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| Dian Gomes, Managing Director of MAS Intimates and Main Board member of MAS Holdings |
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With an annual turnover of US$800 million, MAS Holdings is South Asia's largest intimate apparel manufacturer and an active supplier of intimate wear and other garment products. It is a strategic partner of Victoria's Secret, servicing numerous global brands including Nike, Speedo, Marks & Spencer and Triumph International.
Managing Director of MAS Intimates and Main Board member of MAS Holdings, Dian Gomes stressed on the importance to keep innovating and gain the upper hand in the market through lean manufacturing and a good use of IT solutions..
ATA: Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel
Gomes: Dian Gomes, Managing Director of MAS Intimates and Main Board member of MAS Holdings
ATA: Could you outline the competitive edges of the company in the global textile supply chain? How do you beat other Asian competitors?
Gomes: Our ability to own and extend the complete value chain provides us with a key competitive edge.
We offer a complete apparel solution, from design to delivery. We added design capabilities to our product development expertise and also created an integrated supply chain, partnering with globally renowned entities: lace with Noyon Dentelles of France, warp knit fabrics with Dogi International of Spain, elastic fabrics with Stretchline Global, UK, fabric printing with Textprint of Spain, accessories with Prym Intimates of UK.
We have design teams based in New York, Hong Kong and the UK. We have a multi disciplinary research & innovation team focused on exploring emerging technologies and working with customers.
In 2005, MAS Holdings ventured into lean manufacturing and adopted an operating system similar to the Toyota Production System (TPS) to reduce our costs and lead time.
ATA: Could you introduce to us the major R&D efforts of the company and market potentials of these products?
Gomes: Passion and innovation are two key elements of MAS Holdings. Our innovation offerings for our customers are numerous. Nike Revolutionary Support bra, jointly developed with Nike; Victoria’s Secret Bare Ultimate range, using silicone flocking and bonding; and Adidas polar technology embedded apparel, are some examples.
In 2004, MAS Linea Aqua produced the Speedo Fastskin swimsuits worn by many countries at the Athens Olympics. Bondelast, the patented technology of Stretchline (a joint-venture product between MAS Holdings and Stretchline Global) was used for the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit worn at Beijing Olympics including Michael Phelps. MAS also manufactured special seamless jerseys for the Welsh Rugby team for the Rugby World Cup of 2007.
ATA: How does the use of IT solutions improve the internal management of MAS?
Gomes: In 1998, we were a US$187 million turnover company, running on multiple internally developed information systems. Each facility and each department had their own systems.
We began the SAP implementation across MAS Holdings in 1998 and in February 2000, SAP went live, providing a fully integrated system for the company. Today, we are a US$800 Million business, with a fully integrated system that gives us total visibility across our internal value chain, a majority of our performance indicators, and excellent control over our operations.
Facilitated by SAP, operations throughout the value chain now run smoother due to accuracy of information and transparency. It makes it easy to leverage our scale of operations and be highly agile.
ATA: Outlook for Sri Lankan textile and garment industry in the next couple of years?
Gomes: Despite the global economic downturn, the Sri Lankan apparel industry has remained buoyant. According to statistics of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) of Sri Lanka, total exports in the first quarter of 2009 recorded a positive growth of 8.8% year-on-year.
The Sri Lanka apparel industry has proven itself to be resilient and even continued growing in spite of structural challenges in the economy due to war and rising international competition in the post-MFA period. With the Sri Lankan economy slated for a rebound with the end of hostilities in Sri Lanka, the industry is ready for interesting times with the recovery of the global economy.
During the last few years, Sri Lankan industry has managed to cut costs, offer services higher up in the value chain and carve a niche for itself. The industry has been able to market itself as an ethical manufacturing destination through the ‘Garments without Guilt’ programme. With the emergence of clean and green consumerism, Sri Lankan industry will be able to leverage its favourable position further.
Growth, while unlikely to be extensive, may be modest at least for 2009.
Much depends on the state of the global economy. Its recovery will stabilize the industry in Sri Lanka with good prospects for growth. The future is foggy, but one factor is certain: the Sri Lankan apparel industry will remain standing, as we have always done.
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