Prada Bags: Now Made in China for Italian Made Prices."

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#768
lola73 said:
Hi Prada Psycho - it's not just Prada who are doing this. I know more about Mulberry bags but they are now manufacturing in Turkey, China and Spain. It's all done for reasons of cost. When it comes to resale the bags with a "Made in England" tag are much more sought after.

My new-to-me Prada bag arrived last week from a fellow tpf'er that I know outside of here. It's probably about a year old and is the BN1889 in soft calf. It has a brown leather tag inside with "Made in Italy" and the small white numbered tag is inside the zipped pocket. So it would seem that Prada are proud to declare when a bag is made in Italy but like to hide away the "Made in China" label.

Here's a couple of photos. Sorry they are just taken on the iphone but I hope the info helps.
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Please don't put Spain on the same boat of turkey and china, chanel and LV have their bags made in spain, spain is western europe and home to brands like loewe and balenciaga as well as manolo blanhik, zara etc, do not compare
 
#769
nanirina said:
This is what I have heard as well. Most of the parts of the bags are made in china. Then the bags are shipped to Italy for some final minor touches and then the made in italy tag is afixed in!

If this were true then it would not be safe to know where Prada is made anymore.
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I wrote an essay about two years ago about luxury goods and weather or not people are really paying for "quality" or just the "name", and through research I discovered that A LOT of brands do this. There was one company in particular that I remember was putting "Made in the USA" tags on its clothing, and it was discovered that basically the entire garment was made in china, and then the buttons and sleeves were sewn on in the US, so that met the "requirement" for being able to claim "Made in the USA".

Unfortunately, the fact is that with a lot of major and luxury brands,people are paying more for the name than anything else, especially since quality is rapidly declining while prices increase. Take this quote from a recent article "Prada Group, which owns Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s Shoes, and Car Shoe, famously admitted that they outsource about 20% of their manufacturing to China and other locations abroad. They are still able to claim that these products were made in Italy, though, because in order to get a “Made In Italy” tag, only a majority of the cost of the product must be purchased within Italian borders. "

That's not to say that people shouldn't buy luxury brands or that I don't love prada, since I just this week tracked down a 2007 Gaufre tote that has eluded me for so long :tender: I'm just saying people should be aware that when they buy new items today they are very likely not shelling out all of that cash for "quality":sad: (One of the reasons I pretty much only buy preloved)
 
#770
I was in a prada outlet in milan last week. My friend wanted to buy the nylon tote with the made in italy tag. Upon paying, they gave her a bag with no tags. My friend ask where is it made, and the SA/cashier remarked: its made in Prada. She insisted on getting the one w the tags on the display. And on much discussion bet the Sa n cashier, they finally gave her the one on display.
 
#771
Sana168; Wow...Prada is such a sneaky company, this action that you described does not surprise me in the least! Kudos to your friend for holding out for the tote, 'Made in Italy'.

And as another poster noted, M. Prada is supposed to be a 'Socialist' and advance worker's plight in life...these actions of this company just infuriate me as they really don't care...just the bottom line is all that counts.
 
#772
violettuxedo said:
Sana168; Wow...Prada is such a sneaky company, this action that you described does not surprise me in the least! Kudos to your friend for holding out for the tote, 'Made in Italy'.

And as another poster noted, M. Prada is supposed to be a 'Socialist' and advance worker's plight in life...these actions of this company just infuriate me as they really don't care...just the bottom line is all that counts.
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You said it right, really sneaky of them. Is it allowed for prada to sell those bags without any origin tags. I am sure there are no tags there coz another friends's bag has none and we have turned the bag inside out.
 
#773
WOW...I was thinking that it was just Prada saffino leather items being made in China...I did not knew their nylon and possibly their other products made of other materials in general would be made in China and what ever country they are being made in. That is quite disappointing. :-s
 
#774
I only own one Prada bag - black City Calf triple compartment also lined in what feels like lambskin (really buttery smooth but thinner) and I was already worried about the made in China secretly thing a couple years ago (when I bought this) and today, I was admiring the large flap bags in vivid green & sun yellow. But when you check for details, it doesn't even say it's Made in Italy...already makes me wonder because after all, this bag is 3750 (at these prices, it had better be Made in Italy).
 
#775
missmoimoi said:
I only own one Prada bag - black City Calf triple compartment also lined in what feels like lambskin (really buttery smooth but thinner) and I was already worried about the made in China secretly thing a couple years ago (when I bought this) and today, I was admiring the large flap bags in vivid green & sun yellow. But when you check for details, it doesn't even say it's Made in Italy...already makes me wonder because after all, this bag is 3750 (at these prices, it had better be Made in Italy).
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If there is no tag to say where the bag is made, then you are supposed to assume (correctly or not) that the bag was made in Italy. This is because the inside label says Prada, Made in Italy; or Prada, Milano. If the inside label only says Prada, then you should look high and low for the "Made in" tag or label, because it just has to have one, no matter how well hidden.

However whether this is a little con trick by Prada, or not, I am not sure.
 
#779
If people will be buying and the company can lower production costs, why wouldn't they be doing it? The really bad part of this is pushing the prices up for NOT made in China. I bought some prada shoes and when I brought them home I noticed they didn't quite feel like top quality shoes.. For $350, made in China. Returned. I'm not doing the prada thing anymore. Ferragamo makes just as nice if not better stuff.
 
#780
I think they need to do what the Swiss did. The Swiss basically passed a law saying that if you want to label your product as Swiss made then it has to be 80% for mechanical watches and 60% for digital ones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Made

For all that I know, Prada could be making those bags in China and then putting the finishing touch in Italy. For example, they could put the handle on the purses or the letting in Italy. How would you or I know what percentage is made in Italy versus China?

I think what the Prada management team is doing is watering down their brand. When it isn't exclusive anymore and is made like the rest of the bags from China then you're just damaging your brand. I.E Coach.

Personally, I would not be paying an arm and a leg for a product made in China. Nothing personal against the Chinese (have Chinese heritage in me) but I am paying for an Italy product. :)
 
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