French fashion goes local
Justine Lau
For most international fashion houses, a “Made in China” label may not be something they want to attach to their expensive clothes for fear of losing their brand appeal.
Yet Morgan, the French fashion retailer, is investing about $1.5m in a Chinese factory, as part of its plan to lift its Chinese production from 20 per cent of global sales to half in the next three years.
“At the moment, we are not competitive because most of our clothes are produced in Europe,” said Georges Gausseran, Morgan's chief executive. “We need to reduce our prices. To achieve this, we need to do more in China.”
Morgan began looking for a Chinese joint venture partner in December 2003.
After a year of talks, it struck a deal with Hembly International, a Hong Kong-based garment manufacturer, to construct a production centre in Nanjing, near Shanghai.
The $3m factory, which began operations last week, is expected to source and produce about 5m to 6m pieces of garments a year or about half of Morgan's annual sales by 2008.
This would allow the company to cut its retail prices in Asia by 30 per cent, according to Mr Gausseran. “We move to China because it is cheap here,” he says. “But it doesn't mean that we are sacrificing quality for cost savings. We will make sure the best quality will be delivered.”
To achieve that, Morgan, which has a 49 per cent stake in the factory, said it would inspect all raw materials and finished goods to ensure its standards are met.
Morgan is also seeking to benefit from China's growing middle class. The company, which already has 32 boutiques in China, is planning to open a further 200 outlets in the next five years. This would help the company to lift its annual turnover in China from �9.6m ($13m) in 2004 to an estimated �70m.
Of the new outlets, two-thirds will be sections, or “corners”, in department stores, each of which will cost about �10,000 to �20,000 to open.
Stand-alone stores in big Chinese cities will account for about one third of the new outlets. In the international fashion market, Morgan competes against brands such as Hennes & Mauritz of Sweden and Spain's Inditex, owner of Zara. In China's casual wear market, however, the company is expected to face fierce competition from local rivals.
While dozens of foreign luxury brands have established footholds in China, mass market fashion retailers, such as Hong Kong-based Esprit, have failed to build a strong presence in the fragmented mainland market. This is largely because many Chinese retailers sell western-style products at cheaper prices.
Local companies also have more brand recognition among young shoppers as they often recruit Chinese celebrities to promote their labels.
“Consumers of mass market fashion are totally different from luxury goods buyers,” said Renee Tai, analyst at GK Goh Securities in Hong Kong. “For them, if it is possible to buy something that looks similar but costs half, they will go for it.”
But Mr Gausseran remains sanguine. “China is a big market. It is so big that we don't need to be number one to make money,” he said.
法国时装 “中国制造”
大多数国际时装品牌都不大乐意在自己昂贵的时装贴上“中国制造”，担心由此会减少品牌的吸引力。
不过法国时装零售商Morgan在中国的一家服装厂投资了150万美元，以提升该公司在中国的产量。该公司计划在未来3年里，“中国产”服装占全球销量从目前的20％提升至50％。
“目前我们的竞争力不强，因为大部分服装都产自欧洲。”Mogan 的首席执行官乔治?高瑟苒（Georges Gausseran）说道，“我们需要降低售价。为达到这个目标，我们需要在中国做更多事情”。
在2003年12月，Mogan开始寻找在中国合资建厂的伙伴。
经过一年谈判，该公司与香港的服装生产企业Hembly International签署协议，准备在南京建一个生产中心。
这个投资300万美元的工厂，上周开始运作，估计每年能够加工和生产约500至600万件服装，相当于2008年Mogan预期年销量的一半。“我们向中国转移是看重低廉的生产成本。”他说道，“但这并不意味着我们会牺牲质量以控制成本。我们会确保能提供最高品质产品”。
为了达到上述目标， Morgan表示将会检验所有的原料和成本，以确保产品符合标准。Mogan占这个合资企业49％的股份。
Mogan 公司还表示，他们也希望能从正在兴起的中国中产阶级中受益。该公司已经在中国建立了32个店铺，计划在未来5年内再新开200家。这将有助于该公司在中国的年销售额从目前的960万欧元（1300万美元）提升到预期中的7000万美元。
三分之二的新开店铺将“进驻”百货公司。每一个专柜入场费大约是1万至2万欧元。
在中国大城市开设专卖店将占三分之一。在国际时装市场，Mogan要与来自瑞典的Hennes Mauritz和拥有Zara品牌的西班牙Inditex公司竞争。然而在中国的休闲服饰市场，该公司将会遇到来自中国本土对手更为激烈的竞争。
同时，国外数十个奢侈品品牌也已在中国市场建立了立足点。针对大众市场的时装零售商，比如来自香港的思捷（Esprit），并没有成功地在中国国内市场建立起强大的销售网络。这主要是因为很多中国零售商卖的西式服装价格更低。
在年轻的消费者眼中，本地企业具有更大的品牌认知度，因为他们往往会聘请中国的名人来代言产品。
“针对大众服装的消费者与奢侈品消费者完全不同”，香港吴控股（GK Goh ）证券公司的分析师Renee Tai说道。“对他们来说，如果以一半价格能够买到看起来差不多的衣服，他们很乐意这么做”。
但是高瑟苒还是显得很乐观。“中国是个巨大的市场。市场规模如此之大，不一定要做市场老大，才能赚到钱”。
