MAS and Brandix express confidence on future of apparel industry

Friday, 12 December 2014 03:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Sarah Hannan Two of Sri Lanka’s prominent apparel leaders on Saturday expressed confidence in the future of the industry though global challenges remain. At the South Asia Apparel Leadership Forum 2014, MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean and Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar shed some insights on the future outlook for Sri Lanka apparel. At the session moderated by Favourite Group Managing Director Kumar Mirchandani, the duo was questioned on how they were planning to cater to tomorrow’s consumer needs and the critical factors that could shake MAS and Brandix or the whole apparel sector; and what the companies had in mind to sustain their position in the South Asian region. “The apparel industry in Sri Lanka is worth about $ 4 billion and we have a global market share of 1%; Brandix is a fraction of that. In the next 30 years the population will be two billion people more. Therefore, the industry is not going to shrink but the dynamics will change. As an industry we have been pushing the Government of Sri Lanka to sign up for Free Trade Agreements with China, so we will be well-positioned when those markets open up,” Omar pointed out. Commenting on the critical factors, Omar explained that the apparel sector should continue to grow, though the cost of manufacturing was increasing. In 2015 the cost is predicted to increase by 15% and these macro factors will impact the apparel industry and how efficiently they combat those challenges will decide the future.

Amalean however noted that it is important for manufacturers to not only understand the needs of the brands they source for but also the end-consumers’ needs as well. “There is a need for us to understand the end-consumers’ needs and be ready with the perfect solution before our customer really asks us for what they need. MAS started to engage with companies which could help us understand the needs of the end-consumer.” He pointed out that having relevant talent in the organisation was important and it was imperative to place people in the market to understand what was taking place. In return the company should bring in the core competencies to be able to respond to what is happening out there as well. If it is design inspirations, the company should bring in creative designers, look at how innovative you can be as a company either by investing on research in innovation internally or co-create with other companies around the world. “You can create your own eco-system including academia, research institutes, start-up companies who can help you to become an innovative company. On top of that, at the end of the day you have to be competitive, so working towards becoming a cost competitive manufacturer is very important.”