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Nine Bangladeshi apparel exporters, who supplied clothing products to British retailer Debenhams, are left in the dark about their dues of $2.4 million as the retailer closed its last store on Saturday.
Debenhams, the UK’s oldest retailer, which began its trading more than 240 years ago, finally shut the door of its last store on May 15.
According to a rough estimate of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Debenhams owed at least $2.4 million to nine Bangladeshi garment exporters.
The figure could be bigger as BGMEA said it is yet to get a response from all of its members regarding the dues.
“Nine apparel exporters, who supplied clothing products to Debenhams, are yet to realise $2.4 million from the retailer,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told The Business Post.
“As the company is shutting down its operation, we have sought data from our members about their dues to Debenhams. As of today [Monday], nine apparel exporters placed data, claiming $2.4 million,” said the business leader.
The figure could be higher as there may be more exporters who did not get back their dues, he added.
As of May, last year, Debenhams either cancelled or held work orders to Bangladeshi companies worth $23.6 million, said the BGMEA official.
As per the apex trade body of the RMG sector, global apparel brands and retailers cancelled or held work orders of $3.18 billion in face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a trade organisation, we are working on it and after getting the full data, legal action would be taken through international court,” said Azim.
According to reports, Debenhams, which was bought by UK-based fashion retailer Boohoo for £55m in January, would continue its sales through online marketplace.
In 2019, the British retailer went into administration following a drastic fall in sales for the last few years. The financial crisis was expedited by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to bankruptcy.
In December 2020, the company owners announced the business was suffering severely and cut 12,000 jobs.
