Chorka expanding targeting $200m lingerie export

Chorka Textile Ltd, a concern of Pran-RFL Group, has been expanding its capacity to export $200 million-worth lingerie and other garment items by the next two years. 

This was in response to big volumes of work orders coming in with the reopening of clothing stores in Europe and the US.

In fiscal 2020-21, the company exported lingerie worth $90 million from its Narsingdi-based garment factory, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pran-RFL Group, told a group of journalists at his factory on Saturday.

The factory has expanded its production capacity and launched production in double shifts to fulfil its target in the next two years. It has invested $70 million so far since Chorka was established in 2013.

Chorka's main product was lingerie but recently it diversified into bras, panties, t-shirts, sweat shirts, polo shirts, leggings, body suits and hoodies to achieve the export target, said Pran-RFL Group, which has an annual turnover of nearly $2 billion.

Currently, 120 lines produce eight million pieces of garment items in a month through 7,000 workers, 51 per cent of whom are female and 49 per cent male.

The company sources 50 per cent of raw materials from the local market and imports the rest like yarn, fancy laces, synthetic fabrics, elastic and sewing thread.

The global market size of lingerie is $42 billion and 30 to 35 local companies have been exporting $4 billion-worth worth of lingerie over the last three years, said Chowdhury.

Chorka mainly exports its goods to the US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, Canada, Australia, Poland, South Africa, the Netherlands, Switzerland, China and India.

"The lingerie markets have been growing every year globally. We have a lot of potential to grab more lingerie markets," said Chowdhury.