EDB initiates first visit of Debenhams, UK to Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) organised the first buyer delegation visit from Debenhams, one of the largest retailers in the UK, to explore the possibility of sourcing apparel from Sri Lanka.

The Debenhams team included its Senior Sourcing Manager, Head of Sourcing Womenswear and Childrenswear and Senior Technologist. EDB Chairperson and Chief Executive Indira Malwatte and EDB officials met them to brief them on the apparel industry and Sri Lanka’s business environment prior to EDB facilitating their visits to several apparel factories.

Debenhams is a UK department store with 180 outlets along with a very successful Internet business and 68 international franchise partners. The company has a number of in-house brands ranging from Red Herring and Blue Zoo to better brands such as Mantaray and Maine and designer wear such as Jasper Conran and John Rocha. With womenswear alone they trade over 20 different brand labels.

Currently, Debenhams manufactures very little through Sri Lanka and they are of the view that their main competitors have all strong businesses set up with Asian countries and therefore they are very keen to assess what opportunities are available to them in Sri Lanka.

Debenhams is looking at opportunities for the entire Debenhams chain and EDB arranged a program with visits to 13 leading apparel exporting companies which manufacture a wide range of products in the womenswear, menswear and childrenswear sectors.

The Sri Lankan apparel industry is expected to generate $ 8 billion in export earnings by 2020 and the Government’s aim is to position Sri Lanka among the top 10 high quality apparel manufacturing countries in the world by 2020. On the other hand, the country is positioning itself as a commercial hub and the apparel sector is keen on getting into supply chain management as well.

Staying in line with the above, the industry and EDB are working towards increasing apparel exports from Sri Lanka by looking into the possibility of supplying other international apparel retailers, especially those that are not sourced from Sri Lanka at present.