too long to fit in one post....
Continued....
Some companies argue that they lose nothing by moving offshore because they can no longer find skills that were once a core part of Italian craftsmanship. A talent to sew shoe uppers, for example, hasn't been passed on to younger generations of Italians.
Even harder than sustaining quality, executives agree, is managing the perceptions of consumers. Valentino, a unit of fashion and textile maker Marzotto SpA, rips out the "Made in Egypt" tags in its suits before shipping them to boutiques in Europe, where companies don't have to divulge where they make their products. For the U.S. and Japanese markets, where labeling rules are stricter, Valentino produces suits in Italy, where it also still makes its priciest items.
In the U.S. and Japan, "perceived quality is more important than real quality," says Valentino CEO Michele Norsa.
It's a proposition that seems to divide consumers. "If I knew an expensive piece came from China, I'd have a problem with it," says Robert Ekblom, a London-based banker. "I'd rather buy something unbranded," he adds. Daniela Witte, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother, also from London, doesn't have such qualms: "If I love the color, the cut and the design, I don't give a toss about where it's made," she says.
Some luxury brands are hoping to educate consumers. Stitched inside Celine's Macadam handbags is a brown leather tag telling customers that the product is designed in Paris and "handcrafted in China with the greatest attention to quality and detail."
Others have dipped their toes in the water and withdrawn. Silvia Stein Bocchese, president of Miles SpA, a high-end Italian knitwear maker, says the company was happy with the crochet sweaters it manufactured in China for closely held Dolce & Gabbana. But the client asked her to stop because it wanted a "Made in Italy" label, both sides say. Ms. Bocchese says "many don't want their brand tied to China" for image reasons.
Stitch Like an Egyptian
Valentino didn't have such preconceptions when, at the end of 2002, it received a call from Cairo-based A-Arafa Group SAE. Italian textile giant Marzotto had just acquired the Valentino label and was looking to cut costs. Valentino already produced some menswear in Eastern Europe. In 2004, the hourly labor cost of a textile worker in Italy was $18.63 compared with 88 cents in Egypt, according to U.S. management consultant Werner International Inc.
The Egyptian company had recently signed a contract to buy technical know-how from a menswear producer, based in the northern Italian city of Vicenza. As part of the contract, A-Arafa received patterns and designs. The Italian company, Nervesa Uomo SpA, sent several technicians to A-Arafa's factory in Cairo and allowed 30 Egyptian staffers to spend five months at its facilities. A-Arafa commissioned an Egyptian television crew to film every step of the tailoring process from cutting fabric to stitching buttons. The crew made 140 videotapes.
In 2003, after A-Arafa successfully negotiated a trial run making two dozen suits, Valentino awarded it a contract. At the beginning of this year, the factory began making its first batch of Valentino suits. A second load of 12,000 suits -- which will retail at about $1,300 -- are now being shipped for the 2006 spring/summer season.
Valentino still designs its products in Italy and keeps strict control over the Egyptian assembly line. It makes some parts of the suit in Italy, such as the shoulder pad and the breastplate. Valentino executives say they are pleased with the quality, though they acknowledge that about 3% of suits have some faults and are sent back. Valentino says it doesn't have a comparative figure for suits made in Italy.
At the A-Arafa factory, managers hadn't been told that the "Made in Egypt" labels are pulled off after the suits are shipped to Italy.
"It makes me sad that they take off the tags," said the factory's 39-year-old product manager, Yaser Husien Nada, when informed of the procedure. "But I am very happy to be making products for Europeans."
Write to Alessandra Galloni at [email protected], Cecilie Rohwedder at [email protected] and Teri Agins at [email protected]
I, too, agree that being made in China is fine, but object when the items is priced so high!
Continued....
Some companies argue that they lose nothing by moving offshore because they can no longer find skills that were once a core part of Italian craftsmanship. A talent to sew shoe uppers, for example, hasn't been passed on to younger generations of Italians.
Even harder than sustaining quality, executives agree, is managing the perceptions of consumers. Valentino, a unit of fashion and textile maker Marzotto SpA, rips out the "Made in Egypt" tags in its suits before shipping them to boutiques in Europe, where companies don't have to divulge where they make their products. For the U.S. and Japanese markets, where labeling rules are stricter, Valentino produces suits in Italy, where it also still makes its priciest items.
In the U.S. and Japan, "perceived quality is more important than real quality," says Valentino CEO Michele Norsa.
It's a proposition that seems to divide consumers. "If I knew an expensive piece came from China, I'd have a problem with it," says Robert Ekblom, a London-based banker. "I'd rather buy something unbranded," he adds. Daniela Witte, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother, also from London, doesn't have such qualms: "If I love the color, the cut and the design, I don't give a toss about where it's made," she says.
Some luxury brands are hoping to educate consumers. Stitched inside Celine's Macadam handbags is a brown leather tag telling customers that the product is designed in Paris and "handcrafted in China with the greatest attention to quality and detail."
Others have dipped their toes in the water and withdrawn. Silvia Stein Bocchese, president of Miles SpA, a high-end Italian knitwear maker, says the company was happy with the crochet sweaters it manufactured in China for closely held Dolce & Gabbana. But the client asked her to stop because it wanted a "Made in Italy" label, both sides say. Ms. Bocchese says "many don't want their brand tied to China" for image reasons.
Stitch Like an Egyptian
Valentino didn't have such preconceptions when, at the end of 2002, it received a call from Cairo-based A-Arafa Group SAE. Italian textile giant Marzotto had just acquired the Valentino label and was looking to cut costs. Valentino already produced some menswear in Eastern Europe. In 2004, the hourly labor cost of a textile worker in Italy was $18.63 compared with 88 cents in Egypt, according to U.S. management consultant Werner International Inc.
The Egyptian company had recently signed a contract to buy technical know-how from a menswear producer, based in the northern Italian city of Vicenza. As part of the contract, A-Arafa received patterns and designs. The Italian company, Nervesa Uomo SpA, sent several technicians to A-Arafa's factory in Cairo and allowed 30 Egyptian staffers to spend five months at its facilities. A-Arafa commissioned an Egyptian television crew to film every step of the tailoring process from cutting fabric to stitching buttons. The crew made 140 videotapes.
In 2003, after A-Arafa successfully negotiated a trial run making two dozen suits, Valentino awarded it a contract. At the beginning of this year, the factory began making its first batch of Valentino suits. A second load of 12,000 suits -- which will retail at about $1,300 -- are now being shipped for the 2006 spring/summer season.
Valentino still designs its products in Italy and keeps strict control over the Egyptian assembly line. It makes some parts of the suit in Italy, such as the shoulder pad and the breastplate. Valentino executives say they are pleased with the quality, though they acknowledge that about 3% of suits have some faults and are sent back. Valentino says it doesn't have a comparative figure for suits made in Italy.
At the A-Arafa factory, managers hadn't been told that the "Made in Egypt" labels are pulled off after the suits are shipped to Italy.
"It makes me sad that they take off the tags," said the factory's 39-year-old product manager, Yaser Husien Nada, when informed of the procedure. "But I am very happy to be making products for Europeans."
Write to Alessandra Galloni at [email protected], Cecilie Rohwedder at [email protected] and Teri Agins at [email protected]
I, too, agree that being made in China is fine, but object when the items is priced so high!
