Bangladesh is winning a growing volume of premium orders from international labels, as its manufacturers push beyond plain basics into specialist jackets, tailoring, blazers, bridalwear and technical clothing.
Germany’s HAKRO, a brand positioned at the upper end of the price range, has been buying from a Team Group plant in Bangladesh for the last six month, according to trade sources.
Around the same time, Balmohk, the Spanish fashion label owned by Denmark’s Bestseller group, placed an order for pricier items, trousers among them, with one of the country’s leading garment makers.
Such cases form part of a lengthening list of upmarket European, American, Japanese and other labels that have turned to Bangladesh during the last four to five years.
Exporters said that new buyers and established customers alike are enlarging their volumes with local producers, though many keep client names under wraps to guard against rivals.
Exporters said certain tailored blazers and wedding gowns made in Bangladesh sell at retail for upwards of $1,000.
Over four years, Engelbert Strauss, Schöffel, Scott, Carhartt, Montbell, Victoria’s Secret and 5.11 Tactical have all placed higher-value orders with Bangladeshi makers, whether directly or via intermediaries.
Most specifics remain undisclosed, however, since brands and suppliers alike treat them as commercial secrets.
Sheikh Mustafiz, a BGMEA director who also ships higher-value garments, said no fewer than 20 new brands known for premium products had begun trading with Bangladesh in the past five years.
The sector’s rising capability has attracted fresh scrutiny following claims that a suit worn by US President Donald Trump at a political rally came from a factory belonging to Ananta Group.
Separately, a Bangladeshi factory owner said a plant in Ashulia had made clothing worn by the US astronauts who circled the Moon in April.
Such episodes underline how far the country has progressed beyond the cheap, basic lines long associated with it.
Size of the premium segment is disputed
Exporters put premium products at around 10% to 15% of Bangladesh’s garment shipments, with some going as high as 20%. They noted that no widely accepted official or private-sector dataset establishes the true proportion.
Whatever the exact figure, industry representatives agree that higher-value garments have gained ground over the last decade, with some suggesting the share has doubled or more.
BGMEA vice-president Mijanur Rahman said premium lines may have represented about 3% of garment exports ten years ago, against an estimated 10% today. Mustafiz added that Bangladesh shipped roughly $2 billion of higher-value apparel a decade ago and now exports more than $5 billion.
A September 2026 study by the non-governmental organisation Bangladesh Apparel Voice, drawing on Export Promotion Bureau and International Trade Centre data, estimated that advanced apparel categories (outerwear, dresses, sportswear, technical wear and suits) made up 9.35% of Bangladesh’s garment exports in 2025. The equivalent global share was 30.46%.
Bangladesh earned about $38.70 billion from garment exports in fiscal 2025-26. At a 10 to 15% share, premium shipments would therefore be worth roughly $3.87 billion to $5.81 billion.
Producers scale up premium output
Team Group sells about $120 million of jackets and other outerwear each year, around 60% of it higher-value product, Asif said.
Outerwear represents roughly 40% of the group’s total exports, which top $300 million annually. Its customers include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Engelbert Strauss, Schöffel, Scott, Carhartt and Montbell, he added.
UBF Bridal Limited, located in the Adamjee Export Processing Zone, specialises in wedding gowns retailing at $400 to $1,000 each. Company information shows it exported over $5 million of garments in 2025-26, nearly all of them premium lines.
Bangladesh has about 3,000 export-oriented garment factories, yet no precise figures exist on how many make higher-value clothing.
Sources at BGMEA and BKMEA said only a few firms work exclusively on premium lines, though they believe the total could exceed 100.
Leading names in the segment include Youngone Corporation, DBL Group, Team Group, Snowtex, Epyllion, SQ Group, Square, Urmi, Universal, Fakir Group and Ananta Group.
Price is not the only yardstick
A retail tag above $50 is commonly taken as the marker of a higher-value garment, industry representatives said, though brands apply no single definition.
Some buyers also rely on standard minute value (SMV), the time a trained operator needs to complete a garment or a given operation under set working conditions.
One benchmark cited by manufacturers classes woven garments of 50 SMV or more, and knitwear above 12 SMV, as higher-value. These thresholds are not universal, however.
Asif said price and SMV do not settle the matter alone, as brand strength and market acceptance count too.
Team Group makes what it calls a real-down jacket, built with duck down, natural fibres and costlier trims.
He said ordinary fibre costs $2.50 a kilogram, whereas the fibres used in this jacket can reach $120 a kilogram in some cases, with specialist finishing and tailoring adding further value.
Why exporters are scaling up
Ridwan Zahir Khan, a director of Ananta Garments Limited, said profits from basics are hard to come by, with margins of 2% to 3% difficult to reach, whereas upmarket garments should return 10% or better. In his view, firms have no other route to remain viable.
Mustafiz agreed, saying exporters have scant choice but to move upmarket as production costs keep climbing. Rising wages, raw material prices and other outgoings mean basics alone cannot sustain a business, he said.
Asif added that premium orders bring better payment terms and comparatively fewer difficulties. Working with well-known brands also helps manufacturers forge ties with other leading international labels, creating further openings in world markets, he said.
Further expansion anticipated
Exporters see mounting scope to grow premium shipments as costs rise among rival suppliers and global brands look to lessen their reliance on China.
They named China, Vietnam, Turkey, Italy, Indonesia and several other European countries as established premium suppliers.
Rising costs in many of those markets, and moves to diversify sourcing away from China, could open further opportunities for Bangladesh.
Cheap-and-basic reputation remains the chief hurdle
Exporters say Bangladesh is still widely regarded abroad as a source of cheap, basic garments, and that this perception remains a major barrier to attracting big-name brands.
“Mustafiz listed further obstacles, including reliance on imported high-grade raw materials and gaps in skills and technology,” TBS reported.
Exporters insist the country is gradually overcoming these problems. Those who have visited and traded here have revised their views, they said, which has encouraged new buyers to enter the market while many others make enquiries.
Image courtesy: Senivpetro on Freepik
