In the coming days, Australian apparel companies can increase their sourcing from India. FTA between India and Australia and again increasing Covid cases in China are the major reasons behind this.
Many top Australian companies are majorly dependent on China for their apparel sourcing. But few of them are now exploring options to reduce their dependency on China.
KAS Group Asia (KGA) is an exclusive direct sourcing arm of Kmart Group that operates the retail brands Kmart Australia and Target Australia.
In discussion with Apparel Resources, a senior official of Kmart Group Australia confirmed that it will have more sourcing from India.
“In fact, we were working on growing sourcing volumes from India even before the FTA was formalised. We believe in the potential of India as a growing and stable economy and we will continue to further build our business in India. We are currently sourcing around US $ 200 million FOB across different product categories (soft goods, hard goods, apparel etc.,) and we are hoping to take it to US $ 400 million+ in the next 3-5 years,” says Arjun, Director, KAS Group Asia.
KGA’s operations span the largest sourcing markets across Asia including China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, supporting an annual sourcing capability of US $ 2.8 billion.
Australis’s leading fashion company Cotton On Group has 81 per cent sourcing from China and 17 per cent from Bangladesh, while from India, it is just 1 per cent.
Similarly Country Road, one of Australia’s specialty fashion retailers with a market-leading position in the mid to upper tier of the segment, also highly depends on China, which contributes above 90 per cent of the group’s total sourcing value. Due to geopolitical issues, the group now wants to diversify its sourcing destinations for a smooth supply chain.
For a detailed story ‘Don’t miss the opportunity – Australia!’, follow the upcoming January issue of Apparel Online Magazine
