UK retailers are increasingly turning to sourcing apparels from Mauritius. They are getting jerseys, knits and denims manufactured in the far eastern country. While brands like Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Primark and Asos already source their apparel needs from the country, now others like lifestyle brand Joules and home shopping group N Brown are considering sourcing from Mauritius.
Both these companies recently attended the Mauritian Fashion Fiesta, held in London on April 3-4 at the Emirates Stadium, where 25 textile manufacturers from the country exhibited. Joules plans to move its knitwear production to the country since it is closer to home. The company currently imports its products from China and India but feels that rising cost of living in China may finally lead them to Mauritius due to shorter lead time and lower minimums.
Following last year’s IMF report on growth predictions of advanced economies, it is predicted that the UK economy will grow ahead of Germany, Japan and France in the coming decade. Enterprise Mauritius, organizer of the Mauritian Fashion Fiesta therefore positioned itself to take advantage of the growing demand in this market. The platform provided an opportunity to connect the right UK and European buyers to participating Mauritian exhibitors during the fiesta.
