From Zudio to Lifestyle, vogue retailers wrestle with stock crunch submit import ban from Bangladesh

Mumbai | Kolkata: Several clothes retailers from Marks & Spencer and H&M to Zudio and Lifestyle are dealing with quick provides of their shops practically three months after India banned highway imports of readymade clothes from Bangladesh, business executives mentioned.

Readymade clothes from the neighbouring nation at the moment are allowed solely via seaports of Kolkata and Nhava Sheva in Mumbai. While the coverage change has led to delays of 2-3 weeks in merchandise sourcing, particularly in lower-priced vogue, the affect is felt now as retailers begin stocking contemporary collections alongside end-of-season gross sales.

“The shortfall is more visible now,” a senior government at a worldwide attire model mentioned on situation of anonymity.

Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest exporter of clothes after China, is an important provider for Indian manufacturers, particularly within the inexpensive phase.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in a directive issued on May 17, prohibited imports of every kind of readymade clothes from Bangladesh via land ports.

Most retailers together with Lifestyle, Reliance and Aditya Birla have been progressively shifting a few of their manufacturing domestically after the coverage shift.”While we have shifted some of our sourcing within the country, there are a few categories which we import from Bangladesh and have been delayed due to the policy change,” mentioned Devarajan Iyer, chief government officer of Lifestyle International, India’s largest departmental chain. “We will have to plan ahead to ensure steady supplies of fresh merchandise to minimise its impact on sales.”Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and managing director of garment sourcing agency Creative Garments, warned that whereas price will improve by 3-5% as a consequence of larger transport prices, the affect is not going to be quick as many Indian consumers had secured contracts few months prematurely.

“However, smaller traders and grey market operators, who depend heavily on quick and low-cost supplies from Bangladesh, are expected to get impacted due to the policy shift,” Mehta mentioned.

The transfer has led to vital delays in stock replenishment, particularly within the inexpensive vogue phase.

“Imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh have dwindled by 25% year-on-year,” mentioned Sanjay Jain, managing director of textile and attire agency TT Industries and chairman of the textile knowledgeable panel of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. “These are garments which are priced lower than ₹1,000 and are sold by local retailers and brands.”

India imported apparels price $254.44 million from Bangladesh throughout January-June 2025, up 3.5% from $245.84 million a yr earlier, in line with knowledge from International Trade Centre (ITC) and Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).