Bangladesh denim producers are gradually turning into design innovators, bringing a new dimension to the denim industry to attract global buyers.
The once buyer-driven denim industry now witnesses the manufacturers’ innovations and new designs of denim, paving the way for a careful choice by the retailers.
“About 90% of denim work in Bangladesh was driven by the global buyers, who made designs through research and development, but the recent trend has changed. The manufacturers now offer their designs to the buyers,” AKM Aminul Islam, managing director of Mahmud Denim, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Innovation from the producers’ end helps global buyers reduce costs, as the latter need not invest in research and development, Aminul said, adding that the new concept in business helps them attract buyers through presenting new products.
Now, the factory owners are investing in research and development as they have been able to understand that their investment will be fruitful, he adds.
Of the $24.49bn RMG export, denim contributes to around $6bn, which is expected to stand at $13bn in the next five years, according to the sector,
Bangladesh can meet 45%-50% demand of denim locally while 50% are met through import.
Denim is everybody’s garment. This universal fashion trend is a unique matter for progress. Whether there is a recession or not, denim is used by all.
The use of denim is on the rise worldwide and that is why its growth in Bangladesh would be 300% in the next 10 years, while the world growth would be between 8% and 10%.
Bangladesh’s strength is its large population, a skilled and disciplined workforce, and 35 years of experience, said members of the sector.
Though the sector is marching to a new height, there are still some challenges.
The main challenges are building confidence in the global buyers that the denim sector can face challenges and overcome with success, workers' efficiency, and ensuring political stability, they added.
The shift of orders from China and the rise in production costs in competitor countries will help Bangladesh boost the denim industry to grab more market share, said Mostafiz Uddin, managing director and CEO of Denim Expert Limited.
The global denim market will cross $65 billion in the next four to five years, he said.
By 2020, four of five denim products in Europe would be sourced from Bangladesh, Mostafiz hoped.
A two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held from May 11 at Dhaka to attract global buyers through the display of new fashion trends and products.
The expo aims at fetching $7bn by exporting denim products, which would help the RMG sector to achieve a $50bn export target by 2021.
“Bangladesh has already become a very large supplier of jeans to the global market, but we are not making premium denim. What we need is better fabric and investment in more sophisticated washing,” Ranjan Mahtani, chairman of EPIC Group told the Dhaka Tribune.
It is high time Bangladesh grabbed global market shares, and what is needed right now for the country is creating sophisticated denim, building buyers’ confidence, and more investment, said Ranjan.
A premium jeans is an artistry which is not a kind of mass production, the EPIC Group chairman said, adding that you need to have that right artistry as it can transform the jeans sector to a premium souring destination.
If there is more engineering, more efficiency and more sophistication, there is tremendous room to grow, he observed.
“As production costs are rising in our competitors’ countries, Bangladesh would be more important as a source destination for jeans and denim. We are becoming costlier but not as much as the other countries, Ranjan added.
The industry came into being with the initiative of army officials, professors, or retired officers, who had little experience at the begining, but now the second generation is dealing with the business with expertise and innovation, said the businessman.
Bangladesh has become a platform for denim sourcing as global denim buyers have identified the country as a denim producer, said Showkat Aziz (Russell), managing director of Amber Denim.
“Denim integration has been established here and what we need is to convince the buyers and capture orders,” he added.
Currently, there are 27 denim factories in the country in the RMG sector with an investment of $900m, while about 10 factories are poised to come into operation soon.
Local denim factories produce around 30 million yards of fabrics a month, meeting half of the local consumption.
Among the global players in the $60 billion denim market, Bangladesh lags behind China, the US, Italy and some Latin American countries.