TIRANA, May 10 – Albania has been recommended as an interesting textile and leather production country for Dutch brands and buyers. Typical for Albania is the high quality, fast lead times and small, flexible orders, says a newly published roadmap for companies that want to source sustainable and responsible garments and shoes.
According to this roadmap published with the support of the Dutch embassy in Tirana, Albania can be a good alternative to popular manufacturing countries like China and Bangladesh despite the wages being higher, but still competitive. âThe quality of work is high: the majority of garment and footwear factories are producing for Italian quality brands. Add the short distance to the EU, and the ability to source small quantities and you have a sourcing country that offers good options – with CSR – for small and large Dutch fashion brands,â says the publication.
Albaniaâs strategic geographical location allows an easy and rapid reach to the Netherlands. Â Albaniaâs garment production mainly serves the Italian market with 90 percent of exports destined there, followed by Germany, Greece and France.
The sector is mostly involved in CM and CMT production (cut-make-trim). This means that raw materials, designs and patterns are imported. Limited value is added in these types of production, which makes the sector vulnerable for competition in the Far East. However, Albania offers interesting opportunities for re-shoring trends and several front running companies have upgraded their production processes to full cycle production, experts say.
Some 500 companies operate in the garment and footwear sector in Albania, employing 110,000 workers. The sector’s annual turnover is estimated at 500 million euros accounting for 40 percent of the country’s total exports.
Albaniaâs apparel and footwear labour force is dominated by female employees accounting for 90 percent of total workforce, most of whom get minimum wages of 22,000 lek/month (âŹ158) a month.
The Albanian garment industry produces medium up to high quality clothes in many different product ranges, for a competitive price. Several companies have shown very interesting sourcing possibilities for Western markets, producing high end clothing with advanced machinery and skilled workforce, in flexible orders, with full package or on demand production. Generally, such companies have been producing for Italian luxury labels and are ready to explore other markets.
Leading companies in the Albanian garment sector are striving to create their own in-house brands. Possibly with the support of Dutch designers such companies could become private label manufacturers and gain a range of competitive advantages: independency, fair pricing, and a stronger position in the EU market, experts say.
In terms of labelling, the current CMT business keeps Albanian garment manufacturers from being recognized with a âMade in Albaniaâ label. Most garments are finished in Italy and will be sold as âMade in Italyâ due to the non-preferential rules of origin. These rules state that the country in which the last substantial transformation of a product took place, is relevant for providing the country of origin.
Proudly Made in Albania
Albanian companies strive to move beyond CMT production in order to position the label âMade in Albania.â The biggest shoe producing company in Albania, DoniAnna, has its own brand that is running alone a total turnover of âŹ40 million. This pioneering company is one of the few producers creating âMade in Albaniaâ shoes, with own designs. The shoes are exported to Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. DoniAnna has 5 factories employing 2,400 people and is present at trade fairs. In addition, DoniAnna is ISO 9001 complied and aspires to become more sustainable. The owner, Donika Mici, aims to present a completely chrome free edition of shoes for a young target group. âMs. Mici makes shoes only in Albania and proudly insists that a Made in Albania label is no longer an impediment to success,â she has been quoted by the New York Times.
