A 22 member delegation of El Corte Ingles Group visited Pakistan from February 21 to 27, 2011 with the aim of initiating a large sourcing operation. The delegation was led by the Director and Head of Supply Chain of the group. The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan offered complete hospitality and also arranged match-making meetings of the buyers of the group with local manufacturers.
The purpose of the trip was to find products for a promotional fair of Pakistan in the stores of El Corte Ingles, which is planned for next year. The goods for the fair will be procured and imported into Spain and thereafter sold through dedicated sections in the stores under the normal vending mechanism of the company. This will go a long way in not only introducing Pakistan and a number of its unknown goods to the Spanish market but would also be a catalyst in enhancing the export of these products in a sustainable way.
The delegation began its visit from Lahore and travelled to Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Karachi. The buyers represented home textiles, garments, leather products, footwear, accessories, home décor, sports goods and sportswear, kitchen and dining utensils, general consumer items etc. In short, it covered almost all the product range offered by Pakistan.
The delegation held 242 meetings and made 59 visits to manufacturing units in 6 days. Some orders like denim, sportswear, home textiles were signed during the visit whereas follow ups through product development and meetings in the head office of the group continue.
