Entering Bangladesh a year ago as a nominated zipper supplier to major international brands such as Calvin Klein, Carrefour, Aldi, Tchibo, Kappa, KIABI, etc., CMZ Zippers, China has been successful in penetrating the non-nominated market as well. The credit for such fast growth goes to Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury, Country Manager, CMZ Zippers, who shares with Apparel Online the future of the group in Bangladesh.
“Customisation”, says Sarwar is what attracts the major exporters like Envoy Group, Esquire, Knit Matrix Sweater, Asrotex and Beximco, to CMZ Zippers. The company has captured the niche market for specialised zippers, which accounts for around 10% of the total market share. “Barring a few leading multinational companies, no other zipper manufacturer is capable of producing critical zippers like puller with special golden brush nylon teeth with two-way seam line in different stitch, water-proof zippers to mention a few and that has given us an edge over the indigenous players,” claims Sarwar, who carries eight years of rich experience working with YCC, another Chinese zipper manufacturing company. He adds, “Finer details such as the colours, teeth size, materials used and slider designs in zippers are primarily the reason for CMZ’s high quality & profit margins and its strong grip on specialised zipper segment.”
Another edge that the Oeko Tex class-1 and ISO 9001 certified company offers is the sharp lead times of just 10-12 days, which is shorter in comparison to other zipper suppliers, despite the fact that CMZ does its sampling and production in China, boosts a customer’s confidence. “From order placement, to production and delivery, it takes us 7-8 days and for special items around 10 days, which is acceptable to our buyers,” informs Sarwar. Making customised zippers, the company does not keep ready stocks as it is a general practise by most trim suppliers. “As we produce zippers as per buyer’s specifications, keeping stocks makes no sense, however we do keep ready raw materials so that if a repeat order comes, we can deliver the same in much lesser lead times,” avers Sarwar. The range of zippers for men, women and kidswear is very wide and includes invisible zipper with lace tape for ladies and specialised zippers for kidswear.
The success of the company in the first year of operations has motivated the team to expand its presence. “We are already looking for a bigger office, and the ultimate target is to have a manufacturing setup in Bangladesh, however it is too early to make such a commitment and would depend on the sales performance and how the client base is growing for us,” says Sarwar. With many international companies such as YKK, Tex, HHH already having their factories in Bangladesh, it is a natural progression for CMZ to follow suit. “I firmly believe that we can achieve our sales targets in Bangladesh as it is one of the most cost-effective production centres in the world and I don’t see international buyers moving out in the next 30-50 years,” concludes Sarwar optimistically.
