Luxury...........a brave new world

[Les Tambours]

Don't be confused by the fashion industry and the journalists coverering that industry using the word 'luxury' in two contexts.
1: expensive, hyped up, fashionable and probably manufactured in sub-human conditions. Throw away fashion with a big price tag.
2: costly, well-made or often hand crafted that doesn't need a lot of advertising, or bespoke made by craftspeople earning proper money employed by firms with a strong sense of identity and service.

Hermes' 'initiative' will be to stick with what they do best.

 

[Gracemnot]

Interesting article. Excellent quality can come out of China. I'll be honest. I try to avoid buying food products from China because of the many scares.

 

[JustinCredible]

This is the part that worries me:

"Now, luxury designers and retailers are responding to the new environment by altering the way they make, price and sell their goods. "

There are a lot of designers that already cut as many corners as possible, and I hope Hermes doesn't start... for example machine-stitching the things that they now make by hand.

 

[La Vanguardia]

Thanks for posting the article.

I understand that China can also produce high-quality products. If, let's say, luxury brands start to produce many items completely in China and just lower the price by 10% ... sorry, but I'm not buying it! Wages and benefits in China are a lot lower than the 10% price reduction leading again to much higher profit margins. While the quality might be the same, you cannot compare the salary/pension/benefits of a craftsman in China with a craftsman in France/Italy.

 

[Samaire]

Stocks of luxury goods companies consistently outperform retail sector. Traditionally they've been relatively immune to downturns.

 

[SoxFan777]

That's interesting. I don't think hermes will ever "travel" to china, but it worries me to think that dior and gucci will... i'm pretty sure that burberry and miu miu already have. And I agree, the quality is no where near the same...

 

[Ms Birkin]

My DH buys Zegna suits and shirts, recently he has noticed the quality hasn't been as good. A good reason to bring him over to the orange side