Timex and Fergasam Group in expansion drive

Opportunities for right manufacturers:

Arshad A. Sattar

By Surekha GALAGODA

The Timex and Fergasam Group is confident that there is a bright future for the garment industry and are now expanding.

“We have our own offices in the UK and sell our products directly to customers and stores”, said Managing Director Timex and Fergasam Group Arshad A. Sattar.

Forward integration is the right way forward and there is huge potential for Sri Lankan garments, but we need government support. It is still the number one exchange earner for Sri Lanka. He said that the garment industry has a big potential in Sri Lanka. Initially, the garment industry was labour intensive but now the trend is to sell garments at the wholesale price and deliver the product to the store. In this manner the big stores can save space and money. Sattar said that the group created its own brand, Avirate. The brand will be launched in India next year and the UK by the end of next year or early 2012. Avirate will also be introduced to Dubai, Singapore and Canada soon.

Cluster General Manager Timex Garments (Pvt) Ltd and Fergasam Garment Industries (Pvt) Ltd M.M. Mohamed Mysan said, “We have so many orders that we can’t cope with the demand. The group will purchase two or three factories which are now closed. We are also planning to establish a factory in the North next year”. “Last month we purchased a factory in the Mawathagama zone and it is already in operation under the Timex umbrella. The 350-machine factory has a workforce of 600. It now manufactures high fashion ladies garments and caters to the USA, UK and European markets. We own two factories under the Timex umbrella while the other is under Fergasam.

Mohamed Mysan

The Wathupitiwala zone has three factories while plans are under way to open the fourth factory early next year. The group has 19 factories of which 17 turn out ladies high end fashion garments while the other two manufacture lingerie. The group also has a factory in Bangladesh and plans are under way to expand further. The group which has around 9,000 employees enjoy immense benefits.

“During the height of the recession we did not retrench workers. Instead we expanded”, said Mysan.

The Group caters to customers such as Marks & Spencer, Next, Tesco, Debenhams, Roamans H&M Mothercare, Freya, Fantasie, Diesel and many high end customers.

Fergasam Garments was founded in 1967 by the late Abdul Sattar Abdul Karim, a manufacturer of readymade shirts for the local market and has grown since then.

The first consignment of apparel was exported to the Swedish market in 1972. In 1982, the founder acquired Timex Garments.