Retail Brands Abandon Clothing Orders Amid Drop In Demand

Retailers are halting and calling off attire orders as Western shoppers remain in their residences and shops close because of the coronavirus pandemic. The move jeopardizes millions of manufacturing positions in Asia and comes as China exhibits signs of bouncing back from the depths of COVID-19, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Rubana Huq implored merchants to pay for products that they had ordered through a video. More than 4 million laborers could lose their positions if merchants don’t support manufacturing facilities. She said, according to the report, “This is a social chaos we cannot afford.”

Suppliers to the “fast-fashion” companies of the globe such as Hennes & Mauritz AB, the owner of H&M, are some of the first to be impacted by the Western consumer shutdown. The business models of those companies rely on having the ability to move orders from manufacturing facilities to retail locations over a time frame of just weeks. These companies are now halting or calling off orders.

Primark owner Associated British Foods and Peacocks Stores Ltd., for their part, have halted or called off orders. Experts in retail claim the slowdown appears to be much more negative than the 2008 financial crisis. At that time, brands were impacted by less consumer spending.

However, they could offer clothing sales and promotions to attract thrifty consumers. Many manufacturing facilities were still occupied with orders, but demand as a whole was depressed. Now, however, the situation is different, according to a professor cited in the report. Malls and stores are shuttered in many portions of the U.S. as well as Europe.

As previously reported, American and European buyers have canceled approximately $1.5 billion of Bangladesh attire orders. Huq said on social media per a past report that up to 1,089 clothing factories have experienced cancelled orders.

The number of coronavirus cases has pulled ahead of 300,000, with about 13,000 deaths per news earlier in the week.