Born in Bangladesh, worn around the world

How a footwear and component producer quickly gained a significant global market share, and is working to become the supplier of choice for the world’s biggest brands.

Since it began trading in January 1990, Apex Footwear Limited has been a major player within the Bangladeshi footwear industry. The company initially manufactured footwear for some of Japan’s largest retail shoe chains, and then expanded to producing men’s and women’s footwear for a number of the biggest brand owners and retailers in Europe and North America.

As a listed company on both the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges, Apex has developed a strong presence in major export markets within Europe, North America and Japan, as well as establishing a stronghold in the domestic market. The company has a dedicated vertically-integrated manufacturing facility, in which leather and outsoles are produced on a proprietary basis for export around the world. In addition, Apex has a separate dedicated integrated factory solely making products for the domestic market.

Having both OEM and ODM capabilities, Apex can follow designs and specifications provided by a brand, as well as develop new designs in line with international fashion trends. Every year, the company creates two new collections, for spring/summer and autumn/winter, which are said to be the result of extensive market research inspired by the leading style trends.

Apex has enjoyed a long association with the Italian leather and footwear industry. The company’s product development capabilities are backed up by a dedicated 42,000 square foot design laboratory in its factory, and well-established links with leading component makers in Italy, China and India. Apex has recently opened a new office in the USA to cater to the global brands in the North American region.

Fully equipped

Whether for domestic business or export, Apex has a vertically-integrated supply chain that is said to ensure end-to-end visibility and control to deliver quality products and service. In line with this, 96 per cent of the leather used in the company’s products is sourced from Leather Working Group (LWG)-rated tanneries, and bio-degradable components are used in its footwear. The recycled content is also being increased in Apex insole and outsoles.

Described as ‘state-of-the-art’, the Apex factory encompasses areas dedicated to tanning, the manufacture of insoles, outsoles, toe-puffs (box toes) and stiffeners (counters), as well as shoemaking, all of which are located ‘under one roof’. The production facility is equipped with 120 cutting machines for precision cutting, 24 sewing lines and 12 assembly lines. In a single-shift operation, the factory has the rated capacity to produce 9,000 pairs of shoes per shift. In addition, there is a dedicated sports shoe production facility inside the same campus that is equipped with two assembly lines able to produce 3,000 pairs per shift.

As part of its ongoing commitment to high standards of corporate governance and ethical conduct, Apex works in line with the complex web of global regulations. Therefore, the organisation is subject to a multitude of laws and regulations, including LEED, LWG, WORLDLY, amfori BSCI & BEPI, ISO 9001, 45001, 14001, ALLIANCE, BEFS, WRAP, SLCP, SEDEX and REACH.

The company’s laboratory is equipped to support general, safety and waterproof product lines, and the facility was recently accredited by SATRA. According to an Apex spokesperson, the company chooses to work with SATRA because of its expertise and services, which are designed to support companies in manufacturing safe, high-quality products, staying compliant with regulations and remaining competitive in their respective markets.

Sustainable Development Goals

As the world moves towards adoption of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Apex has announced the start of its own journey in the same direction and published its second sustainability report in 2022. This commitment to the SDGs is said to be evident throughout the company’s entire value chain, from sourcing materials to delivering the final product to customers.

Apex achieves this aim by considering each SDG while designing its production process and workflow. This holistic approach reportedly ensures that sustainability is embedded in Apex Footwear’s operations. From the 17 goals on the UN list, Apex has focused on the specific SDGs that are relevant to its organisation and the footwear industry.

This strategic alignment is said to have allowed the company to have a targeted impact through several SDGs. Such policies are equally applied within its large domestic business which, during 2023, brought in revenue of USD 115 million.

The Sustainable Development Goals on which it is concentrating are numbers 3 (‘good health and well-being’), 5 (‘gender equality’), 6 (‘clean water and sanitation’), 7 (‘affordable and clean energy’), 8 (‘decent work and economic growth’), 9 (‘industry, innovation and infrastructure’), 10 (‘reduced inequalities’), 12 (‘responsible consumption and production’), 13 (‘climate action’), 15 (‘life on land’), 16 (‘peace, justice and strong institutions’), and 17 (‘partnerships for the goals’).

To conclude this visit to Apex Footwear, we will again turn to a company representative who, highlighting its ongoing business plans, comments: “Apex has come a long way. In our future focus, we will concentrate more on ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ initiatives and product development capabilities in new categories. We will also focus on new markets, more value-driven products and product line extensions to expand our reach and cater to leading brands of the world. The target ultimately is to become the factory of choice for the brands.”

The photograph at the top of this article shows the Apex factory, which can produce 9,000 pairs of shoes per shift, in addition to 3,000 pairs of sports footwear.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 24 of the June 2024 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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