NATIONAL: An attempt by the Fijian apparel industry to promote itself as the manufacturing hub of choice has been overshadowed by the country’s expulsion from the Commonwealth.
Earlier this month the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Council of Fiji announced plans to launch a new web portal – MakeitinFiji.com – aimed at showcasing the capabilities of the country’s clothing and footwear manufacturers, despite recent political uncertainty.
However, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced on September 2 that Fiji had been suspended from the representative body of Britain and 52 of its former colonies and territories for refusing to schedule democratic elections by October 2010.
The campaign, which features video footage of several Fijian factories, marks the end of a three-year industry development program funded by the Australian Government.
The program’s marketing services advisor, Gary Hirsch, said the program had significantly “transformed” the industry via technical support, training and human resource development.
“Many factories are well into the challenging process of business tranformation and are now far better positioned for long-term, robust supply chain partnerships compatible with today’s market conditions,” Hirsch said.
Speaking earlier this month, TCF Council of Fiji president Kalpesh Solanki said research undertaken by his group had shown that in most Asia Pacific countries, knowledge of Fiji’s TCF capabilities was limited.
Solanki said despite the difficult trading conditions, savvy Fijian manufacturers had a real opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
“With buyers reducing inventory levels, changing styles more frequently and pursuing leaner supply chain models, this means suppliers have to be capable of producing smaller order quantities and delivering within shorter lead times. Here, Fiji has a real advantage over many locations, particularly for the Australian and New Zealand markets.”
Hirsch, also the general manager of Sydney consultancy firm TCF Sourcing Solutions, said the Fijian TCF sector had excellent capabilities across a broad range of product categories – in particular uniform supply.
“There is a general expertise in the area of uniforms – in the corporate, industrial, safety, school and sportswear sectors – with advanced technology and multi-skilled machinists contributing to greater flexibility,” he said.
Victorian label Kookai is one of the most high-profile Australian fashion brands manufacturing in the island nation. Kookai confirmed Fiji was the company’s first offshore manufacturer when the brand first looked overseas in 1999. It is understood as much as 85 per cent of the garments sold by the brand now come from the Fijian factory.
Hirsch said several other brands, which manufacture primarily in Asia, were now looking at Fiji for supplementary production.