Bertelli on Prada, Lang and Sander future strategies

Yeah, the fact that a "Made-in-Italy" brand like Prada would actually flat-out announce that they're to moving production to China just seems nuts to me. Even customers who aren't sticklers for great quality must think that's awfully strange. It just seems like an incredibly stupid move to me. It's like saying, "Okay everybody. We're now going to make sure our product is even cheaper and poorer quality than before!" :wacko: And they call themselves part of the luxury market?
 
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Lena said:
most italian production is made-in-china, thats a fact kit :wink:

There's a thread somewhere where we discussed this at length . :heart:
 
screenage said:
Are you allowed to dub something made in italy when it's not?

well, actually not, but there are too many erhhmm 'windows' i guess :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, apparently only the finish of a garment needs to be done in Italy for it to bear the "Made In Italy" label; these days the vast majority of the manufacturing is actually done in Turkey and in Eastern Europe. Here's an except from an article that mentions this (sorry if this is going off-topic...:(

Italy is to shoes as Switzerland is to watches, synonymous with high-end luxury and superlative craftsmanship. Brands like Prada, Armani, Gucci and Bruno Magli have something beyond mere authenticity: they enjoy a unique, Italian resonance that crosses cultures.
But production of high-end footwear is expensive. Other then sewing machines, no technology exists that can help workers generate high production runs of leather shoes. Further, production of the average shoe involves from forty to a few hundred stages.


Italy was the world’s largest exporter of shoes in all product ranges, until the 1980s when its position was overtaken by China and Hong Kong, which specialize in making products that require cheap labor. Asia holds about two-thirds of the world’s footwear market, while Western Europe has only ten percent.
Ironically, among EU countries, Italy is the biggest importer of shoes and shoe components from Eastern Europe. In 2001, Italy imported 41 percent of its leather footwear components, of which nearly 72 percent came not from Asia but from Eastern Europe, particularly Romania, thanks to regional agreements that allow easy access to the Common Market for these developing producers.

What this means is that the shoes you bought, which say “made in Italy” on the sole, may very well in fact have been made in Romania and marketed and sold under an Italian brand. It’s one thing when your sneakers come from a developing country, but those who shell out top dollar for a pair of expensive Italian shoes may balk upon learning that they probably were not made in Italy at all.

Eros Scattolin, international public relations executive, faces this situation at Geox, a shoe brand headquartered in the Italian province of Treviso. Founded in 1995, the company now sells to 51 countries and boasts a turnover of €181 million (US$211M). Although Geox considers itself an Italian brand, it depends heavily on outside countries to make its shoes. For instance the company owns a plant in the Romanian city of Timisoara, which employs 2,000 locals to work under the direct supervision of 50 Italian masters.

Says Scattolin, “From our point of view, it doesn't matter where you produce, but how you do it. We could keep on producing our shoes in Italy but they should cost much more.” Instead, while a small segment of Geox’s production is in fact still in Italy, the company works in “Romania, Slovakia, Mexico and China as well.”

Scattolin believes that in spite of the sentimentality that people might attach to shoes made in Italy, outsourcing was the way of the future for the Italian shoe industry. “Outsourcing is a must, not a choice,” he insists. “You have to go abroad in those low labor market cost countries if you want to keep a fair price, and I would add, if you want to survive.” He claims that outsourcing to cheaper locations does not challenge the integrity of the company itself, which keeps all logistics, marketing and financial departments in Italy, so that “the brain and soul (of Geox]) is Italian, (while) the body is foreign.”
full article: http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=179
 
Heritage shoe concerns like Churches , Cheaney , Loake etc , ALL have their uppers made in India , which are then soled and heeled in Northampton UK .

The actual shoes are labelled - Made in England . :o
 
Says Scattolin, “From our point of view, it doesn't matter where you produce, but how you do it. We could keep on producing our shoes in Italy but they should cost much more.” Instead, while a small segment of Geox’s production is in fact still in Italy, the company works in “Romania, Slovakia, Mexico and China as well.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
i guess there is nothing wrong with that, they should just tell us then.
 
Maybe they should start stamping 'Made in Italy, honest to God, cross my heart and hope to die' on shoes really made in Italy...
 
kit said:
There's a thread somewhere where we discussed this at length . :heart:


Does anyone have a link to that thread? I did a simple search but didn't find it. I'd really be interested in reading that.

Thanks,
John

p.s. Softgrey, thanks for the welcome. I'm happy to be here!
 
ahhh, maybe kit can help us out regarding this older discussion rach2jlc , he's pretty good in unearthing older topics :wink:
 
you're welcome rach ...
and welcome to you too screenage...:D...

lena...it's like you can see the future...
:lol:...
 
:blush: dont forget , i'm making a living out of 'seeing the future' softie :ninja:
 
i know...
i'd like to borrow your chrystal ball sometime...
i'd love to know what my future will bring...
:wink:
 
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softgrey said:
you're welcome rach ...
and welcome to you too screenage...:D...

lena...it's like you can see the future...
:lol:...

Thankyou softgrey :P
 
rach2jlc said:
Does anyone have a link to that thread? I did a simple search but didn't find it. I'd really be interested in reading that.

Thanks,
John

p.s. Softgrey, thanks for the welcome. I'm happy to be here!

I've done an exhaustive search of my posts and I'm afraid my early ones have disappeared .
TFS changed a while ago , while I was ' otherwise engaged ' and when I came back , threads like the one on false labelling of goods had vanished into the ether . :cry:
I remember that Lena :heart: was in on the discussion , and the redoubtable Soft :heart: had not yet joined the members .

Sorry about my not being able to be of help . :blush:
 
Lol I'll use my imagination, and nothing is worse than my imagination...
 
SIMMONS AT SANDER

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RAF SIMMONS just might be the next Jil Sander. The Belgian designer is said to be close to signing a contract to head up the mens and womenswear collections at the house which Sander herself walked out of for the second time last year. "There's about a 99 per cent chance," a source told WWD, adding that there might even be an announcement later today. When asked earlier this month whether he might hire a new creative director for the label, which has been designed by a team since Sander's departure, Prada ceo Patrizio Bertelli said he hadn't ruled out the idea. Asked however, whether Simmons might be the man for the job, he simply joked: "Who's that?" (May 26 2005, AM)

99% I think it would be a good replacement, what do you guys think?
 

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