COVER STORY
ACCESSORISING APPARELS…
Recognising the role and importance of the accessory makers in the burgeoning apparel industry of
Bangladesh, Apparel Online has been regularly showcasing accessory manufacturers – both domestic
and multinational – and what they have to present in terms of innovative products and offerings to
help garment manufacturers achieve the desired goals of value-addition while also fulfilling their
basic requirements.
In this edition, we have brought for you a cross-section of the major players in accessories, successfully
catering to the garment industry of the country.
American
& Efird
rotating the American staff. So
what we did was enter Bangladesh
through a JV; at present we
have reclaimed our 100 per cent
ownership in the country…”
Fred Jackson, CEO ,
American & Efird (A&E)
As one of the world’s foremost
manufacturers of sewing thread,
embroidery thread and technical
textiles, A&E’s global presence
extends from Asia to Europe to the
Americas.
A&E Bangladesh has grown
almost 4 folds in the past four
years by sticking to what they
know best; providing SERVICE,
QUALITY and SOLUTION
with brands such as M&S,
GAP, A&F, Levi’s, Dockers, LL
Bean etc., though Walmart and
H&M are the biggest buyers in
Bangladesh with a combined
market share of 20-30 per cent.
The company’s long-standing
commitment to Environmental, Health
and Safety (EHS), sustainability and
social responsibility continues to be
top priority at all regional offices
globally whereby the initiatives
remain the same.
“A&E’s global presence had to be
accelerated and this could not
be done by building business
everywhere in the world and
“As of today, the majority of
business is from the core apparel
segment, but future growth will
come from diversification into
categories like lingerie and
footwear, as well as volume
migration of business from
China… We are now increasingly
working on our e-commerce
platform which provides multiple
benefits for our customers in terms
of speed and consistency…”
Frederic Verague, Managing
Director – Bangladesh, Thailand &
Myanmar, Coats
Coats
Bangladesh
Coats Bangladesh Ltd., a joint
venture between AK Khan &
Company Ltd. and Coats plc., is part
of the world’s largest manufacturer
of sewing threads, which has
changed almost every facet of sewing
thread manufacturing and delivers
high value to its customers. It is a
one-stop destination for all sewing
and embroidery thread requirements
for many industries, e.g. apparel,
footwear, leather goods, and
specialized areas like automotive,
tea bags, carbon composites, etc.
A product-focused company earlier,
Coats has today turned 360 degrees
to create customer-confidence, which
is helping it reap rich harvest from
the strategy.
Fred Jackson – CEO,
American & Efird (A&E)
Cosmo
Group
Frederic Verague – Managing Director
(Bangladesh, Thailand & Myanmar), Coats
The future of the accessory industry
of Bangladesh does not appear very
promising because of the new policy
implemented by the Government as
part of which it’s planning to increase
the VAT by up to 15 per cent, which
would render business increasingly
unviable.
“Currently our focus is on narrow
fabrics which has extensive demand
in the market and we are expecting
Zahir Uddin Haider,
Director, Cosmo Group
www.apparelresources.com | MAY 2017 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
17