9 Star Apparels: One of the few homegrown cap manufacturers from Bangladesh!

The global headwear market size, where caps hold a position of eminence, has been valued at US $ 26,496.37 million in 2022 and Bangladesh is slowly but surely emerging as one of the key suppliers of hats and caps in the global market as more and more entrepreneurs take to cap manufacturing.

As per reports, Bangladesh’s shipment of these products reached US $ 193.43 million in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 even if the Bangladesh Government has set a target of exporting headgears and caps worth US $ 410.10 million in the current FY.

Meanwhile Europe, Russia, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Middle-Eastern countries, Central Asian nations, UK, some African countries and the USA continue to be the major importers of ‘Made in Bangladesh’ hats and caps.

“We have potentially a very good market in the US. Apart from the regular buyers, I have made caps for John Biden and Donald Trump as well during the last election campaign,” says a proud Mahashin Apu, Managing Director of 9 Star Apparel Industries Limited, one amongst the few pure-bred home-grown entities — the number of which is now growing by the day — speaking to Apparel Resources (AR).

Having worked with a Korean cap manufacturer for long (cap making in Bangladesh has so far been dominated by the Koreans and names like Yupoong Inc. and DaDa Corp still continue to hold the sway when it comes to manufacturing caps), which ultimately decided to shut shop and go back home, Mahashin decided it was time that he too dabbled in cap making, considering the massive opportunities that are on offer.

Manufacturing Challenges

Compared to garments, caps might look small; however, it is twice as difficult to put together a cap and operations can go up from 12 to 58 depending on the intricacies involved.

A regular baseball cap takes at least 10-12 operations starting with cutting of fabric, followed by stitching of the crown and visor, embroidery on the panels, attaching eyelets on the panels, attaching tapes, making the visor part (alongside the crown, the front visor is made by stitching two fabric panes like a pocket and turning it inside out), attaching the visor to the crown and stitch, attaching sweatband, attaching cloth snaps (button),  attaching closure (at the back of the cap) and finally ending with steaming the stitched cap.

Each operation necessitates a different machine and an exclusive operator. Mahashin is most of the time scouting for experienced hands at cap making, which are more difficult to find compared to an operator for making regular garments.

Adding to his owes is the regular absenteeism amongst the operators, thanks to which he is forced to keep 2 to 3 per cent of fresh talents, that have been trained by 9 Star, as standby so that they can step in to handle things when an operator is absent, failing which the whole production process could go completely haywire.

New Obstacles

Considering the current market situation, which has taken a beating primarily on account of the continuing Russia-Ukraine war and the economic uncertainties that it has brought in its wake, keeping extra 2-3 per cent workers as part of the contingency plan, though unavoidable, is now weighing heavy on Mahashin.

“In the last four months, the kind of challenge that I have faced, I have never seen in the last 10 years. My orders have gone down by almost 50 per cent. Europe, where I have at least 5-6 major customers, is the worst affected by this war,” Mahashin explains about the market sentiments, which has led him to now look at other markets including in South America, Middle East and the emerging markets in Asia so as to make up for the loss that he is made to suffer in the other established markets even as he plans to add bigger buyers but for some expensive sustainability endeavours that he can ill-afford to undertake at this point in time.

“Even though we are a certified manufacturing unit, to bring in bigger buyers, I have to add a few more facilities, including a massive 100,000 litre water tank for fire-fighting, which will take up a massive area, leave aside the other expenses involved,” rues Mahashin.

The Probable Silver Lining

Bangladesh deciding to do away with the fumigation of cotton imported from USA (on 17th May 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture published a special regulatory order amending the Plant Quarantine Rules 2018, thereby allowing the import of US cotton into Bangladesh without fumigation on arrival), Mahashin is hopeful it might ultimately pave way for Bangladesh to get duty-free facility on the export of garments and other cotton-based products to USA in the days to come, which will hold 9 Star in good stead for sure even if it is facing a host of challenges, which it cannot help but endure.

After all USA continues to be a major export destination not only for ‘Made in Bangladesh apparel’ but for the caps manufactured by 9 Star as well.