COVER STORY
Fabrics
We prefer our in-house fabrics as we have spinning , yarn dyeing and weaving facilities .
Turnover ( combined ) US $ 100 million
M & M Shirts Ltd .
A part of Shanin Group , M & M Shirts Ltd ., produces around 1,60,000 pieces of shirts ( men ’ s formal & casual ) apart from ladies blouses , school shirts & blouses . M . A . Haque Howlader , General Manager of M & M Shirts Ltd . shares his views ...
Shirt business today
Well , I would say shirt business is not at its best today . Compared with other RMG products , shirt is not the frontliner in Bangladesh any more . Fact is that , we have failed to explore markets for shirts . To grow in shirts , we would have to find new customers and new markets . Also the price from buyer must be increased ; otherwise it would be very difficult to survive in the market .
Demand scenario
There is demand for both casual and formal shirts in the proportion of 50-50 . Men ’ s formal & casual shirts , ladies blouses , school shirts are items that are in big demand .
Major buyers
Primark , Penny ’ s , Frank-Q , Jacks Clothing , Zara , Comma , Collins , etc .
Potential market ( USA / Europe )
We work for the European market mainly as we feel more comfortable in the European market compared to that of USA .
Fabrics
Actually we procure all kinds of fabrics – 100 % cotton , semi-cotton , even blends . We source the fabrics mainly from China ; sometimes we also source fabrics from India , Pakistan and Indonesia . In Bangladesh , these fabrics are not available .
Bangladesh ’ s strength-yarn dyed or solids ?
In Bangladesh we can produce both yarn dyed and solids .
Turnover US $ 70 million
Accessory , Testing and their importance
As shirt manufacturers gear up competencies and expertise to cater to new and potential markets , the importance of quality standards and value-additions have become vital parameters deciding the success and failure of businesses . Apparel Online spoke to a prominent accessory supplier and some top-of-theline testing labs to know what they think about the shirt business and what is it that they have to offer to achieve value-addition and set new benchmarks in quality and standards .
KDS Accessories
Based out of the port city of Chittagong , KDS Group is one of the leading multinational apparel and textile conglomerates in the country . KDS Accessories has selected its products finely intertwined with not only the evolution of its accessories business but also with the dynamic nature of the country ’ s apparel industry . It all started with manufacturing of corrugated cartons for packaging purposes and was sequentially followed by sewing threads , polybags , plastic hangers , tags , labels , polyester button , etc . Debasis Daspal , CEO of KDS Accessories , shares his views .
Shirt Business
Shirt as a product category has good potential to grow but currently is facing some operational challenges to meet the global high standards of quality and craftsmanship . However , the growth rate of shirts significantly lags compared to that of denim and lingerie items in Bangladesh .
Debasis Daspal – CEO of KDS Accessories
But as more and more entrepreneurs are inclining towards higher value creation , the possibility of higher number of shirt manufacturers coming up besides capacity augmentation of existing manufacturers seems not so far .
Accessory requirements
The total number of different trims and accessories is quite substantial in various kinds of shirts depending on styles and sizes . The general requirements of some major accessories in a shirt are : Buttons ( 2 %), Labels & Tags ( 1 %), Carton & Poly ( 5 %), others ( 7 %).
[ The percentages are average in terms of FOB value of a garment ].
Apart from the considerable value that accessories play in garments ’ FOB , the complexity and varieties of any trims are also significant .
Special Buttons
There have been so many special polyester buttons ’ requirements for any kind of shirt . The need for variety of buttons range from normal pearl buttons to horn buttons to several types of fancy buttons . Apart from the polyester buttons , several types of metal buttons and snaps are also needed in denim shirts and childrenswear .
KDS ’ s strength to meet the accessories ’ demands
KDS accessories , being the foremost trims and packaging player in the country , stands tall in supplying most of the accessories needs of a shirt manufacturer in the country . Starting from providing sewing threads , buttons , all kinds of labels and print material , hangers , poly and cartons , we are the one-stop trims solution providers to any shirt manufacturer .
Our button facility ramps up overall business by developing our fancy button
18 Apparel Online Bangladesh | JULY 2017 | www . apparelresources . com