Denims and Jeans establishes Bangladesh's position

The second edition of the B2B trade fair \"Denims and Jeans Expo\" held at the Radisson Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 14th and 15th October saw 1,450 visitors from over 460 companies from Europe, Russia, Hong Kong, USA, Turkey, India and China. What started as a niche trade fair last year is in the process of establishing itself as an industry meet. The fair is organized by India-based denim portal DenimsandJeans.com.

"We are thrilled with the way things panned out and progressed at the event. ... Many representatives of European brands came by at our stand, like Bestseller, C&A, Celio, Charles Vögele, Esprit, Ginatricot, H&M, Inditex, Kmart, Marks & Spencer, Next, Otto International/Hermes, s.Oliver, Tom Tailor, Uniqlo or VF," said Thomas Dislich, director for Europe and Asia at Brazilian denim producer Vichunha, one of the largest denim fabric suppliers in Latin America.

Bangladesh is gaining importance as apparel hub

In terms of attendees, apart from top executives of retailers and brands, country managers of big purchasing houses, designers, buyers, sourcing heads and merchandisers, Dislich observed representatives of local purchase offices that source from European, American and Australian brands and retailers as well as denim producers from Bangladesh that manufacture for European and American brands. "All known big retailers as well as existing and new customers made their way to this trade fair," he confirmed.

Many attendees from Europe and the Americas agreed that moving or increasing business to Bangladesh was one of their main goals as the focus is currently shifting away from Europe and China. “Our main focus is to boost business here for Bangladesh's strong potential in the garment industry,” confirmed Julien Eickelmann, Vicunha's commercial manager.

K Srinivasa Raghavan, assistant general manager of KG Fabriks, said that the Indian denim maker was at the fair to "gain international exposure" and to "increase business with Bangladesh". Others, like HR Corporation from Pakistan, a unit of Aziz Group, that imports chemicals from Germany for local denim makers, attended the fair to market its products and present innovations. “We are also displaying an environment-friendly machine that washes jeans without water and chemicals. We are focusing on green technology in the denim segment,” said Fazle Rabbi, assistant executive for marketing. Asikul Hoque Khan, marketing manager at Envoy Textiles, agreed that the fair is "a platform to showcase products and designs for this sector". The Bangladeshi denim makers export denim to Sri Lanka, Turkey, Kenya, China and Vietnam.

Apart from expanding their professional network, visitors and exhibitors could also deepen their knowledge by attending seminars on a variety of topics and trends, for example “European Denim Washing Looks Spring/Summer 2016” by laundering specialist Vasco Pizarro. Denim veteran Zafer Bozdag from Turkey gave a presentation on the topic “ Cotton to denim – a journey in the last 20 years’.

Commenting on the Rana Plaza building collapse in April of last year, Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said that the country is "addressing three main issues: workplace safety, eco-friendly products and building better infrastructure in order to garner more business", adding that "we have also gained a positive image through the Accord and Alliance. The Rana Plaza building collapse is a unique example of how a country can re-emerge as a vibrant destination after going through a disaster, which spoilt its standing and image in the global market."

Photos: DenimsandJeans, Vicunha