By: PramodKumar
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has threatened to blacklist British clothing retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) for not paying suppliers and not responding to the call of the association, The Daily Star reported.
The BGMEA sent a letter to British billionaire Philip Day, owner of England’s Carlisle-based retailer EWM, on 21 May. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) is also included in the letter.
EWM has so far cancelled work orders worth $8.2 million in Bangladesh due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to BGMEA.
“We are blacklisting non-responsive buyers who are not only not paying but also not responding to suppliers,” BGMEA President Rubana Huq said.
EWM’s affiliates, including the brands and retailers Peacock, Jaeger, Austin Reed, Jacque Vert, Country Casuals, Windsmoor, Baumler of Germany, Bonmarche, Ponden Home, and various agents, importers, full service vendors and other third parties which have been working indirectly and/or directly with each of these companies and brands, are also under threat of being blacklisted, Huq said in the letter to Philip Day.
“We are never going to go for a confrontational relationship with anyone. And we have always been strategic,” the BGMEA president said.
BGMEA in the letter requested EWM to comply with the requirements and settle all outstanding dues as prescribed, adding that it would blacklist and place an embargo on the retailer and its agents otherwise.
A copy of the letter has been sent to the Bangladesh High Commission in London, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, where EWM/Peacock and/or its affiliates are registered as a liaison office, the British High Commission in Dhaka, and other concerned ministries or departments.
