The New Automated Jeans Factory In L.A.—A Blueprint For Reshoring Apparel Manufacturing?

The discussion about reshoring apparel manufacturing from outsourced factories in Asia, back to Europe and the US, has heated up during the pandemic. As online apparel shopping surges, brands’ inability to respond to fast-changing consumer demands due to painfully slow design, sampling, and production have left them vulnerable to overstock and high-level discounting. It has also wiped out several brands and retailers unable to adapt. In a recent conversation with Achim Berg, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and Leader of their global Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Group, the barriers to reshoring, and nearshoring, were made clear. The CAPEX required is significant, and no one has wanted to foot the bill—until now, it seems. Sanjeev Bahl, the founder of Saitex International denim manufacturer, headquartered in Dong Nai, Vietnam, has established the first integrated mass-manufacturing facility in L.A., leveraging the existing local denim industry expertise, but underpinned by cutting-edge technology. Why L.A? What does this mean for reshoring of apparel manufacturing around the globe? And how does such a facility shift the needle in terms of production-on-demand, elimination of overstock, and social and environmental sustainability? I dug into these facets of Saitex’s new U.S-based business during an interview with Sanjeev Bahl to understand where global apparel manufacturing and reshoring may be…