Japan-based Fast Retailing, owner of fashion brand Uniqlo, has disclosed the names and addresses of 146 garment factories in seven countries including Bangladesh and Indonesia that supply products to its Uniqlo clothing chain. The list includes contractors with continued business relations, accounting for more than 80 per cent of order value. The company further plans to also identify the suppliers of its low-cost GU brand by the end of the year.
Out of the total 146 suppliers, 2 are from Thailand, 3 from Japan, 8 from Bangladesh, 4 from Cambodia, 88 from China, 28 from Vietnam, and 13 are from Indonesia.
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“Fast Retailing, which has maintained a competitive edge by providing durable and highly functional clothing, had hesitated to unveil the information because the factories have know-how the company would prefer to keep private – such as methods of quality control and productivity improvement, as well as advanced technology. Making supplier names public comes with the risk of letting other companies know Fast Retailing’s “key assets”,” said Yukihiro Nitta, Senior Vice President, Fast Retailing.
