Marks and Spencer (M&S) will scale up its sourcing from Bangladesh, a top official of the British retailer said. The company, which has doubled its sourcing in the last couple of years, is planning to raise its import to $1.0 billion from the existing $800 million from Bangladesh. “Bangladesh continues to progress and its facilities, skills and the development we discussed today in terms of infrastructure, there are further opportunities to grow our business here,” M&S chief executive officer Steve Rowe said. His announcement came at a press conference held at hotel in Dhaka. The press conference was preceded by a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The M&S delegation also included its chairman Archie Norman, managing director Jill Mcdonald, director of sourcing Mark Lindsey and country manager Shwapna Bhowmick. President of the BGMEA Md Siddiqur Rahman, vice president Mohammed Nasir, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, among others, were present in the meeting. Mr Rowe termed the seven factories including the four green units visited by the delegation ‘world-class’ facilities. Responding to a question, he said the infrastructure was the challenge that needed to be addressed. The BGMEA president said that they have explained the government’s recent measures so far taken to address the issues and hoped that within next one or two years the existing situation would be improved. Mr Nasir said timely meeting of lead time was one of the major issues, which is pressed by other buyers too. The M&S country manager said that currently, the company is sourcing from some 79 factories and they have targeted raising their import to $1.0 billion relying on more production of value-added apparel items. The company’s import was only $350 to $400 million four years back, which now stands at $800 million, she added.
