Industry

Cheap designer clothes made by EPZ on sale again in Nairobi

apparel

Hundreds of city residents at the KICC Tsavo Hall buy clothing made locally from various Export Processing Zones (EPZ) on March 29th, 2017. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Sale of cheap designer made-for-export clothes to Kenyans returns this weekend to Nairobi after similar stints in Mombasa and Nyeri.

The Export Promotion Zones Authority (EPZA) Tuesday said the four-day sale starting June 17 to June 21 will be held at KICC, giving traders and Kenyans access to high quality clothes at low prices.

The sale follows government's move to increase local market access for designer apparels made by EPZ firms to 40 per cent from the initial 20 per cent.

This allows the apparels firms to locally dispose 40 per cent of their entire production to the local market without paying duty.

Apparel EPZ factories employ about 42,000 Kenyans, generating sales of up to Sh36.9 billion from finished garments exported to global retail chains in the US, European Union and to the Middle East.

On Tuesday, EPZA said on its official Facebook page, “after three successful 'Buy Kenya, Build Kenya' sale of quality clothes manufactured by EPZ apparel firms, the sale is back in Nairobi for the second time.

"From 17 - 21 June 2017, at the KICC, Nairobi come get quality and affordable clothes. SAVE THE DATE!”

200,000 Kenyans

The government-led Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative launched in May attracted over 200,000 Kenyans during its first run in Nairobi in the first ever move to grant EPZ apparels firm a new avenue to generate local sales.

Industry, Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed said the drive was aimed at boosting demand via heightened sales, creating an urgent need for the firms to employ more Kenyans.

According to the EPZA’s annual report, apparels firm are unable to meet export demand and are currently seeking land for expansion.

Many firms have been unable to meet the new demand due to the high cost of land.

The clothes range from underwear, T-shirts, vests, blouses, shirts to trousers and socks.

Kenyans will access export quality items for as little as between Sh100 and Sh600 for items that go for as much as Sh6,000 in global markets.

Participating companies include Hela clothing, a licensed producer of global brands notably Victoria Secrets and Calvin Klein, Nairobi’s United Aryan, Mombasa Apparel and Africa Apparel.