RESOURCE CENTRE
It is indeed remarkable to note
the expansion that Vardhman has
undergone in Bangladesh especially
in the bottomwear segment despite
their earlier benchmark in shirt
fabrics. Explaining the factors that
inspired them to go for this massive
shift, Kulbir avers, “In shirts, the
major component is yarn dyed
varieties for which local mills are
now quite capable as their prices
and deliveries are good and their
quality is just fine. Because of this
ti ght competition in shirts domain,
we started offering different types
of blends, washes and finishes.’ Even
in fabric finishes, Vardhman offers
qualities like moisture management
and climate control which are
highly appreciated by the buyers
and they hope to take it up also in
their next upcoming season. Going
forward, the focus for Vardhman
in Bangladesh is predominantly
into the bottoms business for both
men and women. Even in shirting
which still constitutes a big part of
their product category, they have
transformed to more modal and
tencel based fabrics which is seeing
a surge in demand in the women’s
clothing section.
With fast-evolving new product
categories, Kulbir predicts that
though the market growth of
Bangladesh is slow (2.5%) in the
current year, it would bounce back
and achieve the target of 10%
annual growth, considering the
responsiveness and capabilities of
the entrepreneurs in the country. He
is quick to admit that this market
would never see an absolutely lull
phase as it generates consistent
business for those who are actively
involved in this trade.
With some of the world’s leading
brands as its major buyers like GAP,
“… In terms of
product basket, we
diversified our mix.
It is now not only in
cotton. We create
blends like cotton
tencel stretch,
cotton modal super
stretch and difficult
products like bi-
stretch…”
– Kulbir Kundu,
Country Manager –
Bangladesh, Vardhman
Textiles
JCPenney, American Eagle, H &M,
M & S, s.Oliver and even Inditex,
Vardhman continues to prove its
mettle in fabric manufacturing.
With a strong belief in the concept
of made to order, they endeavour
to present their clients with new
qualities every time by seeking
inputs from their buyers and also
presenting collections from their
own ideas.
The strong design and product
development team which creates
ideas and converts them into
beautiful niche fabrics is the key
which gives Vardhman an edge over
its competitors. Vardhman’s current
strategic orientation is towards
keeping the buyers’ interests alive
which makes it unique and way
ahead of the local mills who are
still largely focused on supplying
volumes to the buyers.
www.apparelresources.com | JULY 2017 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
53