Because H&M, Zara, Armani leave China and Vietnam and see … Greece
Saturday 30 October 2021, 00:00
Large fashion brands, such as H&M, Zara and Armani, have been placing mass orders in Greek clothing factories lately. The result is that our country’s exports run at + 15% -20%, while the opening of commercial stores in Europe leads to a significant increase in imports. This is stated in The Liberal Markets by Theofilos Aslanidis, president of the Greek Ready-made Knitting Business Association (SEPEE) and Meletis Karabinis, Director of the Ready-made Garments Manufacturers Association.
This shift of the big known international firms is due to the pandemic crisis. As Th. Aslanidis explains, “there is a tendency for part of the production to return to the European Union. From companies such as H&M, Zara and Armani. So the orders to the Greek factories are increasing as they are close to the European Union and part of it is moving away from countries such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh “.
For his part, M. O Karabini points out that “the increase in transport costs and the problems observed in the supply chain, the transport of products from Asian countries has become difficult and expensive. Thus, the countries that are closer to Europe, such as Greece, are favored, where they can produce products of added value “.
A comparative advantage of our country, apart from locality, is that quality products can be produced, while subcontracting contracts between large multinational and Greek companies include other services provided, such as design, product promotion and even marketing. .
In essence, H&M, Zara, Armani and other international brands, through the selection of our country for the production of their clothes, achieve significant economies of scale. Huge sums of money are not required to transport products, as fares are rising, they can better channel their production to Europe and buy better quality products.
It is recalled that the total value of exports of the clothing – textile chain (including cotton) in the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 492 million euros, recording an increase of 0.8% compared to 2020 (488 million euros).
The exports of the primary sector, cotton, contributed to this positive development, which increased by 24.8%, with an export value of 185 million euros in 2021, from 148 million in 2020.