Bangladesh: Arcadia Group’s failure to pay for completed orders pushes factory to brink of closure, endangering 2000 jobs
“Workers facing destitution as factory set to close within days unless Philip Green’s fashion empire pays for existing order”, 19 June 2020
A Bangladeshi factory owner has warned he will go out of business within days, leaving 2,000 workers facing “destitution” unless … Arcadia group honours contracts for thousands of items of clothing.
Mostafiz Uddin, who owns Denim Expert Limited in Chittagong, says his company is on the brink of collapse after months of requesting payments for goods that were ordered before the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Uddin … was forced to shut down production …
He now has potential orders from other companies pending but does not have the cash available to fulfil them because of money tied up in goods produced … Arcadia Group...
Arcadia said it had no direct relationship with Denim Expert but confirmed that it did have outstanding orders ... via a third party …
… The company offered to buy some of the goods but not until August, an offer which Mr Uddin said he could not accept…
According to … the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Arcadia Group cancelled £9m worth of orders in Bangladesh alone.
Globally, the group … cancelled as much as £100m, according to The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).