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Buyers head to Southeast Asia to discover new business connections

Maintaining confidence during the current difficult economic climate is a tough call for buyers, but working with reliable suppliers who respond efficiently to their need for quality products helps. The latest COTTON USA Buyers’ Tour held this June in Jakarta, Indonesia, attracted 28 buyers representing European, Japanese, Mexican, Thai and U.S. brands and retailers. The tour enabled them to conveniently explore the advantages of sourcing U.S. cotton-rich garments from across Southeast Asia in one location.

The weeklong bespoke tour included representatives from: Benetton, Debenhams, GAP, Max Mara, Marks & Spencer, Mitsubishi, Talbots and Uniqlo. This impressive group of buyers met with 35 supplier companies from Southeast Asia.

CCI started the week with an extensive briefing session that included introductions to CCI and the COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing Program, as well as overviews of the Indonesian textile industry by Sekbertal, the Indonesian Spinners’ Association, and API, which represents spinners and garment manufacturers. The briefing also included presentations by R.J. Gurley and David Birnbaum from the ACE project, which aims to cluster the ASEAN textile industries in order to enhance their competitiveness.

Buyers then went on to meet with regional suppliers from across Southeast Asia during CCI’s trade show. COTTON USA qualified suppliers exhibited their products at the show, while CCI’s sister company, Cotton Incorporated, displayed cotton product innovations available to the mills. Following the exhibition, the group visited textile factories in greater Jakarta, Bandung and Central Java to view U.S. cotton-rich wovens, denims, knitwear, sportswear and garments.

If you would like further information on COTTON USA Buyers’ Tours or would like to attend future tours, please contact Steph Thiers-Ratcliffe at sthiers@cotton.org