Zilingo CEO Bose on COVID shutdowns: 'It’s really bad timing for Vietnam'

Economics
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Ankiti Bose, Zilingo co-founder and CEO | Instagram / Ankiti Bose

With the holiday season fast approaching, companies are rushing to move manufacturing out of Vietnam, as rising COVID-19 infections have led to a shutdowns.

In a recent report by CNBC, Zilingo co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose said the country has completely collapsed amid the implementation of strict COVID policies.

“It’s really bad timing for Vietnam. The holiday season shipments need to happen right away,” Bose told CNBC.

As infection rates rise and vaccination counts remain low, a number of Vietnamese factories manufacturing apparel and shoes have shut down. Nike is one of the companies affected by the problem, CNBC reports.

Zilingo has been working hard to grow its portfolio of fashion brands as companies look to diversify their manufacturing capabilities across Asia, CNBC reports. This includes countries like Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. 

Though less than 10% of the fashion marketplace’s suppliers are based in Vietnam, CNBC reports the material used in much of Zilingo’s products are hard to find elsewhere, making the country an important hub.