Inspired performances by supply chain partners in FY 2015-16 contributed to the best year to date for Sri Lankan apparel powerhouse Brandix, which honoured its top vendors at a gala Vendor Summit in Sri Lanka recently. The top 100 vendors from the 350 that accounts for Brandix’s annual raw material spend attended the summit, half of them from 14 overseas locations. Presenting these key suppliers with an insight into the dynamics that propel the industry and a glimpse into the future, Brandix forecast it would double sales in the next five years, through a concentration on speed, quality, innovation and price.

Brandix had 530 vendor partners on its supply chain when the Group hosted its last Vendor Summit in 2011. While its business grew by 63 per cent in the five years that followed, the number of vendors supplying raw materials reduced to 350, and could fall to 150 by 2020, according to the organisers.

Said Brandix Group Chairman Priyan Fernando in his keynote address titled ‘A journey to best-in-class,’ their industry is one of intense competition where the dynamics are highly emotional on the one hand, and quite rational on the other.

Meanwhile, Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar cautioned that 2016 would be a ‘rough year’ given the headwinds that the retail industry is facing, but said the Group is confident it will ride the storm successfully and prevail with the support of its supply chain partners.