He described buyers as having previously been 'hunters' who roamed the world seeking out suppliers but were now more 'reapers', preferring to wait for suppliers to come to them.
"Buyers do not understand as much about making things as buyers did previously."
Increasingly, he said, retailers were looking for partnerships with firms who are developing their own designs and can offer a wider service than being mere contract manufacturers.
This made marketing skills more important as it allowed manufacturers to project themselves better and justify higher prices.
He also stressed the importance of 'narrow casting' - of manufacturers following a limited number of clients rather than trying to cast their net wide.
Marketing skills, he said, would also help Sri Lanka's clothing industry, one of its top export earners, become less dependent on the