Bangladesh apparel industry is expected to remain as the top apparel sourcing destination for international fashion brands and retailers over the next five years, highlights Mckinsey & Company’s latest survey.
The competitive prices offered by the country and China’s shrinking market share are the factors contributing to the sector’s growth.
Mckinsey & Company, an influential worldwide management consulting firm, prepared the survey titled ‘Digitization: The next step for the apparel-sourcing caravan’. The report is based on the interviews of Chief Purchasing Officers (CPOs) of 63 leading global apparel retailers and brands that buy garment items worth US $ 137 billion a year.
According to the survey, the CPOs were asked to name three countries which they expect to be the top sourcing destinations over the next five years. In response, 49 per cent of the CPOs mentioned Bangladesh as their first choice, 43 per cent chose Ethiopia, 37 per cent opted for Myanmar, 35 per cent for Vietnam and 22 per cent selected India.
“Bangladesh retains the top spot, selected by nearly half of all respondents, similar to its rating in 2015,” the survey underlined.
Bangladesh, the second-largest apparel exporter globally after China, exported apparel items worth US $ 28.04 billion in the recently concluded 2016-17 fiscal year, securing 0.20 export growth rate year-on-year.
Although the last year’s growth rate was the slowest in last 15 years, the promising sector of Bangladesh has rebounded and increased by 14.05 per cent on year-on-year basis to US $ 5.52 billion in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year.
“I certainly believe Bangladesh will be the top choice of global retailers and brands as the garment sector improved workplace safety and other compliance after fixing the structural, electrical and fire loopholes,” said Siddiqur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
