Bridal buyer

36 WWW.BRIDALBUYER.COM

OPINION PIECE

ALBUYER.COM

closer to pools of labour. One of the big bottlenecks is hand-

beading and a lot of this is being sourced out to Vietnam

and then brought back into China. Additionally, hand-

beading operations are also being set up in other and more

remote areas of China where labour is still available.”

ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS?

Is there a move by the big bridal names who have

traditionally manufacturered in China to locate their

business elsewhere, we asked. “Some companies have gone

to Vietnam but this is not a long-term solution. Prices are

rising there, too, and effi ciency is not on the level that

China has been proven to deliver. Additionally, Vietnam

does not have the expertise as they are new to making the

type of dresses with the types of fi nishes that the bridal

industry demands. Additionally, materials are not readily

available in Vietnam and need to be shipped in. So while

Vietnam may be 20 per cent cheaper in wages now, costs

are rising dramatically while effi ciency lags behind. At

the end of the day there may not be a benefi t of working

with Vietnam, or it may be a short-lived benefi t.

“There are other countries such as Malaysia and

Indonesia but these countries too will have issues relating

to development, effi ciency and quality. It will take longer

to see these countries mature in providing what bridal

requires.

“Manufacturing in China remains benefi cial to sizeable

companies such as Mon Cheri as we are capable of feeding

them the large cutting tickets they need to keep the

workers happy. We also are placing orders earlier than

ever before and preparing factories with projections for

fabric purchasing – lace requirements especially need to

be forecast well in advance.”

Mon Cheri brands are big business internationally,

but what about the smaller bridal companies who need

to outsource manufacturing? “I believe that smaller

importers will have diffi culty commanding space in

the better factories and will be relegated to less quality-

conscious and experienced production facilities. This

is a dangerous game of Russian roulette for both those

importers and for the retailers that purchase their

product. A company needs to have the cutting tickets to

be able to feed the factories. Everyone has to adapt and

play by the rules established by the Chinese factories in

order to foster a symbiotic relationship between factory

and importer. Smaller companies may not have the ability

or organisation to be able to please the large quantity-

and quality- driven factories. If it is a very challenging

situation for a large business, it can be an absolute

nightmare for a small company that does not have the

resources to command top-shelf manufacturing.” BB

LAST YEAR THERE WERE

18,569

businesses operating in the Chinese

clothing manufacturing industry.

£4.3

billion

£9.1

billion

£56.9

billion

China’s textile

exports soared

from £4.32 billion

in 1990 to £56.9

billion in 2012,

according to

the World Trade

Organisation’s

International Trade

Statistics 2013.

India is second

in this category,

at £9.1 billion in

2012 (up from £1.3

billion in 1990).

1990 2012

The sector in the country employs

4.38 million workers with an estimated

payroll of £15.9 billion.

034-036.BB.163.Sourcing China.indd 36 11/06/2014 12:02