Bulgaria counts some 3,000 apparel companies, of which 600 could be classified as medium and larger companies with up to 2,000 employees. They strike one with their adaptability. Flexibility is a must in their management, necessitated by the increasingly smaller orders, the economic framework and cooperation with local and international enterprises. This article presents several examples of such enterprises.
02.02.2007 - Some Bulgarian enterprises, like ARDA, Rousse, have maintained business relations with Germany for more than 35 years, while others are still in the process of building ties with international customers. In the 17 years since the beginning of democratic changes, the managers of these enterprises, who are often women and owners of the enterprises as well, have learnt to meet the requirements of Western contract manufacture (CMT cut, make and trim) assignors. Offers by the Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ Gesellschaft fьr Technische Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn (D)) to help them by sending experts have been well received. The consultation provided focused on enterprise organization, equipment in the manufacturing of ready-to-wear clothes, marketing and building of collections.
ARDA - more than 70 years in business
ARDA is one of the oldest dressmaking enterprises, set up more than 70 years ago by an Armenian. It specializes in the production of ladies" ready-to-wear such as blouses, dresses, suits, skirts and trousers. Elena Hristova, manager in charge of Sales, Finances and the Home Market, stakes on quality. "We learnt this from our German customers," she said, going on to stress the numerous benefits enjoyed by the 800 employees. Because in ARDA, too, there are problems in keeping skilled employees as a monthly wage of 180 EUR is not very attractive even under the Bulgarian circumstances. The measures to prevent skilled workforce fluctuation include full insurance, timely payment of wages, wage increase proportional to the rise in the wages in the budget-financed sector, free medical prophylactic check-ups, canteen, efficiency bonuses, personal birthday greetings and several company celebrations a year.
Work at ARDA is on a single-shift basis and constitutes mainly of execution of orders from Germany, Italy, Spain and France and a small share for ARDA's own brand series. Around half of the plant's capacity of 60,000 items a month is taken up by CMT contract manufacturing and the remaining half by full package (from start to finish) manufacturing. According to Elena Hristova, the tendency is towards an increase in the latter. Own brand production still takes up 3 to 4% of the capacity but is planned to grow. For the Bulgarian market there is the ARDA Sport youth line, the ARDA Duo practical combination series, the ARDA Max extra large collection and the ARDA Vision party dress line. Seven to eight themes are developed every season.
Elena Hristova mentioned nothing about sales but said that 6% of the turnover is invested every year in new equipment and renovation. The production process is currently being reorganized. Large production lines are being converted into smaller ones in view of the smaller number of items per style and order and the shorter delivery dates. Elena Hristova sees reserves to meet price hikes and raise wages in enhancing the efficiency of the production process.
Antoan Vill - small series specialist
Antoaneta Antonova, CEO of Antoan Vill, Rousse, studied in Germany and Austria before she set up the company together with a partner in 1989. At first the company specialised in the production of men's trousers and shirts for the home market. In 1998 sales problems led to the quitting of the partner and transition to CMT manufacturing of ladies' apparel for clients from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, UK and France. The company's own high quality collection is sold in its outlets in Bulgaria under the Lara Vill trademark. Two years ago the company invested in four CAD/CAM stations (Lectra) and proceeded to full package manufacturing. Thus it acquired more clients from Croatia and the US. Today the correlation between CMT and full package manufacturing is 50:50, the tendency being towards an increase in full package manufacturing.
Antoaneta Antonova is proud of the small workforce fluctuation among her 110 highly disciplined employees working on an area of only 1,200 mІ. Some have been working for Antoan Vill for more than 10 years. It takes the company from two to three months to train its sewing employees and eighteen months to train its technologists, e.g. quality managers.
In the pattern-making department, specialists with computer design skills prepare the complete prototypes and small series - up to 60 - 70 new designs a month. Production is organized in small series and the plant's capacity is between 12,000 and 14,000 items a month. Customers are increasingly assigning whole programmes, which is a challenge to the flexibility of the seamstresses. The company also accepts small orders of 50 to 100 items of a given design.
"We were the first in Rousse to start taking small orders and the others are now following suit," the company's CEO said. She expects small gains and strong pressure on prices after Bulgaria's accession to the EU but is confident: "We, the best, will survive."
MARKAM - pragmatic and visionary
With its new production and administration buildings completed in 2006, the MARKAM fashion house became a model enterprise not only in Rousse but across Bulgaria as well. According to co-owner Kamen Obreshkov, the investment made amounted to EUR 1.5m plus EUR 300,000 for the machine park. But some wishes remained unfulfilled - the plant still lacks an automatic cutting machine and a CAD system. At the company they prefer Lectra as they already have a plotter and other systems of this supplier. Kamen Obreshkov is confident that his enterprise will withstand the challenges of EU membership but believes that small and medium-sized companies unable or unwilling to show flexibility due to personnel or financial reasons will soon disappear from the market. The only chance of survival the overwhelming part of small companies employing between 50 and 60 people have is as subcontractors of larger enterprises, Obreshkov argues.
Kamen Obreshkov sees his company as well positioned in the future. 90% of its output is still manufactured on a CMT basis but MARKAM's own collection launched five seasons ago is showing an increase in sales of 30 to 40% on the home and foreign markets. Obreshkov's vision of the future: In seven or ten years the company will produce and sell only its own brand products. This can be achieved by using the 30 to 40% extended production premises to the full and introducing a second shift.
MARKAM also stakes on the training of its staff. Kamen Obreshkov has promised (including in his role as Member of the Board of the BAATPE Branch Union in Sofia) that vocational schools in the apparel, textile and leather industries will be (re-)opened. In Rousse they are expected to welcome their first students this autumn.
Primetex - German company in Bulgaria
German Sascha Droste built his plant on an empty plot in Ihtiman, a 30-minute drive by car to the Southeast of Sofia. Sascha Droste estimates the investment he made in buildings and machines at between EUR 1.8 and 2m. For two years the 250 employees of Primetex have been making 1,200 men's trousers for business and leisure a day for customers from Germany and Switzerland and recently also from Spain and Italy. The company imports fabrics from Germany, Italy and Turkey for its full package production process. Sascha Droste also believes that the trend is towards full package production and away from CMT contract manufacture.
Together with his wife, Onaney Droste, Sascha Droste owns a second enterprises producing ladies' apparel. In May 2006 the two bought Botevtex in the city of Botevgrad northeast of Sofia. "We knew the company and the middle-tier management well and that is why we decided to invest. Now the name of the enterprise is Bulgarian Apparel Manufacturing (B.A.M.). The building houses not only the production premises in which 250 people make ladies' trousers but also a logistics centre of Canda, Essen (D), and a WKS laundry. WKS is as well finishing the men's trousers sewn in Ihtiman.
Within the framework of a group of companies Sascha Droste has opened an office in a non-European country to provide price aggressive customers with women's and men's ready-to-wear whose orders could not be placed in Eastern Europe because of the present capacity constraints. In terms of prices, these products are expected to move "between Bulgaria and Ukraine". According to Droste, large orders can be implemented within a maximum of six weeks (including transportation time) and receive certificates of European origin.
Nia&Dorado - on the road to a trademark
Plovdiv is the seat of Nia&Dorado, a company making ladies' apparel founded by Georgi Genov and Lubomir Slavov in 1995. At first it did not have its own production premises and a facility with 45 modern workstations was built in 1998. A second facility was opened in 2004, also in Plovdiv. The company's designers - Nina Genova and Radka Slavova - use CAD/CAM systems. The company uses quality Italian fabrics. Its collections for fastidious businesswomen are sold in Bulgaria as well as abroad, reaching as far as the US and Canada. Export accounts for 40% of the sales. In Bulgaria Nia&Dorado has five outlets in Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Haskovo and Veliko Turnovo. Its products have won a number of awards in Bulgaria.
Rosiza - knitwear with ISO certificate
With its 500 employees the Rosiza knitwear factory is one of the large Bulgarian enterprises. It was founded in 1960 in Sevlievo and privatised in 1996. The company makes ladies', men's and children's pullovers both on a CMT and on a full package basis. According to its Manager, Marina Hadjiyski, 92% of its output is exported to Germany, France, Italy, UK and Denmark. The company is in the process of obtaining its own trademark. Rosiza's equipment consists of modern 5, 8, 10 and 12 gauge flat knitting machines. Shima Seiki, Universal and Stoll supply the knitwear machines and the sewing machines are from Rimoldi. It has an embroidery machine - ZSK with 12 heads. The company's capacity is estimated at 800,000 items a year. The orders must provide for at least 500 items of each colour and are executed within six to eight weeks. The plant's output has been certified under ISO 9001:2000.
Improvement of market positions
The above examples show that the Bulgarian apparel industry can no longer compete with the cheapest bulk commodities. It is already showing capacity shortages, above all in workforce, hence the great efforts to train and keep workers.
This is what makes expert advice, e.g. by the GTZ and seminars organized by Bulgarian branch unions as well as the promotion of export by the Bulgarian government so necessary and welcome. It remains to be seen what effect Bulgaria's accession to the EU will have on the country's apparel industry. Rolf B. Henke - Textile network - Germany