“Parents may sacrifice their needs and requirements due to financial reasons but when it comes to children, there’s no compromise on their necessities. Therefore, you could label kidswear as somewhat ‘recession proof’. Despite the global economic downturns, the kidswear market has remained considerably stable in the last few years…” – Kazi Momrez Mahmud, Director – Design & Source Limited
As markets undergo changes, so does the demand-supply scenario of products. In this ever evolving cycle, one product category that has remained somewhat insulated from the market dynamics is kidswear. It’s no wonder therefore that kidswear remains a safer bet for most of the garment manufacturers…
“Parents may sacrifice their needs and requirements due to financial reasons but when it comes to children, there’s no compromise on their necessities. Therefore, you could label kidswear as somewhat ‘recession proof’. Despite the global economic downturns, the kidswear market has remained considerably stable in the last few years…,” agrees Kazi Momrez Mahmud, Director of Design & Source Limited, speaking to Apparel Resources. But he points out that these recessions have had circuitous effects on kidswear, which has not witnessed substantial demand hike or for that matter much variations coming in or even significant increase in unit prices as compared to other product categories, of late.
Driven by its motto ‘We sell quality to change lifestyle…’, Design & Source Limited is a US $ 50 million turnover entity, in which earning from kidswear contributes to almost half of the total earning. Established in 2004, the company grew over the years to house six units for woven products and one for knit products while also foraying into sourcing. It is one of the strongly evolving players in kidswear in the country.
“Kidswear is the major part of our business, 65 per cent to be precise. And we cater to almost all the big names including Next, Debenhams, Edcon, Davo, Koton Turkey, Pepco..,” chips in Adrian Vasily Rodriguez – Manager Merchandising of Waymart Apparels Limited, a unit dedicated to kidswear, adding, “For the infants, we do dungarees with poppers, which comes with a T-shirt in a set… We also manufacture regular products like cargo for 12-month-old babies besides five-pocket bottoms for the older boys in diverse washes and for girls, there are value-added products with focus on design, embroidery, and fancy sewing”.
Momrez Mahmud further explains, “Some of our units have become masters in kidswear over the year…At present, we’ve four factories for kidswear. We’re also setting up another 100-line green factory just outside Dhaka, which would be one of the biggest in the country… We’re even planning to dedicate different floors for different products in this unit. It will also have a state-of-the-art washing plant.”
Design & Source Limited is aiming for Platinum certification through this facility.
Catering to a complete range in kidswear from infants to toddlers to older boys for a host of clients, Debenhams and Next however account for a major chunk of Design & Source’s kidswear business. “For Next, we’re doing 1,50,000 pieces per month and we have already proposed to do 7,00,000 for them. For Debenhams also, we are planning to do 5,00,000 pieces, once the new unit becomes operational,” maintains Momrez Mahmud, who primarily works with the European market and some South African buyers and is also keen to foray into USA owing to its potentials.
“South Africa holds a lot of promise except for the prices, which take a hit due to the taxation policies of the country on imported goods. As far as USA is concerned, kidswear is definitely a growing segment but competition is there also…,” reasons Momrez Mahmud, who is hopeful of bringing onboard some new buyers including a few big names very soon.
India and Middle East are two new but potential markets from Design & Source’s perspective and Momrez Mahmud has already initiated talks with a prominent chain of stores to enter the vibrant Indian market.
Pinning hopes on kidswear principally for future, Design & Source is focusing its whole attention on this product category, which ranges from starting a Green unit to entering new markets to strengthening product development and improving workers’ training and efficiency.
“Traditionally, any operator we hire has to go through all the processes of making kidswear – from cutting to stitching to buttoning. We also provide them adequate training so that we can have an expert team for kidswear. Even when recruiting designers, it’s only the experienced and experts in kidswear who usually make the cut,” reasons Momrez Mahmud, and states: “While training, we also try to teach them that kidswear needs to be treated with a lot of love and care.” Hence, it is not surprising that it has become the second nature of workers in Design & Sources’ factories to take utmost care of each and every stage of production.
Equipped with product development team in each unit, the company also boasts of a robust, 100-member central R&D team that looks into all aspects of design and development, from fabrics to final products. “For us, R&D is an investment rather than an expenditure. If my PD team knows what would be the next trend, we can get ready with required styles and developments to present to our buyers and get the business. Buyers want varieties and variations rather than just the run-of-the-mill basics …,”explains Momrez Mahmud underling that value-addition starts at the fabric development stage itself.
He goes to elaborate, “We always look for soft, healthy, and colourful fabrics which are free of chemicals. So the main part of the development is on fabric and the next part focuses on design and embellishments.…” These enable him to have a definite edge over the other players when it comes to fabrics owing to his backwardly-integrated facilities.
With safety being an integral part of kidswear, the company undertakes all possible efforts to ensure maximum protection. “Kidswear is very sensitive and we’ve to take maximum care for safety, which starts from the machineries used in production to shipment of the final products. Testing varies from buyer to buyer, most of who have their own inspection teams, including third-party safety inspections… On an average, there are at least 10-12 mandatory tests, together with tests for colour suitability, fabric content, etc.,” adds Momrez Mahmud (also MD of ZA Apparels and Sweaters, a sister concern of Design & Source) maintains. However, according to him, despite all the complications involved in production and testing, kidswear is definitely the much sought-after product category for the garment manufacturers.
“We don’t think there would be any substantial growth this year. It will be more or less in line with the growth of last year but prospects for future are very encouraging. We’re doing business with next since the last 5-6 years and have seen them grow in kidswear by leaps and bounds, which is a strong growth indicator. Bangladesh’s performance in kidswear has also been very good, which is another positive sign,” concludes Momrez Mahmud on an optimistic note.
