Fraying at the margins

Written by Attina Zhang Published: 08-03-2026

Overview

Saitex is a Vietnamese garment manufacturer and one of the world's most cited sustainable denim producers, the first B Corp-certified factory in Asia, supplying brands including G-Star Raw, Everlane, Madewell, and J.Crew. As fast fashion retailers accelerate their design cycles (Zara now runs a 2 to 3 week design-to-store cycle and drops thousands of new styles a year), Saitex is under mounting pressure: shorter lead times, smaller batch sizes, more frequent line changeovers, and intensifying competition from lower-cost rivals in Bangladesh and Cambodia. Despite its premium sustainability positioning, gross margins have compressed from 22% to 15% since 2019. The CEO has hired you to identify how to restore long-term profitability.

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