PVH Corp seeks to benefit from Sri-Lanka China FTA

10 Sep '14

2 min read

PVH Corp (Phillips-Van Heusen), one of the top American apparel companies with 2013 revenue of US $8 billion, is excited about the upcoming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and China.

This was disclosed during a meeting between Mark Green, the executive vice president of global supply chain of the New York-based company, and Rishad Bathiudeen, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, in Colombo, last month.

“We are very excited about the forthcoming Lanka-China FTA—having duty free market access to China is very important for us as an apparel sourcing firm and the benefits are great. This is even more important for us since we have considerable income from Asia—30% of our turnover from Calvin Klein brand alone originates from Asia! Having a production centre in Sri Lanka with duty free access to China market is very exciting for us. This is really exciting!,” Mr. Green told the Minister.

Green said they have recently opened an office in World Trade Center (WTC), in Colombo and have done business worth $ 80 million in Sri Lanka.

Mentioning that Sri Lanka is considered to be an expert in apparel manufacturing, both in compliance record and sustainability, Mr. Green said PVH now wants to grow its business in Sri Lanka. PVH Corp is now looking forward to work with Sri Lankan apparel brands such as MAS Holdings, Brandix, Jinadasa, and Hirdramani Group, he said.

Mr. Bathiudeen said the Sri Lankan government is now aiming for new levels of bilateral trade cooperation with China. The Sri Lanka and China FTA would create great opportunities for both countries, he added. (GK)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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