Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) organised the first ever workshop of a series on ‘How to Build Your Own Apparel Brand and Directly Address European & US Consumers’ in Dhaka this past Saturday.
The seminar aimed at disseminating knowledge on how to develop the next growth strategy for Bangladesh garment industry by designing locally-owned international brands and selling those directly to the Western consumers.
“We, the manufacturers of Bangladesh, have been selling our products to earn few cents only, whereas the retailers who source from us are making mammoth profits. If we want to survive in this competitive world, there is no other alternative but change our strategy,” said Mostafiz Uddin, Founder and CEO, BAE, the country’s sole private apparel industry promoter.
Mostafiz, who has established the first ever ‘Made in Bangladesh’ manufacturer-owned denim brand ‘Blue X Only’, exported and sold in Europe since 1999, further underlined that if Bangladesh could create own brands, it can consequently increase the margins by utilizing the strength and intelligence of the local businesses. This strategy would have a significant impact on the country’s economy.
“I’m not telling you to stop producing for the global brands; rather I want you to build your own brands besides doing the existing business. We are not going to achieve the export target anymore unless the strategy changes,” maintained Mostafiz.
A total of 200 participants including apparel manufacturers and top officials of different garment factories attended the workshop.
The second workshop of the series will be held on September 23 this year.