Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine December Issue 2018 | Page 60

RESOURCE CENTRE HAVE YOUR SAY BREAKING NEWS Tell us your news by emailing at [email protected] To read the latest sustainability news, go to https://apparelresources.com/business-news/sustainability/  establish Vibemac in China. This investment is to ensure that the Vibemac standard is met with. Yes, we will shift manufacturing here but not entirely. We are going to produce our machines for the local market in China with our base of consistent quality, following the same Italian standards while maintaining a cost advantage which we will pass on to our customers. It is only a matter of time when customers will understand that it does not matter where the machines are produced. What should matter is how they are produced. We have plans for our spare parts manufacturing too. We will continue producing the parts in Italy where we have already started working towards an expansion plan to double our production capacity in order to support the rising demand from the international market. However, as I said earlier, we will proceed in a phase by phase plan and not all of the products are going to be manufactured at once in China. This strategy is necessary to understand the precise potential of the Chinese market. There is already a considerable demand for Vibemac solutions in China since several companies from the country are already sourcing our solutions directly from Italy. We understand the fact that to enlarge our footprint in China, we have to be here and our partner, Jack, can greatly support us in this endeavour through the vast coverage of the market which has already earned Jack the industry leader position in the country.  AO:  You are right when you say that the process of manufacturing is more important than the place where it is manufactured. Although there is no doubt about Jack’s quality, the industry’s perception on Chinese manufacturing is still not that positive. Do you think it will affect your image in the overseas market? Alberto: Yes, I understand. End customers were right almost one ESSENTIALS People still think there is a big gap in terms of technology between these two countries (China and Italy) but that’s not true anymore. Jack is making considerable investment to establish Vibemac in China. This investment is to ensure that the Vibemac standard is met with. and -a-half decade back when they kept complaining about quality issues in the Chinese products but it is a completely different story now. Jack believes in continuous improvement. Before us, it acquired MAICA and Bullmer which are doing exceptionally well under Jack’s management. Even Jack has achieved a very good quality in its products and the market is appreciating that. And, where it is manufacturing its products… in China only! Moreover Jack has already surpassed the turnover of Juki because of low cost of manufacturing, high quality products and strong technical service, benefits which they ultimately pass on to the customers. Ruan (Founder of Jack Group) is focusing a lot on the quality of machines. So, industry perception has to change and I can see it is changing. Expert teams from Europe and China are working together to develop new technologies and the world is witnessing this positive change. Enrico: The denim market is huge and everybody is trying to penetrate the market in any way they can. As far as Jack is concerned, they have more than 800 patents in their name. They have their R&D centre where they keep innovating their technology. Vibemac is already ahead of the industry learning curve and, with this new alliance, we have actually taken quantum leaps as we now have support from China’s leading sewing tech giant and this will help us in penetrating the Chinese market. The global 5-pocket jeans market is continuously growing with an aggressive CAGR. We will continue to focus on this sector and keep bringing in innovation to the market as is being requested by all of our customers, which is the need of the time. Everyday we raise the bar in what we do, manufacturing machines to manufacture 5-pocket jeans. 60 Apparel Online Bangladesh | December 2018 | www.apparelresources.com AO: Are you also promoting your products in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean countries as well?  Alberto: When a market is emerging, we have to see what kind of products the manufacturers make. Let’s not forget that to make jeans and garments, other than jeans, one can still stitch those using non- automated machines. But, the biggest difference is in quality and the rate of productivity. Automation comes into picture when a manufacturer is ready to grow his company with improved ROI. Another significant factor manufacturers have to understand is that they need people who can accept changes. Most of the Asian countries, African countries, Caribbean countries and even Latin American countries work on the same logic. But Ethiopia is different from others such as Myanmar and Cambodia in Asia which are certainly growing but not in the denim segment. On the other hand, in Ethiopia, a few of the big companies are targeting denim. Many of these companies are large-scale established manufacturers from Asia and they do not give a second thought when it comes to investment in automation. Ethiopia allows manufacturers to sell worldwide with zero duty. So, we have got some advantages in Ethiopia which we are surely looking to capitalise on. I also want to add Tanzania in the list. Many people think Kenya has a huge potential but I say Tanzania has more potential due to various factors. Ports and political stability are two biggest factors and, gradually, denim manufacturers are setting up their factories in Tanzania. So, simply put, we are targeting emerging markets only if they are ready for it. Sometimes a company, despite having all the potential, does not go for automation but we are here to convince them.