Al Amin :
Four local garment exporters have filed a case against British clothing retailer Edinburgh Woolen Mill (EWM) claiming Tk 5.98 crore in payments for goods they had shipped.
34 More apparel exporters are preparing for filing cases against some other retailers of different countries as they did not pay dues about Tk 50 crore, according to legal wing of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“We have filed the case with the lower court in Dhaka against the UK retailer EWM recently,” Barrister Imtiaz Mainul Islam Nilima, lawyer of the apparel factories, told The New Nation on Thursday over phone.
He said, Peacock, a sister concern company of the EWM, is not paying dues for what EWM said the Purepay and Anglo Global bought the Peacock when it appealed to a UK court for declaring bankruptcy and the EWM is not bound to pay the previous dues.
“But, scrutinizing the documents, it was found that all the three companies–Peacock, Purepay and Anglo Global-are subsidiaries of the EWM under the ownership of British billionaire Philip Day,” Imtiaz said.
“EWM had Tk 267.30 crore as profit and cash worth Tk 1295 crore as of March 2, 2019. So, it is not clear why the group will not be able to repay Tk 5.98 crore from this money,” the lawyer said.
“Being Peacock, PurePay and Anglo Global are the subsidiaries of the EWM Group, it is nothing but cheating with the apparel suppliers through not to pay the dues,” he added.
On the other hand, BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim said the company did not pay the local suppliers although it had generated profits through its sister companies.
“We are trying to get back the amount and letters have been sent to UK Embassy and other concern persons on behalf of the BGMEA in this regard,” he said.
It is also known nearly 30 local garment manufacturers shipped goods to the EWM before and at the height of the pandemic in 2020 but the company did not pay for it.
The EWM had also cancelled work orders placed in Bangladesh worth $8.2 million due to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the BGMEA.
These had prompted the BGMEA to send a letter to British billionaire Philip Day, owner of the Carlisle-based retailer specialising in clothing, in May 2020.
The BGMEA, alongside the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), through the letter sought to know the reason behind the hold-up in payments.
Receiving no response, the BGMEA had threatened to blacklist the EWM alongside its affiliates and third parties such as agents, importers and full service vendors which directly or indirectly conducted business with them all. The affiliates include brands and retailers Peacock, Jaeger, Austin Reed, Jacque Vert, Country Casuals, Windsmoor, Baumler of Germany, Bonmarche and Ponden Home.
