Foreign retailers are choosing Bangladesh to source trendy denim wear at low prices as 37 foreign companies from 12 countries are scheduled to participate in the denim exposition to be held in Dhaka on April 25-26. The Denim Expo, 2016 will be organized at the Basundhara International Convention Center at Basundhara city in Dhaka.

As Denim Expert Managing Director Mostafiz Uddin, the organiser of the fair says they have received remarkable response from international retailers to attend the expo as they think Bangladesh is a good place to source denim from - at reasonable prices. Organisers initially planned to install 50 stalls for the fair. Of those, 12 stalls have been given for Bangladeshi denim factories while 37 companies of 12 countries will get 37. Another stall will be used as expo office. The companies from Germany, China, Italy, Singapore, Turkey, Japan, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Spain, Brazil and Thailand are participating this time, according to the organisers.

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs supply denim to major retailers and brands, including H&M, Uniqlo, Levis, Nike, Tesco, Wrangler, s.Oliver, Hugo Boss, Puma, Primark, JC Penney, C&A, Tommy Hilfiger, Inditex, Walmart, M&S, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Gap, Channel and Dior and G-Star. Bangladesh has 26 denim factories that produce around 360 million yards of denim fabric every year. Total investment in the sub-sector stands at more than Tk 7,000 crore. Bangladeshi firms meet 40 per cent of demand for fabric by the local denim makers and exporters; imports account for the rest.