When A-TEX International, a labelling expert, came to Bangladesh around 7 years ago a majority of international retailers had just entered the country. Today, the international chain which only works as a nominated supplier has not only expanded with the growth of the industry but in the process has also developed local manufacturers to help keep pace with the increased need of supplies. With sales offices and key account managers in 15 countries, A-TEX International supplies to value-added brands and upscale retailers such as Vero Moda, ONLY, O’Neill, etc. In conversation with Apparel Online, Soren Kannik, Managing Director of A-TEX International Ltd., talks about the company’s international presence and its Bangladesh operations.
Amidst competition from other international companies such as Avery Dennison, R-Pac, Britannia and SML, the company has secured its own place in the US $ 2.3 billion accessory market in Bangladesh because of its strategy to develop local suppliers and give them technical inputs, building them to an international level, while other international companies import everything from Hong Kong to give quality. Interestingly, though A-TEX products are relatively more expensive than the competition, but it somehow gets compensated by the solutions and design, which it offers as a package. “When a brand hires us we take care of the entire value chain globally from design to delivery of products at their RMG suppliers. Consequently they do not have to hire a lot of people to oversee this part of the business, resulting in cost savings,” says Soren.
In fact, over the last five years the company has progressed rapidly, starting from manufacturing on standard taffeta broad looms of 90-99 deniers with normal finish, to offering three different types of labels, including 2 screen printed labels – canvas label and flexo label; to eventually producing semi-satin labels. As the production cost of these labels are high because of the increasing cost of technology, A-TEX International works through their local partners on these product which helps them in mitigating the overheads and in the process also educating local producers on new manufacturing processes. “There was nobody who knew how to make semi-satin labels in Bangladesh, so we taught our manufacturing associates and in the process we have been able to satisfy our clients with quality products in time,” asserts Soren.
In Bangladesh most of the printing presses used by label manufacturers are in the slum areas of Arambal near Old Dhaka and the majority of them are non-compliant factories. Significantly, an increased number of buyers are ready to pay a price to work with compliant factories.”
Globally, A-TEX International works with 200 suppliers, catering to a variety of products such as hangtags, woven labels, stickers, buttons and packaging solution, with each of these suppliers having unique capabilities in trims. As buyers worldwide expect similar quality standards for all their products and also that these are manufactured in compliant factories, being an international company, A-TEX remains a preferred supplier by complying with all these expectations. “In Bangladesh most of the printing presses used by label manufacturers are in the slum areas of Arambal near Old Dhaka and the majority of them are non-compliant factories. Significantly, an increased number of buyers are ready to pay a price to work with compliant factories,” shares Soren. All the 10 factories that A-TEX works within Bangladesh have been certified as BSCI compliant.
Further, to secure their identity and image, international retailers also prefer working with suppliers having global presence ensuring high quality of the products and timely delivery throughout the global network, here again A-TEX scores over local manufacturers. “Nowadays international brands rely on companies such as A-TEX who have international presence with a single communication to their head office, which then controls the network of suppliers worldwide,” adds Md. Mahboob Hasan, a sub contractor of A-TEX International in Bangladesh, whose 80 per cent business is with big exporters.
Today, labels are about image and branding of a retailer, resulting in the product having several of them, which makes it easier for the customers to identify the brand. “Keeping up with this latest trend, we innovate and also supply satin, semi-satin, new loom, taffeta and leather labels,” informs Soren. Also, in order to meet the urgent requirements of its regular clients, the company keeps stocks of its products and if not, they are capable of manufacturing in their own factory up to 1,50,000 stickers and 20,000 printed labels an hour along with other digital items such as variable prints on Hang Tags and Waist Tags safely keeping the brand owners data management in-house in its own manufacturing unit.
For A-Tex, Bangladesh is a very important market as through the exporters here it is giving labelling and packaging solutions to more than 50 brands and keeping an eye on the way the country is expanding its volumes and product lines in garmenting, the company sees a bright future by grabbing more market share in coming times.
A-TEX is also giving coherent packaging solutions to some of its retail clients and in-store materials this way the branding of the garments is in-line with the packaging and the store decorations enabling a coherent brand expression.
