Luxury goods China OEM industry chain

Wang Fangwei Liming, reporter of the Economic Observer, the barbed wire on the high wall is thin and sharp, every entrance and exit is guarded by security guards, and workers' plates must be worn to enter and exit, and all suppliers are not allowed to enter after 4 PM... The shoe factory, Xingxiong, in the third district of the Overseas Chinese Industrial City in Dalingshan Town, Dongguan, Guangdong province, is known for its strict management.

Few people know that from the more than 6,000 migrant workers here born every day, Prada, ColeHaan and Camper are a string of high society synonymous. In addition to Dongguan, in China's Shenzhen, Wenzhou, Hangzhou and other places, there are countless factories are manufacturing for these international luxury brands. They may be large or small, direct or "double order," or produce finished products or do only one process. But there is no doubt that what they produce is genuine.

However, when the people who consume them eventually meet, the relationship between them and the Chinese female workers will be undiscovered. Forced by the cheap image of "MadeinChi-na", the vast majority of these products will eventually be labeled "MadeinItaly" or "MadeinParis".

These luxury brands, which still claim to use pure European craftsmanship, have for years been ashamed to mention the Chinese origins of some of their products, but this is no secret in the industry. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a growing number of luxury goods and high-end foreign brands are shifting their production focus to China in order to cut costs.

"On the premise that the process is guaranteed, [Chinese factories] have an absolute cost advantage, why not?" The director of a factory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, told the newspaper.

Paper that doesn't have to tear

"There are a lot of things that are inconvenient to say because there is no need to tear the paper. It is already a common fact, and consumers should not worry too much." On the phone, the factory director sounded relaxed.

There are people more cautious than him. Yang Huaguo, the only person available online to contact the Dongguan Xingxiong shoe factory, declined to be interviewed or to say which brands the factory manufactures for. "The company has rules." 'he said.

In the eyes of Zhang Ming (not his real name), a supplier, the factory is "strictly managed". After four o 'clock in the afternoon, these suppliers are not allowed to enter the factory, because the workers will leave work after 4:30, the factory refused to allow all outside staff to enter on the grounds of safety.

In the nearly five years since the supply, Zhang Ming has never received any finished shoe sample from the factory. Whenever the Xingxiong factory needs a certain material, it always cuts a piece and sends it over, so that it can still be fed. However, he still saw some finished products on several visits to the factory. "All world famous brands!" He recalls ColeHaan, Prada, Camper and Tim-berland among others. Among them, ColeHaan is the largest, accounting for more than 60% of the total output of Xingxiong plant.

It is a similar story at the Xingang Industrial Park, about a 10-minute drive from the Xingxiong plant. At 5 p.m., the factory's closing hours, a large number of workers in blue and orange uniforms poured out of the park. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, stopping a woman worker to ask what brand of shoes the factory made. 'There are many brands,' she said as she walked. "Is there Prada?" "Prada does." The answer was crisp, and the English he blurted out was very smooth. If you continue to ask, you become alarmed, "Why are you asking these questions?"

Another female worker and a male worker respectively introduced that the factory produces finished shoes, all exported; Prada is mainly produced in the Xingxiong factory, Xingxiong busy time, Xingang only do.

Both Xingxiong and Xingang are owned by Hong Kong Xingang International LTD., one of the world's top 10 shoe manufacturers, and are among the 18 factories they have invested in on the mainland. Hsi was officially listed on the Hong Kong stock market in 2007 under the name of Kowloon Hing Holdings (http://1836.HK). Public information shows that the main products of Jiuhsing Holdings include Nike, Guess, LVMH, Prada, Timberland, Clarks, Rockport, EasySpirit, Ecco and many other world famous brands.