My mom just went on vacation and had a flight transfer in Paris. Their group stopped at the Longchamp store and bought LePliages (sp?) and afterwards my mom looked and saw that the bag she bought was made in China. She thought that they were supposed to be made in France so she returned it because she was worried that it was lesser quality. She told me and I was wondering if that bag that was made in China was real? I have a LePliage and it says made in France, and I thought they were all made in france?
Longchamp- made in China??
- Thread starter jcriley5
- Start date
Does it matter where it was made as long as the workshipman was excellent?
Made in China is not synomous with poor workmanship as there are many excellent craftpeople and artisans there. Also, China has a history of leatherwork that dates back at least four thousand years.
Made in China is not synomous with poor workmanship as there are many excellent craftpeople and artisans there. Also, China has a history of leatherwork that dates back at least four thousand years.
There have been a couple threads on this "where are Longchamp bags made" question, the most recent is this one: http://forum.purseblog.com/handbags-and-purses/longchamp-le-pliage-long-vs-short-handles-191754.html
Looks like there's no clear answer, maybe you could call a Longchamp store and see what they say.
Looks like there's no clear answer, maybe you could call a Longchamp store and see what they say.
It might be the same thing as with Linea Pelle...read the Linea Pelle Made in China thing. The website Cooper purchased her LP from emailed her regarding LP's whole process and reasoning behind having their bags made in China. Maybe the same holds true to LongChamp bags.
ive actually looked into this as a result of some of the other threads. apparently SOME of the les pliages bags are made in france, some china (im not sure what the pattern is, maybe by color?) but ITA with Nirodha. as long as its a quality brand and quality materials, who cares where its made? i dont know why people make such a big stink over it.
For me, the issue is not a question of Chinese quality but what puts me off is the brand's drive for a deeper profit margin. If made in Chinese or any secondary manufacturing, it should not be priced as high as made in the originating country as labor cost is now much lower. Prices for European brands constantly increases, they cite stronger Euro, greater demand, blah, blah, blah....but when they have lowered there expenses, they never extend a price decrease to the consumer. Secondly, when I buy a French brand, and pay their premium, I expect MADE in FRANCE, or else its not worth the money.
Yes, it matters a great deal, and it rarely has anything to do with quality. As a consumer, I don't want to support Chinese manufacturing. They've cheated to get a lot of the business, they're an environmental and human/animal-rights nightmare, and I greatly resent any company that takes part or all of their manufacturing over there only to charge the same amount--or worse, represent themselves as a "luxury" line when they cut as many corners as possible. Kooba started out being made in Italy for less than half of their current prices, and now that demand is up, they've cut their costs to the bone by going to China, but surprise surprise, the prices have more than doubled.
I highly recommend reading "Deluxe, How Luxury Lost Its Lustre" as it will open your eyes to a lot of what's happening. The author says that Hong Kong knows it's a Chinese holiday when they can see the sun because they're downwind from most of the manufacturing, and it's THAT bad for them air-quality wise.
China matters. A lot.
I highly recommend reading "Deluxe, How Luxury Lost Its Lustre" as it will open your eyes to a lot of what's happening. The author says that Hong Kong knows it's a Chinese holiday when they can see the sun because they're downwind from most of the manufacturing, and it's THAT bad for them air-quality wise.
China matters. A lot.
M
mimi
I just came back from a trip in Paris and purchased a large Pliage bag with short handles...
I knew that some of the smaller Longchamp accessories (i.e.- coinpurses and wallets) were now manufactured in China, but was very surprised to see that the Pliage bags at the boutiques and department stores were missing the "Made in France" heat stamp on the back of the leather flap. I checked out the inner tag of the bags without the "Made in France" heat stamp, and sure enough, they were all made in China. It was quite disappointing to say the least (I totally agree with Ammietwist and Happy1 in their comments above).
However, there were some Pliage bags available that were "Made in France", but very few...I had to look through all the racks to see which ones had the Made in France heat stamp, which turned out to be 1 in 15 or so. I was also very surprised to see that the heatstamps varied greatly between the Pliage styles and colors! For example, one bag would have heatstamped "Le Pliage Longchamp Type 'L'" on the upper row, and on another bag, the upper row would have just "Longchamp" and underneath it would say "Le Pliage Longchamp Type 'L'". Every bag was heatstamped differently and inconsistently, which leads me to feel uneasy about the quality control and care for consistency in the product.
Personally, I feel quite disappointed after this experience. It wouldn't surprise me if the bags that are supposedly Made in France were actually 90% made in China, and then finished in France in order to warrant the "Made in France" stamp.
I knew that some of the smaller Longchamp accessories (i.e.- coinpurses and wallets) were now manufactured in China, but was very surprised to see that the Pliage bags at the boutiques and department stores were missing the "Made in France" heat stamp on the back of the leather flap. I checked out the inner tag of the bags without the "Made in France" heat stamp, and sure enough, they were all made in China. It was quite disappointing to say the least (I totally agree with Ammietwist and Happy1 in their comments above).
However, there were some Pliage bags available that were "Made in France", but very few...I had to look through all the racks to see which ones had the Made in France heat stamp, which turned out to be 1 in 15 or so. I was also very surprised to see that the heatstamps varied greatly between the Pliage styles and colors! For example, one bag would have heatstamped "Le Pliage Longchamp Type 'L'" on the upper row, and on another bag, the upper row would have just "Longchamp" and underneath it would say "Le Pliage Longchamp Type 'L'". Every bag was heatstamped differently and inconsistently, which leads me to feel uneasy about the quality control and care for consistency in the product.
Personally, I feel quite disappointed after this experience. It wouldn't surprise me if the bags that are supposedly Made in France were actually 90% made in China, and then finished in France in order to warrant the "Made in France" stamp.
I just found this article online:
"Longchamp also owns other production sites. At just a step away from Segré, the Combrée factory employs 160 persons. Other units are located in the West of France: in Mayenne in Château-Gontier (120 employees) and Ernée (120 persons), the only site specialised in leather luggage; Rémalard in the Orne (40 persons) and Montournais in Vendée (80 peoples). Abroad, Longchamp has a factory in Mauritius, dedicated to the making of the small leathergoods. In Tunisia, there is a partnership with a unit which exclusively works for Longchamp. The firm has also various subcontractors in France and abroad, especially in Asia."
Kind of a relief to me, since I am eyeing a Longchamp bag made in Tunisia on eBay right now..
I have a bag from the Longchamp vintage line and it is made in France, but it is some years older.. Hope this helps!
"Longchamp also owns other production sites. At just a step away from Segré, the Combrée factory employs 160 persons. Other units are located in the West of France: in Mayenne in Château-Gontier (120 employees) and Ernée (120 persons), the only site specialised in leather luggage; Rémalard in the Orne (40 persons) and Montournais in Vendée (80 peoples). Abroad, Longchamp has a factory in Mauritius, dedicated to the making of the small leathergoods. In Tunisia, there is a partnership with a unit which exclusively works for Longchamp. The firm has also various subcontractors in France and abroad, especially in Asia."
Kind of a relief to me, since I am eyeing a Longchamp bag made in Tunisia on eBay right now..
I have a bag from the Longchamp vintage line and it is made in France, but it is some years older.. Hope this helps!
In that case, you would be hard put to buy anything these days. Unfortunately, China is where the world wants to get its stuff made. When it comes to ethical issues, we could argue till the cows come home but the fact of the matter is, if these people did not work in the conditions they did, they would be starving and homeless. I'm not making excuses, just pointing out the harsh realities that can sometimes be blurred when we look at them through our own privileged, rose-tinted glasses.
And no, I don't live in China.
Yes, it does matter where it's made because they're still charging the same made-in-Europe prices.
Also, it's NEVER been a quality issue for many of us, and I'm part of a group spreading the word about luxury items (and others) being made in China. They're not a friend of the U.S. or anyone else that's freedom loving, they're an environmental nightmare, their human and animal-rights records are atrocious, and they're cheating on the world financial markets to lure businesses there.
It matters a lot, more than you can ever know, and as a consumer, I really don't want to support a country like that. There's also something morally repugnant about a brand claiming their European or U.S. connection while cutting costs to the bone and charging the same prices.
Also, it's NEVER been a quality issue for many of us, and I'm part of a group spreading the word about luxury items (and others) being made in China. They're not a friend of the U.S. or anyone else that's freedom loving, they're an environmental nightmare, their human and animal-rights records are atrocious, and they're cheating on the world financial markets to lure businesses there.
It matters a lot, more than you can ever know, and as a consumer, I really don't want to support a country like that. There's also something morally repugnant about a brand claiming their European or U.S. connection while cutting costs to the bone and charging the same prices.
To the OP, they're doing this because a lot of the brands out there aren't happy staying the same size corporately speaking, and they want to be a "world brand." That means drowning the marketplace in your stuff, and it's easier to just go to China instead of opening new factories (hiring, training...etc.) in the originating country. It's a tacky practice, and as myself and another person have said in our replies, the savings isn't getting passed on to the consumer.
I have 1 wallet, 1 coin purse, 2 cosmetic purses, and 1 backpack, and everything says Made in France. I got everything from Longchamp boutique in Athens.
I wonder if only airports have products made in China...
I wouldn't buy something that says Made In Chine in European price.... Better get something cheaper, without a big brand name like Longchamp, I'm not brand oriented...
I don't care where it's made but it's annoying when I'm paying a lot more than I should! And I heard that Longchamp is increasing their prices! 