Over the next five years, Bangladeshi clothing producer and exporter Snowtex Group hopes to send US $ 150 million to US $ 160 million worth of items to the French market.
After French Ambassador-designate to Bangladesh, Jean-Marc Sánchez-Charlet, visited the Snowtex factory in Dhamrai, Md Tariqul Islam, Assistant Director for Marketing and Merchandising at Snowtex Group, stated that last year’s trade between Bangladesh and France exceeded US $ 2.2 billion, with Snowtex contributing more than US $ 100 million.
“Over the past few years, our annual growth in the French market has been between 15% and 20%, reaching around US $ 110 million to US $ 115 million annually,” he said. “We are optimistic that the future will be even better and we expect 10% to 15% growth each year,” he added.
The Ambassador went to Snowtex Sportswear Ltd., and Snowtex Outerwear Ltd., where 20,000 workers make roughly 30 million outerwear items a year.
According to Tariqul Islam, Snowtex started exporting to France in late 2014, primarily outerwear items like jackets and sports or hiking clothing. “To expand further in the French market, our main goals are to strengthen relationships, offer better prices and ensure shorter lead times,” he stated, emphasising that competitiveness is necessary for company continuity even in the presence of solid ties.
Tariqul also added, “Until now, we have produced mostly basic products. Now we must move towards high-end manufacturing and greater efficiency. His visit was highly motivating for us.”
Every year, Snowtex Group exports US $ 300 million worth of clothing to the US and other Asian and European nations. The corporation employs roughly 23,000 people at the moment.
“This is my first visit to a readymade garment factory and I’m very pleased,” stated Sánchez-Charlet, the Ambassador-designate. According to him, French businesses invest in Bangladesh because they think Bangladeshi labourers can manufacture superior products for the French market.
He proceeded by saying that there is a strong dedication to both worker welfare and product quality and what he observed was extremely encouraging for the future growth of relations between Bangladesh and France. Additionally, he stated that France is one of the biggest buyers of readymade clothing from Bangladesh and that it intends to deepen its collaboration and relationship in the years to come.
