Having a button manufacturing facility in Bangladesh doesn’t guarantee success as many players are operating in the market and many more are ready to enter with new units. It is the service and quality which would be the defining edge. Established in 2012 as a three-way joint venture between Ananta Group, Brandot International and T&S Buttons Hong Kong, T&S Buttons Bangladesh has grown rapidly to acquire 10% of the total Bangladeshi market to reach a turnover of just over US $ 4 million. The company has done all this by getting on-board brands like C&A, M&S, H&M and Sainsbury. In a candid interview with Apparel Online, Shafraz Meezan, CEO, T&S Buttons Bangladesh talks about his growth drivers and competitive strength.
How has been the growth in your first year as a manufacturer in Bangladesh?
Shafraz Meezan: I don’t want to boast, but T&S has now become a recognized brand in Bangladesh and people have started coming to us for most of their metal accessory requirements/solutions. We are now the nominated supplier of H&M denims, and cater to their denim production in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Then we have also been nominated by C&A, M&S (adult wear) and for Sainsbury’s denims.
Our relentless efforts have also helped us get the factory approved by GAP and we hope they will be on-board after the completion of minor formalities. We have also been approved by NEXT for a pilot program; hopefully we should be able to start work with them for the coming spring/summer season. We are also in talks with VF Corporation and are trying to get them on-board by December this year.
Having Ananta Group as one of the founding partners, has also benefited us. They not only account for 20% of the buttons produced by us, but also help us get nomination of big brands.
What new capabilities have you added?
Shafraz Meezan: We started with basic brass buttons which required normal metal finishers, and still account for 80% of my total production. We have since added spray painting equipment, enabling us to do coloured buttons, along with gloss and matt finishes, and finishers for more complicated vintage finishes. Moving beyond metal buttons, we also manufacture alloy buttons along with badgers, buckles and other metal accessories, further adding to the product range.
But why not manufacture buttons for kids and infant wear?
Shafraz Meezan: Most customers we are approved for are very particular about approvals for infant wear and since our setup is still in its early stage, they would first like to work with us for a period of time for other categories before giving infant wear business to us.
The product itself is fairly generic and our product meets all required specifications. However, it is a matter of building up confidence by working with our customers for certain period of time.
There are also many customers who do not nominate or specify suppliers for infant wear; however, we do not have a significant share of that market due to the intense price competition in this segment.
Who are your competitors in the Bangladeshi market?
Shafraz Meezan: There are a number of local manufacturers who supply metal accessories, mostly to the lower end of the market with lower quality requirements and also to the non nominated/non specified segment of the market. We do not directly compete with this segment at the moment.
Our competition is primarily from Chinese suppliers who have been traditionally supplying a significant percentage of the metal accessory requirements of the Bangladesh market.We do expect some new entrants to the market in the coming years and are gearing up for more competition locally.
Which aspects of your operations give T&S the definite competitive edge?
Shafraz Meezan: We offer our customers a very lean 2-3 weeks’ delivery time, unlike Chinese players who take at least 5 weeks, of which 2-3 weeks alone are required for shipment and also the order quantities should meet the minimum limits. With us, the client has the flexibility of ordering the buttons in smaller batches which we deliver on schedule every time.
Another advantage of having local presence is that, when technical problems arise even at the client’s factory, our technicians can reach within 4-5 hours of the complaint and address the problem, even if a part needs to be replaced.
Our value proposition is that we offer on-time delivery, local support and swift sampling, all resulting in shorter lead times at a competitive price.
Technical know-how is very important for manufacturing metal buttons… Is that the reason why not many players are operating in this market?
Shafraz Meezan: Yes, I would agree. The knowledge regarding metal button manufacturing is not available freely and to handle all the technicalities we have hired technicians from China and Turkey. To manufacture metal buttons deep knowledge of how alloys behave, die-casting, moulding, electroplating for colouring the buttons is required. When we started about one-and-a-half years back, we had 8 Chinese technicians looking after individual units for troubleshooting and now have just 4 technicians left. All this has been possible because we have trained locals to handle most operations efficiently. But still at times we need to consult the foreign technicians either due to the intricacies of the new designs, or when we face a fault in the existing system.
What is your present turnover and plans for the future?
Shafraz Meezan: This year we will achieve a turnover of a little above US $ 4 million, given that it is the 1st financial year of the company. We are expecting to double our turnover to US $ 8 million by next year and with our present capacities we can touch the mark of US $ 12 million without expanding. Presently we are utilising 35% of our total capacity and if everything goes as planned, we would need to expand in 2015.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
