Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Friday, 21 March 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
topics of the day, strategies of companies, how well we are doing and what we need to do to meet budgets – current topics important to everyone and receive feedback on what we see in the markets. We also try to bring insight in to what is going on in US and Europe and share needed information.
Q: What are the key topics being discussed during the conference?
A: We will talk about safety and sustainability. We will also discuss the key drivers of our business which is colour and colour technology. There is new technology coming in which is good and ensures speed and accuracy of colour. We will discuss continuous improvement activities within the company, and share information on what each company in different parts are doing and their improvements. We will talk of the market in general – how we see business and business conditions.
Q: For A&E how important is Sri Lanka for its business?
A: Very important. Sri Lanka is one of the key apparel producing countries in the world and we are all very impressed with the sophistication of Sri Lankan businesses. It shows that Sri Lanka continues to grow their exports while apparel dollars continues to grow. It is the sophisticated businesses, productivity of the people, quality of the work, communication, and the technical aspects that makes Sri Lanka very impressive in the world of apparel production.
Q: What role does A&E play in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka?
A: We have tried to locate facilities in the key markets all around the world; and have some form of sales, distribution or manufacturing in 44 countries. But Sri Lanka is one of the countries we want to be in. We see it as a key sourcing hub and an important place to be.
"Sri Lanka is not the cheapest country but it is a sophisticated and productive country. We find very hard workers – good workers, productive workers – here at the factory and are very satisfied. The skills of the people, and training and commitment of the industry to train Sri Lanka is paying a big dividend and is allowing Sri Lanka to be a major player in the production of apparel – A&E COO Les Miller"
Sri Lanka is important to both European and US retailers and brands. So it is important for us to have that link as far as giving world-class quality and service in the product we make. We work very closely with apparel producers here in Sri Lanka to ensure they are able to react and produce for key retailers and brands, to the expected quality and the time they require.
Q: What could you say about your factory here?
A: The factory has done real well. We are just finishing our two-year capital project of modernising this plant. The plant had some of the building and infrastructure that needed work, but we also needed to upgrade our equipment technology. This in turn, would improve our service and quality and provide a better and safer working environment for our associates. Safety and sustainability are big part of our company and its culture. The people here are doing a very good job in that aspect.
Q: With the said upgrade what is the capacity improvement you are looking at?
A: Our main goal was updating facilities as well as equipment, but we will have some capacity growth.
Q: What do you perceive as current trends in the market?
A: The global trend has been, for the last 15 years or so, apparel moving around the world from the developed to the developing countries; and a lot of it is chasing a lower price. But things have somewhat stabilised now.
Sri Lanka is not the cheapest country but it is a sophisticated and productive country. We find very hard workers – good workers, productive workers – here at the factory and are very satisfied. The skills of the people, training and commitment of the industry to train Sri Lanka is paying a big dividend and is allowing Sri Lanka to be a major player in the production of apparel.
I keep up very closely with US imports and I do know that by the end of last year, Sri Lanka has moved in to top ten exporting countries to the US. Sri Lanka is also a major exporter to Europe. This country has done very well for itself.
I have read that the country is very supportive of the industry and it certainly shows. With the country, the Government and industry working together, the outcome is not only good for the country, but for the people here and certainly for companies like ours that are allowed to participate in the market.
Q: What initiatives has A&E taken in moving forward in the industry?
A: What is key is safety and sustainability. A&E wants its factories to be safe and we want no work accidents and have done all we can to minimise it.
We have a very good culture and record as far as sustainability goes. A & E Lanka does a very good job and was the first A&E company to go for 100% recycle mechanism. They are now being recognised by the local community for what they are doing as acknowledged by a Government award recently.
We also try to find better ways to support and service global brands, retailers as well as the local production companies. They want good quality, good and timely service so we work very hard on this aspect. We are also working hard on continuous improvement activities. How do we make ourselves better in every facet of our business? We use a strategic system where we have broken down our key goals and all our subsidiaries are working towards the same goals so that the unification of the goal will drive the group in one direction.
Q: What are your thoughts on the US market?
A: In the US, the market has been so-so but the expectation is that the economy is going to improve as consumers continue to spend. The outlook for apparel retail growth in US is 4.1% this year – which is up because it was in the 2-3% range previously. So that is positive.
Growth in retail means more demand. The US is looking fine but one of the concerns coming out at the end of the year was too much inventory which has a negative impact on supply chain. However as the year ended there were lot of discounting promotions in US retail, and they moved a lot of inventory – so we don’t see it as being a disruption to the supply chain.
However we have had recent disruptions in business with adverse weather and hence February numbers will not be that great in US retail. March is supposed to be a so-so month as well because Easter, a bigger shopping time is in April this year, whereas it was in March in 2013. But overall we are looking at things improving.
Q: The European market?
A: In Europe the economy has been very poor during the last two years with high unemployment and low consumer spending. However this too has stabilised and is starting to grow. Everyone is excited because the idea is that the European economy is seeing the strength of the big countries like Germany and France spread to other countries. Hence we are looking for improvement there.
Q: What about China and India?
A: The two other big retail markets other than US and Europe is China and India. While both China and India has slowed, they are still running at really high percentage gains on the prior year. The gains are in the 7-10% range in these two countries, whereas Europe and the US are at 1-4%. So while they have slowed down they are still running at pretty impressive rates.
