Garment manufacturer Quang Viet Enterprise Co Ltd (廣越企業) yesterday said its revenue last year rose to a record high, thanks to growing demand for down jackets because of the recent extremely cold weather in North America.
Sales for the whole of last year totaled NT$10.2 billion (US$345.3 million), a 12.89 percent jump from NT$9.04 billion in 2016, the company said in a statement.
Quang Viet sales last month soared 53.68 percent year-on-year to NT$721.46 million from NT$469.45 million, the highest monthly result in its history.
“The company received some rush orders from overseas brand clients last month,” because of the colder-than-average weather, a Quang Viet investor relations official said by telephone.
German sportswear giant Adidas AG last year remained the Taipei-headquartered company’s largest brand customer, while Patagonia and The North Face ranked second and third respectively.
The official, who declined to be named, said that the company is upbeat about its business outlook for this quarter, as the weather effect is expected to continue stimulating sales of warm clothes in the first quarter.
It also forecast a rebound in profitability this year, as it plans to raise its average selling price by between 3 and 5 percent to reflect soaring duck feather costs, which have weighed on its gross margin in recent years.
Gross margin last year was between 17 and 18 percent, compared with 19.34 percent for 2015.
Quang Viet said it expects a stable revenue contribution from its newly acquired subsidiaries this year, as Jordan-based Atlanta Garment Manufacturing Co is expected to generate yearly revenue of between US$15 million and US$20 million.
It plans to add 20 production lines at its plant in Vietnam’s Tien Giang Province and build 20 lines at its Long An Province plant.
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