Clothing retailers earn highest profits, say US professors

26 Jun '15

2 min read

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), one of the largest trade associations in the country representing the readymade garment industry, has said that a presentation by two American professors showed that it is the retailers who squeeze out the largest profits at the cost of manufacturers and buyers.

In their presentation, Dr Mark Anner, Associate Professor of Pen State University and Jennifer Blair, Associate Professor of University of Colorado, USA. showed that how drastically the prices of apparel declined in the US in last few years and it is the retailers who were taking the major share of the profit.

“The retailers can squeeze the prices as the competition among the apparel manufacturing countries is very stiff and as there is smaller number of apparel retailers in the world against a large number of manufacturers,” they said. They also found that the consumers were benefited by only about 7 per cent because of the price decline and the total profit actually went to retailers’ pockets.

After the presentation, Bangladeshi researchers requested the American Professors to disseminate their findings among consumers in the US so that they put pressure on the brands to give ethical and better prices for apparel.

The BGMEA said the presentation was also a lesson for the Bangladeshi media which often criticized garment company owners. It said journalists who attended the presentation learned that the brands and retailers are taking the cream of the profit and the manufacturers have been becoming very marginalised because of the price crunch from the brands/buyers. (SH)

Fibre2fashion News Desk – India

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