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Now is the time for unity within the RMG industry
" A LL for one ZA and one
1 Xforall, united we stand divided we fall," is a famous quote traditionally associated with the titular heroes of the novel The Three Musketeers written by Alexandre
Dumas, first published in 1844.
The resonance of "all for one, one for all" is such that is now considered the motto of Switzerland having been adopted as an aid campaign by officials of the country after widespread floods wreaked havoc in the region in 1868. National newspaper advertisements were run with the slogan, deliberately using it to evoke a sense of duty, solidarity and national unity in the population of the young nation (Switzerland having only become a federal state some 20 years earlier).
When considering this admirable principal, I feel the time is right for the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh to consider its merits as, collectively, we face the most daunting apparel market conditions since the inception of the industry in the early 1980s.
Retailers and brands in Europe and the United States of America (the Bangladesh RMG's largest export markets) are reporting their hardest trading conditions for decades, with companies announcing store closures, redundancies, excess stock levels, and bringing pressure to bear on suppliers to reduce costs.
At the same time as applying purchase price pressure on existing suppliers, new sourcing hubs are being developed by our customers (the growth of the garment sectors in Vietnam and Ethiopia spring to mind). Bangladesh manufacturers are increasingly being pressurised to bear more of the costs of production, taking responsibility for the purchase of fabrics, development of samples, costs of couriers and, in some cases the holding of stock.
These testing conditions give rise to the need for manufacturers across the Bangladesh RMG sector to present a united front for a number of reasons, despite the fact that this is not a mindset that currently exists in industry.
First and foremost of these, is for the industry to unite and present to buyers and the world at large, their case for support and better pricing to enable the industry to grow and continue to develop in a sustainable, environmentally
conscious and transparent manner. We are all aware of the investments required in upgrading or developing manufacturing facilities to international compliance standards for workers safety and wellbeing and to ensure that environmental requirements are met or bettered.
Collectively, we will be able to present a far stronger argument to our customers for legitimate rises in unit prices of product if we all agree a common pricing policy, hand-in-hand with agreed standards of social and environmental compliance that we, as an industry, should promote and police ourselves, without the need for intervention from government or international agencies.
Secondly, we need to be promoting the industry and investigating and developing business in other areas outside of the ELI and USA. A united garment industry can present a far more cohesive, attractive image of the nation and the opportunities available within the country. To do this, we need to consider a united promotion of Bangladesh at international trade events. It is not enough for a small number of manufacturers or fabric mills to present their wares at international events. We need a concerted, combined effort from all sectors of the garment industry to present a true representation of what the Bangladesh RMG industry can offer the wider international audience.
This approach requires careful strategic planning, government support
with finance and an agreed approach to develop a common "voice” for the industry to promote, as one, to, as yet largely untapped, potential customers.
Another area where a unified industry will benefit all is addressing the rise of other competitor nations. We have a talented eager workforce, with a growing population, 70 percent below the age of 40. As a unified industry, we can investigate opportunities to upgrade the product we produce and collectively, make a move away from the traditional reliance on mass-volume, price sensitive, "basic" product.
As a body, the RMG industry needs to agree to the level of training required, what steps we need to adopt to upgrade the product we produce and to ensure that the framework is in place for the necessary skills to be effectively passed on to the emerging talent that the country undoubtedly possesses.
With competition growing in the apparel sector, the RMG industry needs to be safeguarding the future of some of the smaller manufacturers that exist in the country. We are all aware that profit margins on apparel product are, generally, low and combined with an environment of rising wages and costs for services (gas, water and electricity) increasingly restrictive for smaller business concerns. As we develop our programme of Economic Processing Zones (EPZ's) an admirable initiative of the Bangladesh
government, we should be suggesting ways that smaller companies can take occupancy of purpose-built units within the EPZ's, offered at favourable rents with subsidised services and the opportunity to upgrade or refine the product they produce through the advice, guidance and mentoring of their peers.
As a nation we can take pride in the fact that Bangladesh has become one of Asia's most remarkable and unexpected success stories in recent years. The RMG sector in Bangladesh has contributed greatly to this success, having enjoyed rapid growth over the past decades. Collectively we need to ensure that this momentum is not lost and unify to develop a clear strategy to guarantee the security of our industry for decades to come.
A united RMG industry will, without doubt, be better equipped to deal with the challenging global apparel market situation and be able to weather the storms that we may face, emerging stronger and better established, as a leader in the apparel field. Perhaps 1 should close with the words of Aesop, the legendary ancient Greek storyteller: "United we stand, divided we fall". Never have these words seemed more relevant than at the present time.
Mostafiz Uddin is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE). Email: mostafiz@denlmexpert.com