More companies prefer to produce foreign brands to boost exports
More companies prefer to produce foreign brands to boost exports
Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta
For many Indonesians, browsing branded apparel at shopping
arcades or designer outlets is something they really look forward
to, especially when they have a chance to visit foreign countries
like the United States, Europe, Japan or Hong Kong.
Such foreign brand lovers might feel embarrassed if they knew
that some of the clothes they had purchased were made in
Indonesia, perhaps in factories near their homes.
Indonesia is one of the major producers of foreign branded
clothes and footwear. Many Indonesian garment factories have for
years manufactured famous international brands for
women, men and children that include polo shirts, T-shirts,
sports wear, casual attire, jeans, underwear and designer labels.
These days, more local companies prefer to manufacture foreign
brands to win an edge on the world market.
Secretary General of the Indonesian Textile Association (API)
Indra Ibrahim said that most of such branded products were
exported to Japan, the U.S. and European countries.
Currently, about 90 percent of API's 2,000 members export
their products, some of which are manufactured under licenses
from major apparel producers in the world.
"Most of the buyers prefer to buy products manufactured under
the license of international brands because of their recognized
quality," he said.
One of the holders of a branded-garment license is publicly
listed company PT Great River International, which currently
holds exclusive licenses to manufacture and distribute over 30
high-quality and well-known international brands.
The company has formed strategic alliances with world-class
textile and apparel manufacturers such as van Laack GmbH of
Germany and Japan's Tomen, Gunze and Toyobo.
The products produced by Great River carry recognized brands
such as Triumph, Arrow, van Laack, Choya, Kenzo, Homme, Nino
Cerruti, Austin Reed, Savile Row, Hom, Balenciaga, Pierre
Balmain, Oscar de la Renta, Jockey, Lee, Elle Paris, McGregor,
Haggar, Mickey&Co, Lady Bird, Sesame Street, Garfield, Elle
Poupon, Elle Petite, Lee Youth and Jockey Kid.
Over 70 percent of the company's products are exported, while
the remainder is sold on the domestic market.
Continuous technical assistance from its more technologically
advanced partners has helped raise Great River to become an
important garment supplier in the global market. The company has
established export networks with over 20 countries, including the
U.S., Japan, Australia, European countries and Southeast Asian
countries. The company has sales representative offices in
Singapore and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, to keep up with the global market and technology
advancement, Great River is developing an e-commerce platform to
support its marketing plan.
Great River owns three production facilities located in
Cibinong, Cikarang and Purwakarta. Split into two working shifts,
these three production facilities are equipped with automated,
state-of-the-art technology, and are able to produce a total of
44 million pieces of clothing annually.
Another local major garment manufacturer is PT Texmaco
Garments Indonesia. Besides producing international brands, the
company has also designed and developed its own brand name.
Its manufacturing facilities, located in Karawang, near
Jakarta, is designed to produce a wide range of specialized
apparel, such as sportswear, active wear, skiwear and winter
wear.
The company produces world-class garments for leading brands
including Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, M & S, Van
Heussen and Sarah Lee.
Texmaco Garments has established offices in Malaysia,
Singapore, Middle Eastern countries, Japan, Australia and the
U.K., and operates through locally based company Texfi in the
U.S. The company's customers include M&S, Guess, Haward of Japan,
Padini of Malaysia, and Musto of the U.K.
With such a broad client base, the company's exports reached
about US$100 million in 2002.
Meanwhile, PT Tuntex Garment Indonesia manufactures
sportswear, jackets, T-shirts, trousers and shorts under the
Adidas and Nike brands. Tuntex owns four factories in the areas
of Tanjung Priok and Cakung in Jakarta, and in Mauk and Cikupa of
Tangerang. With an annual production capacity of about 10 million
units, the company exports its products to France, Germany and
the U.S.
To maintain the high quality of its products, the company
conducts color tests in Singapore, while Adidas and Nike send
their own professional staff to Indonesia to monitor quality
control.
For PT Mayer Textile Industry Indonesia, Europe, Japan, and
the U.S. are the best markets for the men's and ladies' wear it
manufactures under the brand names Mayer, Promote, and Dunlop.
Separately, Metro Corp Indonesia has its own specialty lines,
preferring to manufacture branded blouses, children's wear,
ladies' wear, and men's wear under licenses from The Limited,
Marks and Spencer, Burberry's, Gymboree, Hush Puppies, Kahala,
Disney, Express, NY&Co, Macy's, Cotton Fields, and Tom Taylor.
The company uses its Metro gateway office in Jakarta and Hong
Kong to monitor its international merchandising, manufacturing,
sourcing, distributing and retailing activities.
Columbia Indonesia garment company, on the other hand,
specializes in a single brand. It has two production facilities
in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, and Cikampek, West Java, that
manufacture sportswear, jackets, vests and pants under
international brand name of Columbia. The products are exported
to the U.S. and Germany through its marketing office in South
Korea.
Although demands from the world market continue to show an
increasing trend, Indonesian garment producers have difficulties
in meeting growing demands due to high production costs in
addition to import quota imposed by some countries on Indonesian
textile products.
Nur Eviyanti, quality control manager at Columbia Indonesia
garment company, said the export quota restriction and the
decline in foreign buyers' confidence in Indonesian products due
to security issues, had caused a 20 percent drop in the company's
exports.
"Demand from international buyers will recover in line with
improvement in the social and political conditions of Indonesia,"
Evi said.