Kamruzzaman Bablu :
Despite being the second largest RMG exporters to the global market, the country’s children’s wears depend nearly 60 per cent on the import due to shortage of skilled fashion designers let alone quality and latest designs.
During a visit to several shopping malls in the capital, this reporter found that most of the children’s wears sold in posh markets are imported from China and India, and to some extent, from Malaysia and Thailand.
The locally made and export-oriented children’s clothing are found in some markets like New Market, Gausia Market, Dhanmondi Hawkers Market and Banga Bazar.
The retailers blamed export-oriented RMG manufacturers for not providing products to the local markets.
The factory owners say they are lacking in skilled fashion designers to prepare baby wears. The market size is not big and the consumers are yet to choose brand products, they added.
“We cannot buy export items from the manufacturers as they offer a large volume of products which is beyond our capacity,” Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, a retailer at Nurzahan Market in New Market area, told the New Nation.
The export-oriented companies only sell stock lot and rejects to the local businessmen, he added.
“We have nothing to do but to depend on the imports as the quality of locally made products is not up to the mark,” Rahman said.
Though the prices of imported products are much higher than those locally made, consumers prefer quality items, he added.
“We sell 100 per cent imported dress for kids as the demand for local baby wears is less than those imported because of their design and quality,” said Sagor Ahmed, sales executive of Daina Fashion at Bashundhara City.
About 60 per cent children’s clothing is imported, he said. Other retailers also echoed Sagor.
Some brands have also put baby wears on the show on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, but their prices are beyond the reach of commoners, he added.
“The trend of manufacturing children’s wears has started and it will take time to reduce import dependency,” said Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group.
The consumers have to come forward with the buying tendency, he said, adding that if the demand for local products increases, it will help reduce production cost and invest more on making children’s dresses.
Commenting on the prices of locally produced items, he said, if consumption increases, price would come down gradually.
He rather claimed that the quality of local products is higher than those imported.
“I generally buy imported products because of their quality and latest fashion designs, Farzana Mouri, a shopper at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall told the New Nation. She termed the imported items in the market best in quality.
They are also sold at reasonable prices, but the problem lies in sizes and fittings, she added.
“We cannot afford to buy the costly imports and so depend on rejects from export-oriented RMG factories and local items,” said Safiul Islam, a shopper at New Market.
“The children’s clothing are fancy and our fashion designers are not skilled enough to design them that way, which is a bar to boosting the local market,” said Anwarul Alam Choudhury, a former president of BGMEA.
Despite being the second largest RMG exporters to the global market, the country’s children’s wears depend nearly 60 per cent on the import due to shortage of skilled fashion designers let alone quality and latest designs.
During a visit to several shopping malls in the capital, this reporter found that most of the children’s wears sold in posh markets are imported from China and India, and to some extent, from Malaysia and Thailand.
The locally made and export-oriented children’s clothing are found in some markets like New Market, Gausia Market, Dhanmondi Hawkers Market and Banga Bazar.
The retailers blamed export-oriented RMG manufacturers for not providing products to the local markets.
The factory owners say they are lacking in skilled fashion designers to prepare baby wears. The market size is not big and the consumers are yet to choose brand products, they added.
“We cannot buy export items from the manufacturers as they offer a large volume of products which is beyond our capacity,” Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, a retailer at Nurzahan Market in New Market area, told the New Nation.
The export-oriented companies only sell stock lot and rejects to the local businessmen, he added.
“We have nothing to do but to depend on the imports as the quality of locally made products is not up to the mark,” Rahman said.
Though the prices of imported products are much higher than those locally made, consumers prefer quality items, he added.
“We sell 100 per cent imported dress for kids as the demand for local baby wears is less than those imported because of their design and quality,” said Sagor Ahmed, sales executive of Daina Fashion at Bashundhara City.
About 60 per cent children’s clothing is imported, he said. Other retailers also echoed Sagor.
Some brands have also put baby wears on the show on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, but their prices are beyond the reach of commoners, he added.
“The trend of manufacturing children’s wears has started and it will take time to reduce import dependency,” said Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group.
The consumers have to come forward with the buying tendency, he said, adding that if the demand for local products increases, it will help reduce production cost and invest more on making children’s dresses.
Commenting on the prices of locally produced items, he said, if consumption increases, price would come down gradually.
He rather claimed that the quality of local products is higher than those imported.
“I generally buy imported products because of their quality and latest fashion designs, Farzana Mouri, a shopper at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall told the New Nation. She termed the imported items in the market best in quality.
They are also sold at reasonable prices, but the problem lies in sizes and fittings, she added.
“We cannot afford to buy the costly imports and so depend on rejects from export-oriented RMG factories and local items,” said Safiul Islam, a shopper at New Market.
“The children’s clothing are fancy and our fashion designers are not skilled enough to design them that way, which is a bar to boosting the local market,” said Anwarul Alam Choudhury, a former president of BGMEA.
