The Denim Industry’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’

Pakistan’s denim apparel exports to the US have overtaken China’s, thanks to local entrepreneurs who have built a vertically-integrated manufacturing hub in the South Asian nation.  It might not be the first country that springs to mind when you think of fashion supply chains, but a growing number of blue jeans destined for the global marketplace are manufactured in Pakistan. “We are one of the world’s best-kept secrets,” said Faisal Ahmed, chief executive of Artistic Denim Mills (ADM), one of Pakistan’s largest denim manufacturers with a client list including Zara, Primark, Calvin Klein, Wrangler and Lee. Executives at ADM have seen the sector grow over three decades from a handful of small producers and suppliers to a cluster of hi-tech major players based in cities like Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad competing on the world stage. Other companies riding the wave of denim sourcing from Pakistan include Siddiqsons Group, Naveena Denim Mills, Azgard Nine Ltd., Rajby Industries, US Group, Crescent Bahuman Ltd. and of course Soorty, reputed to be the country’s largest vertically integrated denim manufacturer.  Industry veterans from Europe and North America who source denim from Pakistan say the quality of locally made products tends to be high for the market segment they occupy. “In terms of the denim mass market, I think Pakistan’s denim is of exceptional quality and gives importers the best value for money,” said Juan Chaparro, group director for supply chain, sourcing and quality at Primark, who has over 25 years’ experience during which he worked internally at other high-street companies like Inditex and Esprit. It is this reputation that has led to a boom for Pakistani denim manufacturing exporters like ADM in recent years, even as Covid-19 dented the global denim trade, completely shutting down manufacturing in countries including Pakistan, India and  Bangladesh for periods during 2020. Today, global supply chain disruptions and the ongoing threat of the pandemic continue to impact denim operators in sourcing hubs like Pakistan but, looking ahead, there are reasons for industry leaders to feel optimistic. For one, a change in style preferences among some consumers means denim wardrobes are being updated. Indeed, brands from Levi’s and American Eagle to Madewell and Abercrombie & Fitch have all reported high demand for denim products with looser fits and wider-leg silhouettes among some consumers, as people slowly return to public life. More broadly speaking, “the global adoption of casualisation, which started before the pandemic, is continuing to pick up in popularity and consumers are embracing comfort as they go out again,” executive vice president and president of the Levi’s brand, Jen Sey, told Forbes in June.