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Oct 24, 2013
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Alex Vanneste: "Western brands need to seduce Chinese consumers with quality"

Published
Oct 24, 2013

Mountain Yan at Intertextile Shanghai | Source: MG/FashionMag.com

China’s love for western brands has attracted many foreign labels to the country over the years. But as a new generation of consumers move away from big names in the search of style, bigger brands are having to up their quality to keep their place in the market. Present in in China for over fifteen years and having witnessed the transformation from a country of production to a country of consumers, Alex Vanneste of Belgian company Secrets of Linen Jos Vanneste, talks to FashionMag.com on the subject.

FashionMag: How do you see the Chinese market maturing?
Alex Vanneste:From what we are seeing today, the Chinese consumer is slowly coming around to the idea that quality counts. The Chinese consumer is still looking for Western brands and so these companies look to China for future growth. But before long, they are going to have to work on making sure they can step up to the plate in terms of quality in order to maintain a good image. At the end of the day, the association between the brand and quality is what will win over the hearts of the Chinese, as was the case with the Japanese. Western brands are going to have to seduce consumers with quality.

FM: Do you think that the evolutionof the Chinese market to one of consumers is something that happen in other Asian countries?
AV: When we talk of Asia, it is important to take into consideration India. Because only in India does a man buy his fabric and have his clothing made for him at a price almost identical to what he would have paid in Zara or Massimo Dutti. China has become much more westernized in that sense consumers they need to be guided. The Chinese consumer is starting to break with traditions, by wearing a wool jacket or a white polyester shirt, for example. Seeing how China has developed into a thriving market over the years, I think it is fair to say that its neighboring countries will soon follow suit.

FM: So brands would be wise to invest in these surrounding markets then?
AV: We are currently trying to work the Bangladesh market, as well as Laos and Cambodia for mass production. But the situation can change very quickly - you just need to look at China as proof and see the change it has gone through in the past fifteen years. It seems that today’s producers will be tomorrow consumers, so Indonesia, in the wake and China, and Thailand, which is very influenced by India. Not to mention Bangladesh, of course, even if the country’s relationship with religion does impose certain restrictions.

FM: Do you think that due to an internal demand in Asia, new production zones will start to crop up?

AV: Looking ahead, I think Africa will be the market of our children. There is already this desire in the country to develop in our sector. However, there are not the necessary government bodies or infrastructure needed to support this development in the present day. When it eventually does embrace production, it is inevitable that it will eventually evolve to become the final continent to exploit consumerism.

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