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| OPINION: |
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| K T C |
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| MADE IN CHINA |
FreshBritain | Glenn Kitson | Neil Bedford | Mark Smith |
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PART [1/3]
For many years the western perception of manufacturing in the Far
East has been unfavourable. Fuelled by horror stories of
sweatshops, poor working conditions and unethical practices, the
west has traditionally looked down on manufacturing in the east.
As a consequence Chinese made products have traditionally been
of poor repute, with the west believing them to be inferior, cheap
and badly made.
Times have changed though, and led by the buoyant Chinese
economy, the reality today is completely different to the traditional
view.
Steady economic growth in China has led to serious improvements
both in working conditions and in the quality of their product
output. Certainly in terms of the latter, China has improved
immeasurably. The average Chinese consumer is reaping the
rewards of modernisation and has developed quite a thirst for
western luxury goods, and for the first time they can actually
afford those products.
There is a clear paradox though. Who says western made goods
are made better? Maybe the seriously expensive, high end brands
can boast tip-top quality and a near-unshakable luxury status
as a result, but dig deeper and all is not as it seems. Menswear
in the west has enjoyed a homegrown renaissance in recent
years. Mirroring the 'Made in USA' trend across the Atlantic,
confidence in British made goods has grown to a level where
the words 'Made in England' are short hand for 'top quality'.
While this is not without substance, it is certainly not always
the case. Some western manufacturers are excellent but there
are plenty at the other end of the scale.
In contrast to the east, the large, motivated workforce which
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kickstarted the industrial revolution has long gone. There may
be a small number of time-served craftsmen and women but by
and large the reality is European and American workers are not
a patch on their counterparts in countries like China. The
manufacturing culture in the west has eroded to the point of
extinction.
While European manufacturers do not have the skill base or
experience to produce goods of quality, those that do are well
known in their field. From Savile Row to the shoe making and
leather working heritage brands in Northampton or the traditional
sock makers in Leicester. Ask many of the smaller designers or
brands about their jackets made in Bolton with faulty zips or
the trousers they had made in North London that had unfinished,
frayed hems. Many British independents will regale you with
exasperated tales of the ‘that will do’ culture that filters through
British and European menswear manufacturing.
To the younger generation the thought of learning a craft is fast
becoming an outmoded concept and it really shows. In addition
to that indifference, it seems when manufacturing was outsourced
to places like China in the latter part of the Twenth Century, any
hereditary skills that had been accumulated in the west simply
ceased to be passed on. Clothing manufacture in the UK and
indeed the rest of Europe is very much a dying art. In Italy the
young folk do not want to learn the skills that made their country
the number one fashion destination. The crisis in Italy is so bad
that the government has set up a special committee to help bolster
the pool of young talent interested in the industry. Once the old
seamstresses or pattern cutters retire or die, who will construct
the garments?
So while the west has experienced a decline in skill base and as a
consequence quality, the opposite has been true of the east.
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PART [2/3]
Once again the example of China is a good one. In the last thirty
years China has bridged the gap with the west and as we've
already outlined, in many cases overtaken it. This is due to a
number of factors. In 1978, the Chinese government relaxed the
controls they had in place in an effort to encourage economic
growth. Since then, steady and exponential progress has been
made and today China has the second largest economy in the
world. While the western world faces up to the various challenges
presented by the financial crisis, China continues to flourish.
In China the mentality that tends to prevail is a hard working one.
Traditionally the majority of the population lived in the countryside
so working hard, long hours is nothing new. It was a necessity and
is ingrained in their psyche. In modern day China though, out of
towners are now flocking to the cities in search of self
improvement and with them, they're bringing a terrific work ethic.
In addition, more than 1.5 million engineers and scientists
graduate from Chinese universities every year. There are brains
allied to the brawn. It's that mix of industrious, dexterous workers
and intelligent thinking that underpins where China is today - and
where it's going. The same story echoes throughout the region.
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KTC is one brand that saw the potential of this very early. In fact,
KTC has seen it all. Having arrived in China 40 years ago, they
have observed some of the fundamental changes in the industrial
worlds of the east and west.
The Managing Director of KTC is Gerhard Flatz. He explains how
they became pioneers in the east.
"KTC originated from a ‘crazy idea’ to set up production in the
Far East. It was founded in Hong Kong in 1971 by two Austrian
gentlemen, Hans Kremmel and Dieter Waibel who imported Swiss
yarn to manufacture turtlenecks for one of Austria’s oldest
apparel brands Benedikt Maeser. Following this early success,
in 1973, Hans got in touch with the Dassler family and a long
and fruitful partnership developed with adidas. Hans Kremmel
became the exclusive sourcing partner for production in China,
Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. KTC became one of the earliest
western companies to set up production in mainland China.
By 1981 KTC had set up a joint venture in China with adidas,
manufacturing T-shirts and tracksuits. They progressed onto the
production of premium ski-wear, most notably for the German
brand Bogner, who is known as one of the most luxurious ski-wear
brands in the world."
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PART [3/3]
The story of KTC and how they have grown their business is a good
way to demonstrate the growth of China as a nation. The initial
success of KTC set them on course for the rest of their history.
They have always tended to work only with the most premium
brands, particularly in the sports performance field. Over time
they have developed an unparalelled reputation and base all their
manufacture on the ideal - ‘the Art of Performance Manufacture’.
Gerhard continues "With such quick advances in technology, the
capabilities of Chinese manufacturers are far beyond those in
Europe. With such a large, skilled workforce in China, Europe
faces a tough task competing. Perhaps that's why the negative
stereotypes persist in this part of the world. The west is
struggling to compete with the east not just on price but also on
quality, something which hasn't always been true."
Designer Dominic Stansfield has been working closely with KTC
and understands the issues first hand with not only far eastern
manufacture but also closer to home in the UK and Europe.
"Chinese production in particular is pretty much second to none.
China now has so many years of experience in clothing manufacture
that they know exactly what brands require and deliver on time
and with little fuss. The girls who work on our development are
unbelievably on the ball, they don't miss a trick. They are all
well educated, hard working and intelligent. You couldn't make
products to match KTC's quality in many places outside of China
which pretty much says it all."
With that in mind, it would suggest the perception of Chinese
manufacture in the west is perhaps owed more to a fear of the
competition than actual reality. Dominic is well placed to explain
this.
"People in the west can't separate the quality of manufacture
from the politics. You simply can't say that Far East production is
inferior anymore. It wasn't so long ago people thought Made in
Japan was pretty naff too and yet people acknowledge that's no
longer true. If people want to get righteous about production
ethics then they should probably look elsewhere."
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As the Chinese economy has grown, those previously poor
working conditions have been improved. Chinese business has
developed a social conscience and the difference in the quality
of life since KTC began working in the provinces is marked.
There has been an improvement in schools and hospitals and
the investment has seen the introduction of the other mainstays
of so called civilization… KFC and McDonalds opening near the
KTC factory plus shopping centres and Japanese restaurants.
There are also new hotels and housing estates built with western
standards. The living conditions have improved rapidly.
As a result of the growth, the time of cheap manufacture in China
is definitely over. KTC has doubled their workforces wages in the
last year alone and expects wages to rise again by as much as
20-30% over the course of the next year.
It's not just the trappings of success that KTC employees are
enjoying. The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent
organisation which is dedicated to improving the working
conditions in the garment industry. They seek to uphold a strict
code of labour practices and only award their seal of approval
to organisations that have been thoroughly examined. KTC was
the first independent Performance Wear Manufacturer in the
Far East to be endorsed by FWF, demonstrating their commitment
to people as well as profits and prosperity.
As a result of that, their position as a market leader is only
reinforced.
KTC feels the Made In China label for the Performance Wear
industry is the same as Made In Italy for the Fashion Industry
or Made In France for leather goods.
"Consumers need to understand that the time for sweatshops
is over." explains Gerhard. "In their place are highly sophisticated
factories with modern work practices and forward thinking workers.
These things took Europe 25 years to do, China is making these
reforms in 10."
While the cost of production has risen so has the quality. As a
result the question is not who can afford to manufacture in China
these days but who can afford NOT to manufacture in China.
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