutions we have for

them. Unlike other companies

in the field, Morgan offers its

solutions very differently. We

take up each job as a turnkey

project – taking care of everything,

including total number of

pieces produced in a company.

Automation is the need of the

hour and we approach companies

which need to be updated on why

automation is necessary.

This seminar is one of the efforts

by us to build awareness, which

will be followed by many such

events to be organized by Morgan

in association with Eastman in

Bangladesh. In exhibitions, people

come to just see the products but

when we call them in seminars,

the focus is more on awareness

building and introducing them to

the various solutions provided by

Morgan.

The market has lot of potential

and since last two years we are

working very aggressively to

capture more customers. Morgan

already has a very good clientele

base in Bangladesh and there

are many who have gone in for

repeat orders with us and we are

also expecting many more repeat

orders, which is indicative of the

huge market for automatic cutters

and spreaders.

AO: Do the companies here ask for fully-integrated cutting room solutions or are they interested more in single machines?

Prakhar: It depends on what

kind of volume one is doing.

Eastman

Technocrafts

Limited, in

association with

Morgan Tecnica

– the Italy-based

cutting room

solution provider

(automatic

spreaders,

spreading tables,

labellers, automatic

cutters, software

for CAD, Cut Order

Planning, PDM and

Virtual Fitting) –

recently organized

a seminar titled

‘Fashion Technology

Event’ at Hotel Le

Méridien, Dhaka,

to introduce the

existing clients

with various new

developments of

the company while

also trying to bring

about awareness

on the need of

automation for

the Bangladesh

RMG industry, the

second largest

garment exporter in

the world.

MORGAN BRINGS MUCH MORE THAN

CUTTING ROOM SOLUTIONS TO BANGLADESH

Prakhar, Country Manager, Morgan Tecnica Manik Lal Chowdhury, Managing Director, Eastman Technocrafts Limited

For example, if you ask about

groups like Fakir and Metro, they

go for full solutions – right from

the software, spreading machines,

to conveyorized tables, cutters,

spreaders, everything.

Manik: Along with Fakir and

Metro, there are many other

upcoming factories like Pakiza

Industries, Iris Industries,

Mahmud Attires (a part of Rising

Group which is foraying from

woven to knits), besides another

10-12 more clients, who want the

complete solution from us.

The need of the industry today

is services; buying a machine is

easy but utilizing that optimally

is the complicated part. I have

seen many factories, where

cutters installed by some of

our competitors are lying idle

due to lack of training and

services. In Morgan, we not

only provide the solution, but

rather customize it according

to the need and requirements,

followed by adequate training

and full range of services. Using

our technology one can not only

minimize manpower requirement

and improve efficiency but also

reduce wastage significantly. Our

cutting room solutions facilitate

average saving of 2 per cent

fabrics, which amounts to a huge

quantity considering the capacity

and volumes of most of the

factories here.

Morgan also has software for all

requirements, which are also

highly efficient, including the

widely-used Cut Order Planning

(COP) and Enterprise Information

Portals (EIP) software for

fabric sourcing.

AO: Apparel industry in Bangladesh is known for volumes. How does that reflect in their higher need for automation?

Prakhar: Of course, higher

the number of garments

produced, higher would be the

need of manpower as well as

rate of rejection. If garment

manufacturers go for automation

they can actually save upon raw

materials, reduce manpower

as well as enhance quality of

garments. In my opinion, rejection

of an apparel item starts at

the cutting level and not at the

stitching point.

AO: Are the companies, using your machines, able to optimally utilize the benefits of your solutions, most relevant forthis industry?

Prakhar: Our machines are well-

equipped and efficient but the

industry lacks in skilled operators

along with the production methods.

This is where the companies

need education. Keeping this

in consideration, Morgan has

started a training centre in

Bangalore (India) wherein garment

manufacturers can send their

teams so that we can train them

on how to effectively utilize the

machines and teach thecorrect

production methods, depending

upon the kind of applications

they are using. To get optimum

output, these two issues need to be

addressed.We have recently opened

a training centre in Honduras, and

in the third phase we would think

aboutBangladesh.

All our solutions are very useful –

both the existing and the upcoming

ones, including the 3D software,

which would be unveiled shortly

by Morgan. Pin Table is another

solution which is very much

important for Bangladesh garment

industry.

AO: Given the current market scenario, what kind of growth are you expecting in the coming days?

Prakhar: Manual cutting

consumes a lot of space and

automations – the only solution

for garment manufacturers,

challenged by space constraint.

This is another reason why we

feel there is a lot of scope for

automats in this market, provided

the customers also show interest

in implementing the same.

Manik: As things are looking, I am

sure our sales would increase

more than 40 per cent by 2017.

This is because there is a lot of

demand for cutting room solutions.

Though there are considerable

numbers of players in this segment

but none could guarantee

performance as Morgan. Ours is

a unique technology which takes

care of all aspects of garment

manufacturing – from sourcing,

buying fabrics and accessories to

management requirements. Lectra

specialises on cutters, Gerber on

software but Morgan is a complete

solution provider.

AO: Since after-sales service is one of the major components in customer conversion, where does Morgan stand in this respect?

Prakhar: Service is the backbone of

any company; this is one areawhere

we cannot be complacent and work

continuously for improvement. As

a solution and service provider, we

have a robust after-sales service

mechanism in place. Apart from

our own staff, there are six service

engineers from Eastman who are

dedicated only for Morgan. They

are shortly going to India to attend

a technical seminar conducted by

Morgan to teach service managers

from the vendors’ side on various

technical aspects to equip them to

provide even better services intheir

respective markets.

Manik: In addition, we have

also hired a highly-qualified and

experienced technical help from

Sri Lanka, Janaka Udaya

Kumar Perera. With more than

30 years’ experience, he has

joined us as a Sales & Technical

Consultant. Under him there would

be 62 engineers to cater to the

clients’ problems and queries. In

Chittagong, we have another 22

engineers. So strong is our focus

on after-sales that half of our total

expenditure is actually used to

beef up the technical team.

“In Morgan, we

not only provide

the solution, but

rather customize

it according to

the need and

requirements,

followed by

adequate training

and full range of

services. Using

our technology

one can not

only minimize

manpower

requirement

and improve

efficiency, but also

reduce wastage

significantly.”

–Manik Lal Chowdhury,

Managing Director,

Eastman Technocrafts Limited

“We are implementing the Japanese concept of dyeing with design solutions of the West.

By January next year we would be able to show you some innovations coming out of this

new venture.” – Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd. p56

roducing denimfabricsP(weighing 4oz/yd2 – 15oz/yd2)

Shasha Denims Limited (SDL),

established in year 2000 atDhaka

Export Processing Zone (DEPZ),

is a deemed exporter catering

predominantly to the EU and

Australian markets with annual

fabric production capacity of 21.6

million yards that counts names

such as H&M, Marks & Spencer,

Zara, C&A, Cotton On,Target

Australia, George, New Look, Tesco,

Bestseller, Jack&Jones, Dressman,

Gina Tricot, LPP, Kiabi, etc.,

amongst its clients.

“Sustainability has become a

necessity now as most of the

buyers including H&M are looking

for sustainable denim products,

keeping with which we are focusing

on cotton-free products like fabrics

using hem, tencel, rayon. We also

make organic denims using BCI

cotton,”shares Mohammad Jamal

Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha

DenimsLtd.

SDL’s range of organic denims is

made from 100 per cent organic

cotton, while spinning, dyeing and

finishing of the yarn is carried outas

per stringent ecological procedures.

The company’s Modal® innovation

comprises Lenzing Modal® (basic

botanic principle of photosynthesis

forms the basis of Modal® in which

wood is used as the raw material)

and TENCEL® (a natural functional

fibre with particularly goodmoisture

absorption with skin-sensitive

properties). Shasha Denim’s

inherent strength lies in stretch

fabrics (with more than 100 per cent

extension) like Tencel stretch, Modal

stretch, Recycled stretch,etc.

“In dyeing we use machineswith

nitrogen system, which use 20-

30 per cent less water compared

to the conventionalprocedures,”

points out Naser, who believes true

sustainability requires efforts from

the buyers also. “Hence wetell

our clients if you are talking about

sustainability, offer sustainable

price,” underlines the Director of

SDL hinting at the need to strike the

right balance between product and

its price to ensure businessviability.

Going forward, Shasha is all set

to launch a new range of Indigo,

which Naser prefers to call where

‘West meets the East’. “Weare

implementing the Japanese concept

of dyeing with design solutions of

the West. By January next year we

would be able to show you some

innovations coming out of this new

venture,” adds Naser.

Shasha, which uses computerized

SLASHER DYEING technology and

other state-of-the-art machineries

from Switzerland, Germany, Belgium

and USA in its vertically-integrated

unit, is now coming up with a new

plant in DEPZ extension area with

top of the line technology to increase

fabric production capacity by 9.6

million yards annually.

Nassa expanding capacities by sustainable development

Sustainability, the way forward for Shasha Denims

specialising in sustainable

denim products with facilities

and expertise to cater to the

high-end global denim market

is a major factor to propel

demands for specialised

fabrics, feels Shohel. Keeping

the sustainability factor in

perspective, Nassa group is

overhauling its processes and

systems substantially to offer

sustainable denim fabrics. “We

are committed to achieving

the highest possible standards

of environmentally protective

procedures. Safeguarding

the world is an inherent

component of our sustainability

programme…,” saysShohel.

The group has put in place

a stringent 3-year plan

aimed at further improving

environmental measures, which

include integration of Effluent

Treatment Plants (ETP) with

1.5 cusec capacity, designed to

adhere to recommended World

Bank guidelines; introduction

of high-efficiency production

machinery to reduce water

consumption by 50 per cent;

implementation of combined

heat and power generation to

reduce gas consumptionby

10 per cent and transition to

the latest dyeing technology

to further reduce waste and

pollution ratios.

perating from itsOKanchpur-based 28-acre

textile manufacturing complex

in Dhaka, Nassa Group is one

of the largest denim fabric

manufacturers in Bangladesh

with fabric production capacity

of 1 million yards/month, set

to touch 3 million yards by

next year after expansion. It

also manufactures readymade

garments from 34 factories with

combined production space of

1.1 million sq. feet, employing

over 30,000 workers. Nassa’s

turnover from RMG is US $ 300

million, while the turnover from

textiles is US $ 600 million.

“Our garment division is

very big; we produce around

5 million pieces. Now, we

are planning to expand

fabric production capacity

which would be basically for

more value-added fabrics,”

maintains Shohel Rana,

Director – Marketingand

Merchandising, NassaGroup,

underlining Bangladesh’s

emergence as a denim hub has

drawn in buyers and brands

from far and wide, whose

stress on improved lead time, is

leading to increased demandfor

local fabrics thereby opening

new opportunities for the

domestic fabric manufacturers.

Specialising in indigo denims,

Nassa also produces high-

quality cotton and slub yarns,

ring slub, rain slub, crossfire,

Lycra in cotton, and other

denim fabrics. “In denim, the

stress now is more on stretch

in different blends like cotton

with polyester, viscose, wool,

rayon, tencel, etc,” Shohel

mentions, adding, “Though the

requirement is still more for

basic fabrics, the trend is sure

to shift in favour of value-added

fabrics in the coming days.”

Increasing number of green

factories in the country

Shohel Rana, Director –Marketing and

Merchandising, NassaGroup

Mohammad Jamal Abdun Naser, Director, Shasha Denims Ltd.

efined as the number ofgarmentsDor parts being worked upon

during production in the factory atany

given time, Work In Progress (WIP)

is a hazard well known to the apparel

manufacturing fraternity. Expressed

in days, it is most commonlymeasured

by dividing the total WIP in pieces by

the average production target for a

day. “Most factories have zero control

on WIP. We have been broughtup

with the classic Americanconcept of

‘Cut & Dump’ which advocates that

once dumped on the floor, there will

be pressure on the workers as they

like to see a mountain of goods in

and around him/her. Slowly the

goods will keep on moving. ThisWIP

build-up actually begins to hurtduring

style changeovers when continuously

for 2 to 4 days the lines are running

and the first piece is still not out,”

shares Nimish Dave,Director,

The IdeaSmith. The company

has recently accomplished aWIP

management project at Indo-British

Garments, popularly known as the

uniform sourcing/manufacturing wing

of security solutions provider G4S.

When the project commenced, every

workstation had 70 pcs., two days’ of

WIP in the line and a changeover time

of two days. Now, the WIP has been

reduced to one day, the bundle size for

every workstation to 10 days (the team

is aiming at bringing this figuredown

to 4 days and the style changeover time

has been reduced to 1 to 3hours.

As popular notion has it, WIP would

include fabric that has been spread,

part sewn garments, through to

finished garments, which may have

been packed but not booked for

finished goods warehouse. “There

lies a fine line of distinctionbetween

inventory and WIP; while WIP is a

form of inventory, all inventory is

not WIP. Generally, partly finished

(where work started but not finished)

goods are referred to as WIP,rest

is inventory. Fabric rolls in fabric

godown, trims and accessories in

store and packed garments awaiting

dispatch are called inventories,

whereas fabric spread, cut parts

stock in cutting department, partly

sewn garments at trolleys in the

sewing floor, partly finished garments

in finishing department can be

called WIP,” says Dr. Prabir Jana,

NIFT Delhi. Another School of

Thought suggests that even the fabric

that lies in the warehouse, the trims

in-house and the cartons of finished

goods, should be considered as WIP.

Why WIP exists?There are primarily three reasons

for maintaining WIP between any

two sewing operators (for both PBU

and UPSsystem):

• To balance the unequal SAM

between two operations.

WIP MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES DECODED BY PRACTITIONERS

“The idea is to have just enough backlogs between two successive levels to insure against anybody

waiting for work, and at the same time, have the minimum of WIP between the two levels, necessary to

accomplish such coordination.” – Jacob Solinger

As the famous adage goes, too much of Work In Progress (WIP) is as bad as too little of WIP. The hazards of high

WIP levels include excess of working capital tied up in a resource that is not adding any value but rather demanding

more storage space, equipment and housekeeping facility. When these high levels of inventory enter the production

system, problems are created much before they are detected by roving or final QA, and thus increase the chance of

defects and rework. Moreover, a false sense of security blankets the floor as problems are less obvious, and the need

for solutions is less urgent. High WIP levels make it harder to find and quickly process an urgent order or size/colour

selection through the production system. On the other hand, low WIP or WIP starvation will lead to idle machines

and idle labour – a cost incurred by the minute. Team AOB analyses if there exists an ideal situation and solution…

Operators workingon a bundlesize of 4-5 pieces... Inventory levels should be determinedby not asking ‘how much’ inventory is needed, but asking ‘why’ inventory is needed

“There lies a fine line of distinction betweeninventory and WIP; while WIP is a form of inventory, all inventory is not WIP…”–Dr. Prabir Jana, NIFT Delhi

• To cover absenteeism.

• To cover machine breakdown.

It can be deduced from the above

factors that a factory with heavy

absenteeism and very oldmachines

will keep more WIP than a factory

with lesser absenteeism and newer

machines. Further, if the SAM of

different operations in the style is

closer to pitch time, thenbalance

efficiency will be higher and lesser WIP

can be maintained between any two

operations. The effect of above three

factors can be minimized but the net

effect will still remain, and hence the

WIP. “The unpredictable reasons of

WIP (absenteeism/machine breakdown,

etc.) can be contributed tobuffering

the lack of information. As we don’t

know how many persons will be absent

tomorrow or which all machines will

breakdown, and for how much time, we

keep WIP,” avers Prabir Jana.

Optimum WIP levelThere is no magic formula to

calculate optimum WIP level for a

sewing line. Out of the three above

reasons for maintaining WIP, while the

first reason is controllable and can be

predicted and the WIP calculated, the

last two reasons are unpredictable

and the calculation is based only on

historical data.

For example, if SAM for operation

‘A’ is 0.8 min. and operation ‘B’ is

0.9 min., then ‘A’ is going to produce

75 pieces per hour and operation

‘B’ will produce 66 pieces per hour.

If ‘B’ is feeding ‘A’, then every hour

there will be 9 pieces of shortfall and

unless WIP is maintained between

them, ‘A’ cannot work to its full

potential. If we maintain around

72 pieces of WIP in-between, then

both operators can work to their full

potential uninterruptedly for 8 hours

(72 divided by 9 = 8).

Ideal WIP levels for macro planning

can be calculated by using Takt Time.

“This methodology will also facilitate

in switching from ‘push’ to ‘pull’

system. Once the planning is in line

with the Takt Time, the unit produces

what is needed, when it is needed,

with the minimum amount of material,

equipment, labour and space. As

a result, WIP is slashed, inventory

is greatly reduced, and money that

was earlier used to be tied up in

inventory, now becomes available.

Lowest WIP results from supplier

integration for 5Rs – Right Quantity,

Right Time, Right Quality, Right

Information and Right Cost,” avers

Pisith Chooyong, a Thailand-based

Lean Implementation Consultant.

For example, if one PO = 5,000 pieces,

and time from commencement of order

processing to delivery date is 10 days,

then production required per day is

5,000 divided by 10, i.e. 500 pieces per

day. All the production efforts can now

be orchestrated to meet this quantity.

Hence, the key to answering

the optimum WIP level

conundrum rests in a statement

by Operations Management veteran

Robert W Hall. He asserts that

inventory levels are determined by

not asking ‘how much’ inventory is

needed, but asking ‘why’ inventory

isneeded.

Journey to an optimum WIP levelMaking this journey effective, involves

identifying where was WIP created

for the first time in the valuechain.

This could be due to a multitude

of reasons. It could be a cutting

room with an excess capacity,an

underperforming or imbalancedsewing

floor or an understaffedfinishing

floor. These issues can beovercome

by a capacity balancingexercise.

On a micro level, say the area to be

focused on is identified as sewing

floor. The next step in line will be to

assess the problem area on the ‘5Ms’

of efficiency – Manpower, Materials,

Machines, Methods, and Metrics,

followed by ‘5 Whys’ analyses. The

process is continuous in nature, i.e.

once one bottleneck has beenresolved,

the team must attack the next one in

line. Following the Pareto Rule ensures

effectiveness and a pointed approach

to problemsolving.

WIP management and style changeoverDuring a style changeover, the

sewing line is one of the mostcrucial

and intensive areas in terms of the

Carrying malignant amounts of WIP merely exposes the inefficiencies of the system. The key to maintaining optimum numbers lies in problem-solving acumen and robust

machinemaintenance

• To cover

absenteeism.

• To cover

machine

breakdown.

ESSENTIALSThere are primarily

three reasons for

maintaining WIP

between any two

sewing operators

(for both PBU and

UPS system):

• To balance

the unequal

SAM between

two

operations.

coordination and execution efforts

required. It is also the stage where

bundles can potentially start clogging

the system. If one glances through

the best practices, no more than the

line’s output is loaded onto the line.

Once bundles start exiting the lines,

an equivalent number is fed into the

line. Exercising such a control ensures

that at maximum a day’s WIP is in

the line. Similarly, the process can be

simulated for other departments.

However, there might be cases where

some processes are to be outsourced

which can increase the WIP levels.

WIP management assisted by real-time dataWhile a sizeable chunk of theindustry

is infamous for being run on a

perpetual fire-fighting mode, there

are thought leaders who very much

understand that such practices will

not create the enterprise offuture.

Sahu Exports is one such progressive

exporter based in NCR, manufacturing

high-fashion women’s and kids’ wear.

The company has managed to bring

the WIP levels down to one day in the

cutting room and 60 pieces per sewing

line. The average SMV of products

manufactured at Sahu Exports is 25

minutes and the finishing is beingdone

inline. “With just 2-3 pieces ofWIP

between workstations, we have brought

down the throughput time to 4hours

in our sewing lines and it is allrunning

smooth,” reveals PradeepChaudhury,

GM – Production,SahuExports.

The throughput time is reviewedat

any hourly rate. This ensures thatany

problem that might be building up in

the line is nipped in the bud. In case of

a machine breakdown, if the machine

can be repaired in 5 minutes, it is done

inline or else the machine isreplaced.

The company is working with

overhead hangers for material

movement. Furthermore, the sewing

workstations at Sahu Exports are

equipped with ElixirCT’s Garnet

– an RFID-enabled real-time data

capturing and monitoring software.

In a general scenario, where the

lines are monitored through pen and

paper, there is no fair arbitrator of

the actual production and the actual

performance of an operator. The WIP

and line balancing is based onreports

of data recorded earlier in the day

and whatever can be visually judged

as bottlenecks. “But with our RFID-

enabled workstations, every swipe

is recorded which is reflected in real

time either on an LCD display or on

a handheld tablet, while supervising

individual workstations or standing at

a workstation,” shares Raghav Wahi,

Assistant Manager, ElixirCT. The

card number of the RFID tag is the

only data input, and using this,

reports of line output, graphical

representations of operational

efficiency, sectional efficiency and WIP

between workstations are generated

by the software to highlight the areas

or operations that demand attention

of the supervisors, line in-charges,

industrial engineers, etc. “The

deliverables of such a system are quite

simplistic. However, real-time data is

not just about tracking production;

it is about tracking with formidable

accuracy,” assertsRaghav.

Venkatesh Murthy,Business

Head –Development & Production

at Bangalore-based K Mohan

& Company (Exports)Private

Limited echoes the thought as fewof

the lines at K Mohan have the Eton

System installed. The Eton Systems

come with real-time data assessment

abilities supported through an

interface for the supervisor with

software on android tablets. “We can

easily program how many pieces

we want between two workstations.

In case there is a bottleneck, the

ETONnote sends an alert to the

tablet and we do not really have

to wait for the clogging to become

glaringly evident. Besides, the pieces

sent for alteration, or pieces which

sometimes are found beneath the

trolleys lead to incorrect WIP figures,

which is not a problem with Eton

System, as we can track each and

every piece on it,” shares Venkatesh.

The line has been running with the

Eton System since Day 1. The WIP

between two workstations is limited

to 3-4pieces.

ConclusionIt is often suggested that a ‘healthy

WIP’ safeguards a line against

machine downtimes and other

unforeseen vagaries. However such

an explanation to carry malignant

amounts of WIP merely exposes

the inefficiencies of the system.

The key to maintaining optimum

numbers essentially lies in problem-

solving acumen and robust machine

maintenance. These WIPmanagement

principles hold equal significance

across all production systems.

FACTSIt is often suggested

that a ‘healthy WIP’

safeguards a line

against machine

downtimes and

other unforeseen

vagaries. However,

such an explanation

to carry malignant

amounts of WIP

merely exposes

the inefficiencies

of the system. The

key to maintaining

optimum numbers

essentially lies in

problem-solving

acumen and

robust machine

maintenance.

SINGLE PIECE FLOW WITH ZERO WIP IN APPAREL SEWING LINE CAN WORK ONLY WITH HIGHER MACHINE TO

OPERATOR RATIO AND STAND-UP WORKSTATION, WHERE PIECES ARE MOVED FROM ONE OPERATOR’S HAND

TO ANOTHER OPERATOR’S HAND AND ARE NOT TO BE KEPT BETWEEN WORKSTATIONS. IT IS ALSO A KNOWN

FACT THAT A FACTORY CAN LIMIT THE WIP BETWEEN ANY TWO SEWING OPERATIONS WITHOUT STARVING THE

BOTTLENECK OPERATOR. THE ONLY DRAWBACK OF LIMITING WIP IN A SEWING LINE IS THAT AN INDIVIDUAL

OPERATOR’S PRODUCTION WILL DECREASE AND THUS PAYMENT TO THE OPERATOR. DUE TO THIS, IT IS

GENERALLY RESISTED BY OPERATORS.” –DR. PRABIR JANA, NIFT DELHI

ccording to NationalRetailAFederation’s earlier predictions,

the holidayseason salesof November

and December, excluding autos, gas

and restaurant sales, would have

increaseda solid3.6per cent to US

$ 655.8 billion, which issignificantly

higher than the 10 year averageof

2.5 per cent and above the seven-year

average of 3.4 per cent since recovery

began in 2009. “All of the fundamentals

are in a good place, giving strength

to consumers and leading us to

believe that this will be a very positive

holiday season. This year hasn’t been

perfect, starting with a long summer

and unseasonably warm fall, but our

forecast reflects the very realistic

steady momentum of the economy

and industry expectations,” revealed

Matthew Shay, President and CEO,

NRF when declaring theforecast.

The overall non-store holiday sales in

2016 were expected to weigh in at US

$ 112.35 billion. Also, in comparison

to last year, retailers are expected

to hire between 640,000 and 690,000

seasonal workers this holiday season,

in line with last year’s 675,000 new

holiday positions.

Another report from Deloitte was

equally positive, projecting that the US

retail holiday sales would exceed US

$ 1 trillion, up 3.6 to 4 per cent over

the same period in 2015, while online

sales were projected to soar 17to

19 per cent to reach US $ 98 billion

between the two months. According to

the report, consumers have ramped up

their spending this year on the back

of a strong labour market and also

slightly higher growth in disposable

personal income. “While attention

toward presidential elections may be

a temporary distraction in the early

part of the holiday shopping season, it

should not have a negative impact on

sales, and retailers may benefit from

a pickup in post-election consumer

spending,” reveals the report.

But it seems as the positive outlook

has taken a blow, and contrary to

NRF’s forecast, Mintel, a Market

Intelligence company’s new research

reveals that the holiday season of

November and December 2016 will

only see a rise of just 1.3 per cent over

2015 to US $ 692 billion, the slowest

growth rate since 2006. Though

providing an optimistic outlook

for growth the pace is nonetheless

conservative. The scaled down

predictions for increase in sales

during the holiday season is due to

consumer concerns regarding the

outcome of the elections and the

global economic situation.

What was shaping up to be one ofthe

most lucrative holiday saleseason

(according to earlier forecast) since

the 2008 financial crisis, looms in

uncertainty again as consumer

spending analysts are worried about

the surprise victory of Trumpderailing

the earlier predictions. But, analysts

believe that typically, the state of US

economy impacts holiday shopping

more than presidential elections and

according to the US Census Bureau

data, retail sales jumped 4.3 per cent

during the holiday shopping season

after George W. Bush beat Al Gore

for the White House (another shock

victory), from US $ 413.8 billion in

November 1999 and December 1999 to

US $ 431.7 billion during the same two

months in 2000. But by contrast holiday

sales dropped by almost 8 per cent

immediately after Barack Obama beat

John McCain in the 2008 presidential

election. But one has to consider that

TRUMP ’s SURPRISE V ICTOR Y LIKE LY TO A F F E C T C O N S U M P T I O N PATTERNS

All eyes are turned towards developments in America, post the victory of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States,

followed by various protests and question marks on how the economy will react in the long run. In this scenario, the outlook for holiday

season sales is garnering mixed reactions, and according to many retail experts the uncertainty is likely to impact the holiday season

sales this year. And even though retailers have come out in large, with various marketing tactics and a horde of promotions for their

annual year-end gains, it remains to be seen whether the holiday season sales will reach its earlier forecast of an increase this year?

Dilemma looms over holiday shopping sales

About 154 million

US shoppers made

purchases at stores or on

e-commerce sites during

the annual barrage of

Black Friday deals. And

though it is encouraging

for the retail industry

that more consumers

opened their wallets this

time around, it wasn’t all

good news, as average

spending per person was

down to US $ 289.19 from

US $ 299.60 in 2015.

WORLD WRAP

this dip of US $ 592.9 billion in sales

over November and December in 2007

to US $ 545.7 billion came during the

time when the country was on the

brink of the financial crisis. And in

2012, November and December retail

sales hit US $ 641.5 billion as President

Obama won a re-election bid against

Republican Mitt Romney, which is up

about 2.6 per cent from the US $ 625.5

billion retailers sold during the same

two-month period the previous year.

Greg Portell, lead partner inthe

retail practice of consulting firm

AT Kearney, noted that realistically,

any personal connection felt by

consumers won’t be felt until January.

Trump may have won the election, but

he still hasn’t won the support and

confidence of a significant portion of

America. In his acceptance speech,

Trump made clear he wants to unite

the American people. But if Trump

does not succeed in doing so, retailers

can expect a “brutish” next four years,

according to David French, Senior

Vice President of Government

Relations atNRF.

Notwithstanding the circumstances,

retailers have gone out fully with

promotions and discounts. Gap

Inc., Macy’s and Toys R Us are

blasting email subscribers with deals

ranging from 15 per cent to 40 percent

off and Wayne, NJ-based Toys R Us

have also promoted a two-day ‘Big

Brand Blitz’ sale. Apart from this

various retailers are re-strategizing

such as Walmart by staffing storeswith

holiday helpers to assist shoppers

find gifts and make purchases more

quickly and also boasting selfie

stations and toy demos to liven things

up. Also, Target’s holiday strategies

include new value propositions, like

US $ 10 off US $ 50 purchases for a

rotating set of categoriesin the weeks

leading up to Christmas, as well as

Wondershop, a store-within-a-store

concept stocked up with 2,000 new

seasonal items. Meanwhile, retailers

like Kmart and Toys R Us are

emphasizing deals and service with

special offers focused on layawayand

price matching, respectively.

Though retailers have put their

strategies in place but the early

figures by retailers such asBarnes

& Noble and Gap have not been

very encouraging, both of these

retailers blamed their recent poor

sales performances onshoppers

being too focused on the presidential

elections. There is also some

evidence that stores have delayed

holiday advertising because it would

be waste of money as the whole

nation was engrossed in theelections

and subsequently its result. While

the holiday season sales predictions

is being closely watched by the

retailers, industry experts and

analysts, one thing is for sure that

stores will discount more heavily if

they anticipate a slow holiday period

and the discounts will be especially

large late in the year, practically few

days before Christmas, if the season

doesn’t turn out asexpected.

Consumers say that 47 per cent of their holiday shopping

budget will go to online spending, and 47 per cent will go

toward purchases inside physical stores, as per Deloitte’s report.

The Wall Street Journal reported in early October that most

analysts anticipate a fairly strong holiday season, with spending

up 3 per cent to 4 per cent compared with 2015.

PwC estimates that spending will rise 10 per cent compared with

the 2015 season and that digital sale will be up 25 per cent.

FACTS

According to Deloitte, 74 per cent of shoppers plan to shop

online this year as against 69 per cent in 2015, with Millennials

driving online sales with 88 per cent planning to do half of their

shopping online and 37 per cent looking to buy all their holiday

gifts online.

Fast Retailing opens ‘Denim Innovation Centre’

Fast Retailing, Japan-based apparel retail holding

company and owners of Uniqlo, has announced

the opening of its new ‘Denim Innovation Centre’ in

Los Angeles, USA. The facility is devoted to denim research

and development to support the company’s denim

offering. The first project for specialists will be to research

jeans for Uniqlo and J Brand. The products developed for

both brands will launch in Fall 2017. The Denim Innovation

Centre aims to bring together specialists to develop

jeans through innovative techniques and materials. The

Centre can also be used by contracted producers as a

Research Centre, which will increase the integrity of the

finished product during actual production. In addition,

the facility will focus on environment-friendly processing

and production methods, conducting R&D on chemicals

and techniques used for fading and distressing of jeans.

By establishing the Centre in Los Angeles, which is

considered the global hub for information on denim, Fast

Retailing will be able to quickly incorporate the essence

of current trends in its designs. Focusing on the ‘3Fs’ –

Fabric, Fit and Finish – the key elements in making jeans

the Centre will develop fabrics with the world’s leading

fabric makers, as well as conduct R&D on the latest

production technologies.

Cotton Inc. celebrates10 years of ‘Blue JeansGo Green’ initiative

Cotton Incorporated, the research and promotion

company for cotton, celebrated ten years of their ‘Blue

Jeans Go Green’ sustainability initiative at New York

City, USA on 18th and 19th November with a pop-up

experience including an art and style gallery and several

collaborations with designers from apparel brands

like DKNY, Juicy Couture, Vans, Urban Outfitters, Uber,

Elizabeth Arden, and Patagonia, among others. The

organization tapped several US-based artists to create

custom denim-focused artwork for the anniversary. This

pop-up experience will also act as a call out for consumers

to bring in their used denim.

Cotton Incorporated launched their ‘Blue Jeans Go

Green’ denim recycling programme to collect denim

from consumers and upcycle it into ‘UltraTouch Denim

Insulation’, a type of housing insulation that they then

donate to ‘Habitat for Humanity’ to use in home building

for low-income recipients. The organization has currently

partnered with Saks Off Fifth, GUESS, J.Crew, Madewell,

and GAP to provide discounts to consumers who bring in

denim for the programme.

Cotton Incorporated created the denim recycling

programme in 2006 to create awareness for cotton

sustainability. Since then, retailers, colleges, organizations

and individuals have collected over one million pieces

of denim and diverted over 600 tonnes of textile waste

from landfills.

DIRECTIONS BY

he catwalks of Milan and Paris round up the

final trends for the coming spring season. JustTwhen we thought the whole "see now, buy now"

movement had started to make things seem a bit too

commercial; Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion

Week proved that creativity still rules. As expected,

designers were unapologetically maximal in their

approach with shiny embellishments, fabrics and

prints – slogans, logos, sequins, patchwork. The ’80s

continued to pick up steam as the season’s biggest

trend in the form of bold, boxy blazers. But we also saw

plenty of compelling new ideas – namely XL bags, tiny

bags and waist cinchers. From statement sleeves to the

key silhouettes, read up on the new-season trends that

will shape wardrobes in 2017…

It was Studio 54 all over again on the

Milan runways, where Dolce

& Gabbana and Gucci’s Alessandro

Michele sent out statement-making

sequined looks that shimmered like

disco balls under the lights. The former

presented colourful sequins placed

on cocktail dresses and the latter,

went with the monotone approach of

putting only golden sequin on their

laidback looks consisting of trousers,

slouchy shrugs and tops. The ’80s

returned to the catwalk in Rodarte's

show by way of standout dresses,

Au Jour le Jour showed off the ombre

effect on his dresses via green and

silver sequins whereas, Marco de

Vincenzo’s version was a sultry version

in copper and green.

Shinysequin

Parisand

Milan

S/S ’17

TRENDS…

Au Jour le Jour Gucci Dolce & Gabbana

Marco de Vincenzo

The best way to ple

to a brand is by we

stamped with the l

& Gabbana finale f

of models in D&G

with ornate miniski

the same. We've se

of the logo trend p

collections for a fe

it’s clearly continui

However, Paris did

with slogans taking

bag at Loewe procl

while dresses at Stella

“Thanks Girls”. Chri

T-shirt statement t

likes; “We Should A

Saint Laurent brou

YSL logo, seen on earrings

of stilettos. Slogans

are also back for th

dge your allegiance

aring an item

abel's logo. The Dolc

eatured a stampede

T-shirts paired

rts. Moschino did

en the resurgence

ermeate designers’

w seasons now, and

ng through spring.

it a little differently

over the runway. A

aimed “See U Later”

McCartney said

stian Dior used a

hat was guaranteed

ll Be Feminists”.

ght back its iconic

and the hee

and visible brandin

e coming spring.

The best way to

trend in the coming

introduce a hero s

collection that repre

In Milan and Paris, d

out inventive riffs o

officers' jackets, de

epaulets, gold butto

embellishments. D

pieces were colour-

stood out for their

at Dsquared2 it was

exaggerated shoul

lengths, Roberto C

his fitted jackets in

boasted of immac

and fine details. G

further by ditching

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running from the to

Dsquared2

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itary kets

carry out the military

season is to

eparate to the

sents the trend.

esigners sent

n traditional

corated with

ns, and all sorts of

olce & Gabbana’s

blocked and

floral appliques,

all about the

ders and cropped

avalli presented

true blue and they

ulate embroidery

ucci went a step

the military jacket

ess with epaulets

p to bottom.

Dolce & Gabbana

Moschino Dolce & Gabbana

Dior

Blo

Soniya Rykiel

Boolldd loggooss

The best way to carry out the military

trend in the coming season is to

introduce a hero separate to the

collection that represents the trend.

In Milan and Paris, designers sent

out inventive riffs on traditional

officers’ jackets, decorated with

epaulets, gold buttons, and all sorts of

embellishments. Dolce & Gabbana’s

pieces were colour-blocked and

stood out for their floral appliques,

at Dsquared2 it was all about the

exaggerated shoulders and cropped

lengths, Roberto Cavalli presented

his fitted jackets in true blue and they

boasted of immaculate embroidery

and fine details. Gucci went a step

further by ditching the military jacket

for a military coatdress with epaulettes

running from the top to bottom.

Military jackets

Dsquared2 Gucci Roberto Cavalli

Moschino Dolce & Gabbana Dior

Soniya Rykiel

Dolce & Gabbana

The best way to pledge your allegiance

to a brand is by wearing an item

stamped with the label's logo. The Dolcee

& Gabbana finale featured a stampede

of models in D&G T-shirts paired

with ornate miniskirts. Moschino did

the same. We've seen the resurgence

of the logo trend permeate designers’

collections for a few seasons now, and

it’s clearly continuing through spring.

However, Paris did it a little differently

with slogans taking over the runway. A

bag at Loewe proclaimed “See U Later”

while dresses at Stella McCartney said

“Thanks Girls”. Christian Dior used a

T-shirt statement that was guaranteed

likes; “We Should All Be Feminists”.

Saint Laurent brought back its iconic

YSL logo, seen on earrings and the heellss

of stilettos. Slogans and visible brandingg

are also back for the coming spring.

Nothing quite says

of high-waisted tro

top and tapered at

offered casual roo

to match the mon

defined the waist a

the ankle, Alexis M

were similar in sha

the bottom and wo

for formalwear.

norm at Stella McC

where the former u

the fabric at the w

were as voluminous

be, whereas, the latt

tapered fit to the s

to bottom, pairing

white tank top.

as the message at

that drew focus

alenciaga offered

trench coats and

oulder proportions

ets in Milan had an

tured and pointed

aggerated and

s monotone looks in

came with roomy

lourful trench

of spacious sleeves.

magined the trend

dels in shirts with

rawing more focus

aking them one-

s Prada changed

ng plumes on

Marni MSGM

Alberta Ferretti

Stat sho

‘Bigger is better’ w

most of the shows

to the shoulders. B

boxy blazer jackets,

dresses that saw sh

reach the max. Jack

'80s feel, with struc

shoulders for an ex

strong look. Marni’

languid silhouettes

sleeves, MSGM’s co

coats also boasted

Alberta Ferretti rei

by sending out mo

puffy sleeves and d

on the sleeves by m

shouldered, wherea

thing up by attachi

thecuffs.

Prada Stella McCartney

Dior Chloe

-waist users

'80s chic like a pair

users- relaxed on

the bottom. Chloe

my pants in black

ochrome tops that

nd were cuffed at

abille’s trousers

pe but extended till

uld be a perfect fit

Midi lengths were the

artney and Dior,

sed strings to cinch

aist and the pants

as they could

er chose a more

ilhouette from top

it with a simple

Alexis Mabille

Stateemmeenntt shouullddeerrss

Nothing quite says ’80s chic like a pair

of high-waisted trousers – relaxed on

top and tapered at the bottom. Chloe

offered casual roomy pants in black

to match the monochrome tops that

defined the waist and were cuffed at

the ankle, Alexis Mabille’s trousers

were similar in shape but extended till

the bottom and would be a perfect fit

for formalwear. Midi lengths were the

norm at Stella McCartney and Dior,

where the former used strings to cinch

the fabric at the waist and the pants

were as voluminous as they could

be, whereas, the latter chose a more

tapered fit to the silhouette from top

to bottom, pairing it with a simple

white tank top.

High-waist trousers

Marni MSGM Alberta Ferretti

PradaStella McCartney Dior Chloe

Alexis Mabille

‘Bigger is better’ was the message at

most of the shows that drew focus

to the shoulders. Balenciaga offered

boxy blazer jackets, trench coats and

dresses that saw shoulder proportions

reach the max. Jackets in Milan had an

’80s feel, with structured and pointed

shoulders for an exaggerated and

strong look. Marni’s monotone looks in

languid silhouettes came with roomy

sleeves, MSGM’s colourful trench

coats also boasted of spacious sleeves.

Alberta Ferretti reimagined the trend

by sending out models in shirts with

puffy sleeves and drawing more focus

on the sleeves by making them one-

shouldered, whereas Prada changed

things up by attaching plumes on

thecuffs.