Coats Global CEO in Colombo to address local/intl fashion industries at SLDF 2015

Coats is one brand that needs no introduction to Sri Lankans as it has become a household name when it comes to thread, yarn and zips. During his visit to Sri Lanka to take part in this year’s Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF), Coats PLC Global CEO Paul Forman shared his insights with the Daily FT on the steps that Coats as a company has taken to support supply chains in a sustainable manner

Q: Coats operation in Sri Lanka works very closely with the local businesses and the market. They work with the industry, the young talent, the grass-root level operations, etc. How do you see this unique way of a multinational operation working so closely with the local community?

A: Coats is a global company – operating in over 70 countries, across six continents worldwide and our products are sold in more than 100 countries. But that global scale only works because it is supported by the close relationships we have with our individual local markets around the world. The diversity and complexity of our operations means we also attach great importance to our impact on the local communities in which we operate. 

Sri Lanka is a particularly important market for us because so many global brands source from here. We have tested and soft launched a number of our new products and services here because it provides us with a unique contained market which demonstrates many of the behaviours and demands we face at a wider global level. Consequently the local Coats team have particularly close links to the business and market here.

Q: Coats Sri Lanka annually supports Sri Lanka Design Festival, which you will be joining this year too. How important is it for Coats to support local fashion industries through partnerships like this? How does it make business sense for Coats?

A: Coats is a long standing partner and supporter of SLDF so I am very pleased to once again be participating in it this year. It is a major event not just for Sri Lanka but also provides a platform to showcase our products and services to the global apparel industry. In terms of industry reach and positioning it represents much more than simply supporting the local fashion industry. Sri Lanka is a global industry sourcing hub and the content and level of the SLDF reflects that.

As we continue to grow our business we remain committed to close engagement with all of our stakeholders – SDLF is very much part of that impetus.

Q: Your talk at the Sri Lanka Design Festival, South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum is much awaited by many. Can you give us a quick indication on what to expect?

A: The South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum features a range of speakers from a wide cross section of our industry and looks set to be a fascinating morning of insight and discussion.

During my presentation I will be discussing approaches to encourage and embed growth into the DNA of a company, drawing on examples from our own experience at Coats. I will start by assessing the context for innovating and then move on to consider the challenges to reaching the optimum mix of culture and process to encourage, develop and support innovation successfully. I will also touch on the fact that the consumer is still king and how Tier 2 suppliers, like Coats, need to be looking further along the supply chain to the needs of that end consumer and innovating their products in response to some of those demands.