Apparel Online India Magazine April 2nd Issue 2018 | Page 41

INDUSTRY LIVE
Gazi Mahbubul Alam, Director, Mahmud Group,
visits Apparel Resources office
Mahmud Group, a Dhaka-based
company doing an annual
business of more than US $ 120
million, producing 2.5 million
metres of fabric and 9,00,000
denim bottoms per month, is the
brain child of Gazi Mahbubul
Alam. The company is considered
one of the most progressive
denim companies in Bangladesh
and is always setting milestones
for others to follow. Recently,
Gazi was in India for business
and also visited the office of
Apparel Resources (publisher
of Apparel Online magazine)
headquarter in New Delhi. In
discussion with the editorial
team of Apparel Resources, he
shared his sustainable expansion
plans, overall business strategy
and opinion on how India and
Bangladesh can work together.
Working with most of the global
top brands and companies, like
Zara, Next, Bestseller, M&S,
H&M, Kmart, Carrefour, Jack &
Jones to mention some, Mahmud
Group has a vertical set-up in
denims from spinning onwards
to jeans manufacturing. Having
many firsts in his facilities, Gazi
strongly believes in automation
and had installed Vibemac
machines for jeans manufacturing
almost a decade ago when
other jeans giants were not so
open for the same. Recently the
company has invested hugely in
an advanced set-up of sustainable
washing/finishing solutions from
Jeanologia, the first in the world to
do so. Technology for innovation,
sustainable processes and better
control of quality are the focus for
further investments.
Talking about opportunities in
India, he shared that Indian
domestic market is very strong
and would definitely grow with
time, but manufacturers are not
yet capable to serve it properly.
Gazi Mahbubul Alam, Director, Mahmud Group, Dhaka in discussion with management and editors of Apparel Resources
The retail scenario is too diverse
and brands need to have a few
core products throughout the
year, while adding on to the
innovations. “Indian buying system
should become more organized
as their order size may be big but
it will be having plenty of styles.
There should be reasonable
MOQ,” he added.
Gazi Mahbubul Alam, Director, Mahmud Group
Working with most of
the global top brands
and companies, like
Zara, Next, Bestseller,
M&S, H&M, Kmart,
Carrefour, Jack &
Jones to mention
some, Mahmud Group
has a vertical set-up in
denims from spinning
onwards to jeans
manufacturing.
Sharing a special relation with
India, Gazi did his engineering
from Chennai, worked in a
garment factory in Bangladesh
with an Indian boss, sourced
fabric from Mafatlal and is now
exploring Indian market for his
products. Starting his career as
a banker after his engineering,
Gazi decided to enter into apparel
manufacturing when he saw a unit
producing trousers in bulk and was
immediately fascinated with the
industry. He started a garmenting
unit in 1993 with 65 machines and
grew with time. Mahmud Denim
was initiated as a partnership firm
in 2016. A stickler for perfection,
Gazi also studied merchandising
from Sri Lanka to sharpen his
skills. “Focus on your target and
be honest to yourself,” said Gazi,
sharing his mantra for budding
entrepreneurs.
Technical initiatives
Further, the pioneer in
denim manufacturing, by
investing in automation and
managing manpower in
the most efficient way, has
brought its man-machine
ratio down to 1:1.8 over the
years and is now working
strenuously to reduce it
further to 1:1.6 in upcoming
months. Supporting the low
man-machine ratio concept,
Gazi averred: “Earlier, there
used to be a lot of helpers
in sewing units but now
the mode of transportation
within factory has changed.
Movable tables and conveyor
belts are doing work more
effectively, so human
intervention has to reduce
in order to become more
profitable.”
The company recently
invested in ETP which is
spread in 25,000 sq. ft. area
and is 35 ft. deep. With this
installed ETP, Gazi is assured
of eliminating the scarcity of
sweet water which is needed
for dyeing and jeans finishing.
www.apparelresources.com | APRIL 16-30, 2018 | Apparel Online India
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