Amidst reports of impending insolvency filing by high-street retail giant Arcadia owned by British billionaire Philip Green, its suppliers in Bangladesh are reportedly bracing for some uncertain times in the coming days.
According to media reports, despite Arcadia underlining it was working on contingency options to avoid collapse, suppliers in Bangladesh are worried lot as they have not reportedly received due payments for months.
Further, as per a study by London-based human rights charity Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the report of which was released on 12 November, Arcadia Group was yet to pay for its orders that were placed even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard the industry and despite more than 8 months of public pressure.
Meanwhile, as per an estimate of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in June, six Arcadia brands, including Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins Burton, Topshop and Topman, had cancelled or held work orders amounting to US $ 26.4 million, maintained media reports.
However, as per industry insiders, as all suppliers did not report to BGMEA the status of cancelled/held-up orders at the time of estimation, the figure is bound to be bigger than US $ 26.4 million, they felt.
The real figure is higher as this is from our initial estimate based on response received from the suppliers, reportedly underlined Chairman of the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), NafisUd Doula, who is in charge assessing the impact of work order cancellations.
Adding to the worries is the retail giant allegedly asking for discounts (20 to 30 per cent as per some accounts) to take delivery of the finished goods.
