Multinational clothing brands to expand in Bangladesh

Foreign Brands have contacted BGMEA to open their outlets in Bangladesh with a burgeoning economy. The BGMEA on its part plans to urge the government to make it mandatory for all global brands to source all the garment items from local manufacturers if they want to open retail outlets here. However, a number of foreign retailers have recently complained that the complex local tariff structure is holding them back. For instance, a French company has to pay 130 per cent customs duty for many of the garments and shoes it imports, even for those made in Bangladesh. The tariff structure and the process the company follows to remain compliant in Bangladesh are restricting it to offer a reasonable price-quality ratio and support its endeavor to protect the environment, according to the letter. Over the past 10 years, the company has opened 60 big-box stores in India and over 50 per cent of the items it sells in the Indian stores are ‘Made in India.’ A footwear supplier and a tent supplier of a European company located inside the export processing zone in Chattogram have already received regulatory approval to sell 10 per cent of last year’s unsold inventory to the local market.