30 Fastest Growing Companies in Asia 2019 30 Fastest Growing Companies in Asia 2019 | Page 10

Crossing New Geographies: Epic Designers Limited, a Vertically Integrated
Garment Manufacturing Multinational Conglomerate, Plans to Further Expand
into International Territories
“The tremendous growth of Epic Group over the past few decades can be attributed to three broad pillars: commitment
to sustainability, improvements in manufacturing and solid personal connections with all stakeholders.”
T
oday’s consumers, especially
millennials, are increasingly
concerned and influenced
by companies’ accountability and
initiatives around sustainability.
Whether it is because they follow
#gogreen, #meaningfulchange,
#tcktcktck on social media or because
of the growing understanding that
climate change is a real threat to
humans in the near future. This
has manifested itself in the fashion
industry with a new trend towards
‘slow fashion’.
Now more than ever, consumers are
curious about where their clothes
were made and under what conditions.
The slow fashion movement promises
to be the opposite of the fast fashion
trend (inexpensive clothing produced
rapidly by mass-market retailers
in response to the latest trends)
by delivering sustainably procured
and produced clothing to mindful
consumers. Instead of the never-
ending sale offerings due to rapidly
changing trends. Slow fashion items
are designed to be sustainable,
functional, durable and stylish.
In light of this, we’re thrilled to present
Epic Designers Limited.
The company designs, manufactures
and distributes a wide range of
apparel for men, ladies, and kids. Epic
mainly serves customers in the United
States, Europe & North Asia.
10
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Epic
Group started its operations in 1971.
Today, the company operates 16
world-class manufacturing facilities
globally, overseeing the welfare of
DECEMBER 2019
more than 25,000 employees who
produce nearly 90 million garments
annually.
Ranjan Mahtani,
Epic Designers Limited
Founder and Chairman,
spoke exclusively to
The Silicon Review.
Below is an excerpt.
How successful was your first
project? Share the experience.
In 1984, Epic Group, through one of its
subsidiaries, became one of the first
international garment manufacturers
to establish a presence in Bangladesh.
Starting with a small team procuring
silk garments on behalf of US-based
customers, it became the largest
buying office in Bangladesh with
revenues of US$100 million in the
early 1990s.
What kind of responses
have you received from your
consumers over the years?
How have they motivated you
to shape your offerings/grow
the company?
Our customers play a critical role
throughout our value chain. We strive
to listen to our customers and create
solutions that add value to them – this
also helps us evolve. Over the years, we
have constantly been acknowledged
as industry leaders, especially in
terms of product development, the
use of leading technology, first-rated
attention to quality, and a culture of
continuous improvement.
What challenges did you face
in your initial years? What can
your peers learn from it?
During the initial years, one of the
biggest challenges would be to
zero-in on the location of setting
up new manufacturing facilities.
Apart from the in-depth knowledge
of each region’s assets, including
quality, availability and cost of labor,
infrastructure, and manufacturing
standards, there also needed a fair bit
of foresight to strategically analyze
where the industry is headed.
My advice to peers would be to
remember each region has its certain
type of expertise. However, as factors
change, so does the industry. A
thorough understanding is needed for
initial & continuing success.
“Earning trust and respect
of consumers all around the
world is through consistent
focus on delivering high
quality in all of our actions.”
How do you interpret this
statement?
This statement truly reflects the
sentiments of all individuals who
represent Epic. It is the recognition
of Epic’s unique combination in
manufacturing excellence, including
state-of-the-art physical infrastructure,
process-oriented work culture helmed
by a highly experienced management
team, continuous focus on productivity
improvements and innovation, and
a highly engaged and motivated
workforce. This unique combination
of factors has been the key to EPIC’s
growth to date, resulting in our drive