Garment firms snug amid surrounding crisis

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The total export value of Ho Chi Minh City-based Nha Be Garment (NBC) hiked 20 per cent on-year in the first seven months of 2012, exceeding $240 million. Its pre-tax profits reached VND32 billion ($1.5 million) in the first six months.

The company’s success came from flexible management, a comprehensive suite of cost-saving measures ranging from materials to power, initiatives application to boost labour productivity and most importantly, its continued focus on producing items under FOB term, said NBC chairman Pham Phu Cuong.

Producing FOB items requires greater energy from firms who take charge of sourcing materials and producing items using designs either created by themselves or provided by the foreign partners depend on contract terms, thus enhancing their product added value.

NBC pilots a specific FOB division directly managed by foreign experts. The division came into existence two years ago and was considered as a breakthrough in the corporation development to help it gain high profits.

“Right in crisis time, NBC has developed a cost-worthy information system about export and domestic market to serve its development as well as share with other companies in the sector,” said Cuong.
 
Besides traditional markets, Nha Be took bold steps to break into new markets. In early 2012 in the face of falling export demands it stepped into Russian market through joining international garment sector trade fairs to source partners.

Currently, each month NBC ships around 400,000 items Russia and has signed export orders to Russia to end 2012.

Garco 10 is another shining point with first six months’ export value surpassing $80 million.

Despite sagging export orders from late 2011 the company still succeeded in holding up big foreign partners such as Target, Macy’s, Old Navy and DKNY thanks to products wide diversity and large production scope, said company director Than Duc Viet.

South Korea-backed Youngone Company Limited in Nam Dinh’s Hoa Xa Industrial Zone reaped over $60 million export value in the year’s first half.

Youngone has inked export contracts for whole 2012 and its current top attention is to ensure timely delivery of export shipments.

Its parent company, Youngone Group in South Korea, is a big player in textile and garment with four operating branches in Bangladesh, China, El Salvador and Vietnam.

In respect to market perspective in later months of 2012, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association deputy chairwoman Dang Phuong Dung said plummeting export orders from EU was firms’ greatest concern.

The textile and garment sector’s total export value in the first seven months exceeded $8.2 billion, surging 8 per cent on-year. In July alone, the sector’s export value hit $1.4 billion, $300 million more than three previous months’ average level.