Sri Lanka is not the most cost-effective country in the apparel export segment and steps should be taken to overcome this, said Vice Chairman Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association Azmina Kareem at the 25th Annual General Meeting of the Association recently.
“Sri Lanka must transform its renowned resilience and tenacity into opportunity by building on its strengths and rethinking strategy.”
To meet the industry target of USD 8 billion by 2025 and determined to rally the troops, she stressed the need for relationship building which will come under stress in the months to come. She said that the industry needs to focus on opportunity. “First, it’s about service and adaptability,” she said.
“Customer expectations are moving beyond an end to end service model and suppliers are being empowered to do more for brands which is the bigger expectation of the brands. The traditional buyer-supplier relationship is diminishing.”
Vice Chairman Shweta Dhir detailed a three-pronged approach. “Fabric sourcing needs to be diversified; we must hedge our risks with a healthy mix of near shore and indigenous fabric sourcing, focusing on aesthetics together with innovation. And the conscious consumer is here to stay, with Sri Lanka being far ahead in terms of sustainability initiatives, we can be the first port of call for many labels which plan to become transparent and responsible.”
“Third, we must showcase our product strengths, creating showrooms with shipped products constantly re-equipped with newness and market intelligence to buyers – sufficient with sketch, swatch and digital representations.”
Newly re-elected Chairman Wilhelm Elias said competitor countries will find it hard to keep business they gain from Sri Lanka even temporarily and hence; the industry must ensure that buyers are given good reason to move back to Sri Lanka.