Stefan Erhart, Chief Financial Officer, Lidl and Kaufland Asia, paid a courtesy visit to Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA, on March 15.

Bastian Grafe, Senior Director, Lidl Bangladesh, was also present at the meeting.

During the meeting, they discussed the current business landscape in the RMG industry of Bangladesh, its prospects, challenges and how the industry is working to address the issues.

They had discussions also about the future areas of collaboration, including strengthening partnership of Lidl with their suppliers and expanding business base in Bangladesh.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan apprised the CFO of Lidl and Kaufland Asia about the recent developments of Bangladesh’s RMG industry that helped to fortify its position as a safe and sustainable apparel sourcing hub in the global market. 

He shed light on the ongoing initiatives of the industry along with future plans to enhance the capacity, and reputation of Bangladesh as a high-value garment manufacturing hub.

He also pointed to the industry’s increasing focus on product diversification, technology upgradation, skill development and productivity enhancement along with the immense emphasis and efforts being put to make the industry environmentally sustainable. 

The BGMEA President called on Lidl to increase its sourcing garments from Bangladesh and also to extend cooperation with their suppliers to develop their capacity in manufacturing more diversified products and adopting sustainable production practices.

He requested Lidl to collaborate with the Center of Innovation Efficiency and OSH to strengthen its capacity. 

He also called on the German brand to collaborate with BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) to develop skills of the students in fashion design and relevant subjects. 

Appreciating the progress made by the RMG industry, Stefan Erhart expressed the interest of Lidl in increasing business with Bangladesh.  

He also informed the BGMEA President about Lidl’s interest in sourcing diversified products, including tent, ceramic and bicycle from Bangladesh.