Walmart sourcing non-Egyptian cotton products: Welspun

Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) Home linen major Welspun, whichwas caught in trouble recently after some of its major USclients stopped sourcing its products, today said Walmart willcontinue to source from it barring those products made ofEgyptian cotton. Walmart last month followed fellow US retailer Targetin recalling Welspun bedsheets and pillow covers after it cameto light that the home linen it sold saying as made ofEgyptian cotton were not in fact made from the premium yarntypical of the West Asian nation. Walmart used to sell Welspun’s sheets and pillow casesunder the labels of Better Homes & Gardens and Canopy. In aBSE filing today, Welspun India, which has appointedconsultancy firm E&Y to look into the alleged lapses, said,"Walmart has assured us to do business together. We areworking to implement stronger controls and to better label theproducts we supply to them." The B K Goenka-led company further said, "The productline in question with Walmart accounts for around 1.5 per centof our business." "We take the current traceability concerns around some ofour product lines very seriously, and have been workingclosely with our retailer partners to support their actionstowards a comprehensive resolution programme," Welspun said. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart on the otherhand said in a separate statement that "Welspun has not beenable to assure us the products are 100 per cent Egyptiancotton, which is unacceptable. While the sheets are excellentquality, we are offering our customers a full refund." The Amercian retail giant was quick to add that itisn’t cutting ties with Welspun. Instead, it is working withWelspun to implement strong controls and better label theproducts. The Egyptian cotton product portfolio accounts for 6per cent of Welspun’s annual business. The company postedtotal net sales of Rs 5,387.66 crore in 2015-16. The problem started after Egypt began to reportmassive drop in cotton production. As per reports, it producedjust 1 per cent of the global cotton last year. The US-based retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond and JCPenny are also conducting third-party audit of items sourcedfrom Welspun, following lapses in supplies by theGujarat-based firm to Target. (More) PTI BEN KRK JMPTP