BGMEA admits EWM outstanding supplier debt figures were incorrect

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has reportedly admitted that media figures claiming Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) still owed 26.7 million pounds to Bangladesh suppliers were incorrect.

Earlier this week, EWM Group chairman John Herring wrote to BGMEA president Rubana Huq urging the organisation to “correct falsehoods” circulating in the media about how much EWM owed its suppliers.

He warned the lack of clarification risked jeopardising “critical” relationships with credit insurers and threatened legal action if the figures weren’t addressed.

In a letter response to EWM, Huq admitted the figures were incorrect and that EWM has paid its suppliers to a “considerable extent” but maintained that there were still outstanding payments.

While welcoming BGMEA’s clarification, Herring called the response “overdue” and “quite frankly frightening”.

He said BGMEA's “reckless disregard for accuracy in the disclosures to the media has not only caused damage to the EWM Group but will undoubtedly have a catastrophic knock-on effect on our suppliers and their workforces”.

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