Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine April Issue 2019 | Page 15

COVER STORY Day-1, Panel Discussion 1: The who’s who of the global sourcing sector discussing on the theme ‘The Go-To Destinations... Where and Why?’ “I am impressed by the collection displayed by Bangladeshi garment manufacturers and will try to focus more on sourcing from Bangladesh,” maintained Bipan Jain, MD, Madame (which has more than 150 stores in India), while Wicrant Gambhir, Head Sourcing, Jockey India observed, “Indian retail industry is moving towards re-engineering sourcing, which is a very good sign for fashion retail sector of India.” The sentiments of Jain and Gambhir resonated with Sandeep Golam, Group Operation Director, Armana Group as well, who was more than happy with the number of brands and retailers that showed up at ASW to meet and finalise business deals with potential vendors. “I met teams from Bestsellers, Ceilo and many more…,” said an elated Sandeep, while Md. Sajjadur Rahman, Director, Laila Styles Limited from Bangladesh on his part underlined, “We are quite happy with ASW as we met few very good and big retailers. They were impressed with our collections and wished to start sourcing from us soon. I must say Apparel Resources should organise such events in other countries as well so that we can meet more global retailers to get bulk orders.” When asked about his observations on the inaugural edition of ASW, Abdul Wadud, Director, Team Scl Bangladesh was all praise for it. “I have been to globally renowned sourcing fairs like Bread & Butter, ISPO and Magic but never witnessed such an organised and well- managed show before… In terms of business leads, ASW lived up to Day 1, Panel Discussion 2: ‘The Future of Fashion Retail in India’ revolved around the challenges and opportunities that exist in the sector my expectations,” he maintained. Team is one of the leading apparel manufacturers from Bangladesh. I have been to globally renowned sourcing fairs like Bread & Butter, ISPO and Magic, but never witnessed such an organised and well-managed show before… In terms of business leads, ASW lived up to my expectations” – Abdul Wadud Director, Team Scl Bangladesh On the knowledge sharing front, Day-1 and Day-2 of ASW witnessed several seminars and panel discussions unveiling new perspectives on the booming Indian fashion retail sector. The first panel discussion of Day-1 titled THE GO-TO DESTINATIONS..., WHERE AND WHY? featured the who’s who of the global sourcing sector. Moderated by Anika Passi (Country Manager, The Warehouse Group), the session included stalwarts like Tanuja Sinha Roy (Regional Manager, JCPenney), Hande Diltemiz (Regional Country Head, Production, H&M), Venky Nagan (CEO, Asmara), Shirish Srivastava (Head Sourcing, Apparel, Puma) and Tapan Bansal (Regional Manager, Mothercare). The next in line was the panel discussion titled THE FUTURE OF FASHION RETAIL IN INDIA... CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES. Dwelling exhaustively on the Indian fashion retail landscape, this session witnessed experts like Sharad Venkta, CEO, Toonz Retail India Pvt. Ltd.; Vivek Mehta, CEO, MAS brands; Amisha Jain, CEO, Zivame; and Ramesh Kaushik, VP Brand Experience and Business Excellence, Blackberrys. The session was moderated by Devangshu Dutta, Founder, Third Eyesight. The third panel discussion of the day themed WINNING AT E-COMMERCE, aptly dealt with all the pain points of E-commerce while addressing the vital issues of growth potentials. “India-Bangladesh relationship has grown stronger over the years and India is already a very important development partner for us besides being a vital destination for garment exports.” – Siddiqur Rahman, President, BGMEA “Around six months back, when we began to develop the ASW concept, we identified three key influencers that are core to the success of the show, namely Opportunity, Knowledge and Inspiration… In the next two days, we look forward to see great business develop for you all and wish everyone a fulfilling two days…” – Deepak Mohindra, Editor-in-Chief, Apparel Resources www.apparelresources.com | APRIL 2019 | Apparel Online Bangladesh 15