According to a survey ‘Evolution of Sourcing in 2020 conducted by Hong Kong-based QIMA, Bangladesh remains one of the top destinations for foreign clothing retailers and labels after China due to favorable prices even during the pandemic. The findings of the survey were drawn from feedback from more than 200 companies worldwide across a range of consumer product segments and based on previous QIMA studies.
The study analyzes the evolution of global procurement in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, trade disputes between the United States and China, and other threats to global supply chains. The report notes that China continues to dominate as the global sourcing destination although its dominance is noticeably less dramatic than in previous years, particularly in industries such as textiles and apparel, where diversification of supplier portfolios has been a priority for some time now.
Consistently ranked among China’s regional rivals, Vietnam continues to reap the most benefits from the continued mass migration of Western buyers from China, with 40 percent of EU respondents and nearly as many U.S. brands listed Vietnam among their top sourcing regions. The US and EU brands are seeking closer to home sourcing options, but are more likely to target near-shore rather than re-shore.
Sourcing destinations closer to home continues to expand steadily for US-based businesses, with Latin and South America’s popularity nearly doubling compared to last year. Meanwhile, EU brands are increasingly turning to Turkey as a nearshoring destination, since the latter has been listed by 30 percent of EU respondents among the top three sourcing regions.
