Georgian Fashion House Materia Opens New Textile Factory in Tbilisi

A well-known Georgian fashion house, Materia, has opened a new textile factory in Tbilisi. The factory is up to European standards and employs 250 people.

Materia is the work of three Georgian designers: Lika Chitaia, Tiko Paksashvili, and Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili and is comprised of the two premium lines: Matériel and Dots.

Matériel is exported to 10 countries: Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Italy, China, Armenia, Kuwait, and Ukraine.

The company took out a 1.2 million GEL business loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to grow the business and open the new factory.

Matériel shops are located on Kote Abkhazi Street in Tbilisi and at the Hilton Batumi Hotel. A Matériel shop is opening soon in the United States in New York.

The new factory opened on February 3rd by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Giorgi Gakharia.

“It’s a very good example of a successful business,” the Minister said. “We’ll be supporting such factories in the frame of the state-led program ’Produce in Georgia’. The consumer goods industry is a field in which additional jobs can be created very rapidly.”

He then thanked the EBRD for its active involvement in the development of factories in Georgia and said that it is very important that Georgian products are exported abroad.

“Materia has a strong and diversified business,” the Minister said at the opening ceremony.

The Materia fashion house makes uniforms for the police, border police, municipal cleaning service, post office staff, Georgian Army, and even for the Georgian National Rugby Team.

Thea Morrison