Garment manufacturer Quang Viet Enterprise Co (廣越) yesterday provided a positive sales outlook for next year, supported by soaring orders of Gore-Tex products from its major clients.
The company produces high-end down jackets for global sportswear and functional clothing firms including Adidas AG and North Face Inc.
The garment maker last year obtained Gore-Tex certification, which has boosted shipments of those products.
Quang Viet plans to ship 200,000 Gore-Tex jackets next year, compared with 30,000 units this year and 20,000 units last year.
“A number of our major clients showed interest in our Gore-Tex products and decided to increase their orders,” Quang Viet president Charles Wu (吳朝筆) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Those clients include Montbell Co Ltd, Aigle, Nike Inc and Patagonia Inc, he said, adding that Quang Viet would add two or three more sportswear customers next year.
Asked about the firm’s plans in Vietnam, Wu said it would not change an ongoing capacity expansion program, despite rising uncertainty over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
US president-elect Donald Trump said in a video on Monday that he would issue a note of intent to withdraw from the TPP after taking office in January.
However, even without the TPP, Vietnam still enjoys zero-tariff status with several markets through other free-trade agreements, such as Beijing’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Wu told investors, adding that under the Generalized System of Preferences framework, Vietnam’s apparel exports to the EU are also to be exempt of tariffs from 2018.
Vietnam’s cross-border trade tax environment helps Quang Viet maintain a number of advantages, compared with its biggest competitor, South Korea’s Youngone Corp, Wu said, adding that Youngone’s factories are mostly based in Bangladesh.
Quang Viet operates 225 production lines at two plants in Vietnam, company data showed.
Quang Viet plans to add 15 production lines at its plant in Vietnam’s Tien Giang Province, it said, adding that it is also building a new plan in Long An Province, which is scheduled to begin production in the first quarter of next year.
Quant Viet shares yesterday fell 0.71 percent to close at NT$140 in Taipei trading, while the benchmark TAIEX rose 0.49 percent to 9,178.23 points.
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