Business-to-Business meetings (B2B) were organised on Thursday by the Export Promotion Centre (CEPEX) at the Exporter House. They brought together the German mail-order clothing group “Otto International” and Tunisian industrialists operating in the knit/jersey sector.
Representatives from the Milan branch of this group, namely “Otto International Scan-Thor,” responsible for the Italian and Tunisian markets in terms of sourcing new suppliers, order management, and control, had discussions with ten Tunisian producers of knit/jersey clothing. The Tunisian producers showcased their samples, latest collections, and creations.
“The knit and jersey sector has been of particular interest to the Italian subsidiary of the group, given Tunisia’s undeniable performance (ranking 8th as Italy’s global supplier with 1,048 million dinars of exports in 2022, surpassing some major players in this field, namely Turkey, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Morocco).
The knit sector alone represents 55% of Tunisia’s total clothing exports to Italy in 2022, with a clear growth of around 20% compared to 2021.
As a reminder, Tunisia exported a total of 2.1 billion dinars of textile and clothing articles to Italy in 2022 and 1 billion dinars during the first five months of 2023,” clarified the CEPEX.
“This visit, the second of its kind following the one in September 2022 dedicated to the jeans and denim sector, confirms the interest in Tunisia as a reliable production site and attests to the proven performance of Tunisian textile and clothing manufacturers.”
“Showing interest in Tunisia’s knit offering, the representatives of ‘Otto International Scan-Thor’ expressed their willingness to expand their sourcing in Tunisia to other clothing sectors such as ready-to-wear, knitwear, footwear, and household linen,” announced the CEPEX.
“The online and mail-order sales sector had reached its peak during the COVID-19 crisis (2020-2021), which notably affected Europe and especially Italy. Although it has significantly subsided, it has nonetheless disrupted certain practices and left an indelible mark on consumer behaviour, much to the delight of e-commerce players,” concluded the CEPEX.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse