Video case (full case): International production and sourcing - Kipling
Summary
TLDRLa marque Kipling, spécialisée dans les sacs à main et les bagages, est née à Anvers et a été rachetée par VF en 2004. Avec une production initiale en Asie de l'Est, elle a bénéficié de la croissance chinoise pour s'approvisionner en main-d'œuvre abondante et bon marché. Kipling a opté pour une gestion autonome et une sous-traitance, se concentrant sur le marketing et le développement produit. Face à la montée de la classe moyenne chinoise et aux conflits commerciaux, la production s'est déplacée vers des pays comme le Cambodge. L'Asie reste un marché crucial pour Kipling, qui met désormais l'accent sur la vitesse de commercialisation et la durabilité, avec des sous-traitants vertueux comme au Cambodge.
Takeaways
- 🎒 Kipling est une marque de sacs à main et de bagages avec une positionnement unique en tant que marque de mode casual.
- 🌍 Fondée à Anvers il y a plus de 30 ans, Kipling est devenue une véritable marque mondiale avec des revenus répartis sur tous les continents.
- 🏢 En 2004, la marque a été racheter par VF, un grand groupe de mode américain qui possède également des marques comme Vans, The North Face et Timberland.
- 🏭 Kipling a choisi de ne pas se lancer dans la production pour des raisons de capital et en raison de la tendance à la délocalisation de l'Europe vers l'Asie.
- 🌏 La production initiale s'est d'abord déroulée au Japon et à Hong Kong, puis s'est déplacée vers Taiwan, en raison des opportunités de coûts plus bas.
- 💡 La Chine est devenue un partenaire clé pour la production en raison des investissements étrangers, des terres disponibles et d'une main-d'œuvre abondante et moins chère.
- 📈 Le coût de la production en Chine a baissé de 15 à 20%, mais ce n'est pas seulement le prix qui est intéressant, la production en Chine permet une production de grande envergure.
- 🔄 Cependant, la Chine est devenue moins attrayante en raison de la hausse des salaires et des conflits commerciaux, comme les guerres commerciales entre la Chine et les États-Unis.
- 🌳 Kipling suit les tendances de la production vers des pays comme le Cambodge et le Vietnam pour éviter les droits de douane et pour des raisons de durabilité.
- 🌐 La demande de vitesse sur le marché est devenue un élément clé pour la production, influençant les décisions de localisation de la production.
- 🏢 La concurrence est devenue plus intense avec plus de marques qui développent des sacs, mais le marché continue de croître, en particulier en Asie.
- 🌱 L'Asie est devenue un grand marché pour les entreprises, tant pour l'approvisionnement que pour les ventes, et la durabilité et la responsabilité éthique sont de plus en plus importantes pour les consommateurs.
Q & A
Quelle est la positionnement unique de la marque Kipling dans le secteur de la mode?
-Kipling est une marque de sacs à main et de bagages qui se positionne comme une marque de mode casual et de lifestyle.
Depuis combien de temps la marque Kipling existe-t-elle et où a-t-elle été fondée?
-Kipling a été fondée à Anvers il y a plus de 30 ans.
Quelle est la relation entre Kipling et le groupe VF?
-Kipling a été acquis par VF en 2004. VF est un grand groupe de mode américain qui possède également des marques comme VANS, The North Face, Timberland et Supreme.
Quels sont les principaux bureaux de Kipling à travers le monde?
-Le siège social de Kipling est à Anvers, mais ils ont également des bureaux pour l'Asie-Pacifique à Hong Kong et pour les Amériques à New York.
Pourquoi Kipling a-t-elle décidé de ne pas se lancer dans la production?
-Kipling n'a pas décidé de se lancer dans la production en raison du besoin de capitaux supplémentaires et du déplacement progressif des industries de l'Europe vers l'Asie en raison de meilleurs prix.
Quels avantages a vu Kipling en laissant la production à des sous-traitants?
-En laissant la production à des sous-traitants, Kipling a pu se concentrer sur son domaine d'expertise comme l'approche marketing, le développement de produit et le côté créatif du business.
Quels pays étaient auparavant des centres de production pour Kipling?
-La production de Kipling était auparavant réalisée dans des pays comme le Japon, Hong Kong, la Corée du Sud et Taiwan.
Quels facteurs ont conduit Kipling à ouvrir de nouvelles usines en Chine?
-La Chine offrait des opportunités de créer de nouvelles usines avec l'aide d'investisseurs étrangers, avec de la terre et une main-d'œuvre disponibles à moindre coût que en Taiwan.
Quels défis a rencontrés Kipling en raison de la hausse des salaires en Chine?
-La hausse des salaires en Chine a rendu le pays moins compétitif par rapport aux voisins comme le Vietnam ou la Thaïlande, ce qui a incité Kipling à regarder d'autres pays pour la production.
Quels sont les nouveaux pays qui sont devenus attrayants pour la production de Kipling?
-Kipling a déplacé une partie de sa production vers des pays comme le Cambodge et le Vietnam pour éviter les droits d'importation des produits en direction des États-Unis.
Quelles sont les priorités de Kipling en termes de production?
-Les priorités de Kipling en termes de production incluent le prix, la vitesse d'approvisionnement sur le marché et la durabilité.
Quels sont les défis logistiques que Kipling pourrait rencontrer dans les nouveaux pays de production?
-Les défis logistiques pourraient inclure la disponibilité de pièces détachées, de matières premières et de connexions pour permettre le transport fluide, qui ne sont pas toujours au niveau de la Chine.
Quelle est l'importance de la durabilité et de la responsabilité éthique pour Kipling?
-La durabilité et la responsabilité éthique sont très importantes pour Kipling, qui choisit des partenaires qui répondent à ces exigences, comme en utilisant des panneaux solaires pour les sites de production.
Quels sont les futurs potentiels de production que Kipling envisage-t-elle?
-Kipling envisage l'Afrique comme un continent émergent pour la production à l'avenir, en raison des investissements chinois dans le continent.
Outlines
🌍 Kipling, une marque globale avec une approche autonome
Kipling est une marque de sacs à main et de bagages qui se positionne comme une marque de mode casual et de lifestyle. Fondée à Anvers il y a plus de 30 ans, elle a été racheter en 2004 par VF, un groupe américain qui possède également des marques comme Vans, The North Face et Timberland. Kipling est une marque mondiale avec des revenus répartis sur tous les continents. Malgré l'appartenance à VF, Kipling garde une gestion autonome et n'a pas choisi de se lancer dans la production, en raison du capital nécessaire et du décalage de la production de l'Europe vers l'Asie. La production a initialement été réalisée au Japon et à Hong Kong, mais a ensuite déplacé vers Taiwan, puis en Chine, où les coûts de production étaient plus bas et la capacité de production plus importante. La décision de ne pas produire par eux-mêmes a été sage, leur permettant de se concentrer sur le marketing et le développement de produits.
🏭 L'évolution de la production et les défis de la concurrence
Le deuxième paragraphe traite de l'évolution de la production de Kipling et des défis de la concurrence. La qualité des produits a toujours été une priorité pour la marque, qui visait à être une marque premium. Avec le temps, les coûts de production en Taiwan ont augmenté et la Chine est devenue attrayante en raison de ses opportunités de production abordables. Les investissements étrangers ont été encouragés par le gouvernement chinois, ce qui a permis à des fournisseurs taiwanais de s'établir en Chine avec de nouvelles usines. Cela a permis à Kipling d'économiser sur les coûts de production et d'augmenter sa capacité de production. Cependant, la Chine a perdu de son attrait en raison de l'augmentation des salaires et des problèmes commerciaux, comme les guerres commerciales entre la Chine et les États-Unis. De nombreuses marques ont donc cherché à déplacer leur production vers d'autres pays comme le Cambodge, le Vietnam et le Bangladesh.
🌐 La production mondiale et les tendances du marché
Dans le troisième paragraphe, l'accent est mis sur la production mondiale et les tendances du marché. La production en Chine reste importante pour le marché chinois, mais pour les exportations vers les États-Unis, d'autres pays comme le Cambodge sont devenus plus attrayants en raison des taxes d'importation. La vitesse de commercialisation est devenue un élément clé, en particulier avec l'essor du e-commerce et de la mode rapide. Les consommateurs exigent désormais plus de transparence et de responsabilité éthique des marques, ce qui a conduit Kipling à choisir des partenaires qui répondent à ces exigences. Les aspects de la durabilité et de l'éthique sont devenus primordiaux dans la sélection des sous-traitants.
🌱 La responsabilité éthique et la durabilité dans la production
Le dernier paragraphe souligne l'importance de la responsabilité éthique et de la durabilité dans la production. Kipling et son groupe parent VF accordent une grande importance à ces aspects et choisissent des partenaires qui partagent ces valeurs. Par exemple, des panneaux solaires sont utilisés dans les usines de production au Cambodge et des écoles locales sont soutenues. Les consommateurs demandent des informations sur l'origine des produits et des matières premières, ainsi que sur leur recyclage. L'Afrique est également vue comme une opportunité future pour la production en raison des investissements chinois et de la main-d'œuvre disponible.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Kipling
💡VF
💡production
💡sous-traitance
💡Asie
💡qualité
💡éthique
💡soutien logistique
💡vitesse de commercialisation
💡soutenabilité
💡Afrique
Highlights
Kipling is a global casual lifestyle brand with a unique positioning.
Founded in Antwerp and acquired by VF in 2004, a major US lifestyle group.
Kipling's revenue is evenly distributed across different continents.
Maintains autonomous management while utilizing VF's platforms for digital, sourcing, and logistics.
Kipling decided against self-manufacturing due to capital constraints and industry shifts.
Production initially focused in Japan and Hong Kong, later shifting to Taiwan and China.
Transcripts
So, Kipling is a handbag and luggage brand that has quite a unique positioning as a casual
lifestyle brand. The brand has been founded in Antwerp over 30 years ago.
In 2004, it was acquired by VF. VF is a major US lifestyle group that actually has brands such as
VANS, The North Face , Timberland, and also recently acquired Supreme.
Today it is a true global brand with nearly a third of
our revenue in each one of the continents. Our headquarter is in Antwerp. But we also have
headquarters for APAC in Hong Kong and for the Americas in New York.
But Kipling has always kept quite an autonomous management over the years, even
if we use a lot all the VF platforms, in terms of digital, in terms of sourcing and logistics.
We decided we would not manufacture ourselves for a couple of reasons. First reason is that
it requires additional capital. So, as we were limited with seed money in the beginning,
there was no… It was not an advantage to us to invest into own production area.
Secondly, I would say, there had been a shift going on with more and more of these
kind of industries shifting away from Europe, and moving to the Far East because of better pricing.
That meant that also some of the knowhow
in these industries was already disappearing out of our European markets.
It was very good we took that decision not to go in own production
because the production, the growth that the company had, we would never been able
to follow that growth if we had own production.
If you want to increase sales by thirty-five percent, that means you also have to increase
your production by thirty-five percent, but you cannot do this from one day to another.
By the time you took decisions to buy a new factory or
build a new production line, it would probably take you a year.
For us it was just adding this new supplier
on to the existing suppliers or increase the capacity with the existing supplier.
So, again, I think it was a very wise decision
to focus on what we were good at; that means the marketing approach, the product development,
the creative side of the business and leaving the manufacturing and production up to
some subcontractors.
Initially in the early eighties,
a lot of the production was done in countries such as Japan or Hong Kong,
but also there you saw new trends coming up where South Korea and Taiwan became two huge
sourcing areas. In our case, we went to Taiwan.
It seemed to be very good direction because as soon as we started the company
in nineteen eighty seven, we were ready to take the market
and the product we had designed was very much appreciated from day one by our consumers.
Obviously Xavier had some industry contacts, as well as the sourcing side, as well on the
retailing side and we hit the market with our new concept and new brand that was totally innovating,
offering fresh and differently looking product
appealing to a unexplored market of young teenagers.
In the initial days we used some – again – some trading
companies in order to help us, not only by having the introductions to the factories, but also
by helping us in the whole process of order placing,
product development, shipping, payments, logistics, quality control, etc.
So, you really needed those people locally in order to be able to be successful.
And definitely in our case, because we
wanted to have a quality which was beyond the average of the market.
We didn’t want to compare to be cheap, but we were asking, we were a premium brand
within our market segment so the quality also had to be premium.
Also in these areas of the world, things are evolving. So not only after a few years,
we had to remain in Taiwan, also their prices were going up.
And in addition, the China borders were opening up for international business.
Especially in the area, which is called Shenzhen
area, which is south of China and almost on the border with Hong Kong.
The China government allowed the opening of new factories with the help of foreign investors.
And in our case, the Taiwanese supplier saw the opportunity of opening new factories in that area,
where there was land available as much as you wanted.
There was workforce available as much as you want and a cost which was way
lower than the Taiwanese labor costs.
So they opened new factories there which allowed us a…
a product cost saving from fifteen to twenty percent. But the price was one thing
- I mean it was always of course interesting to have a better
pricing -, but what was more interesting that it allowed us tremendous production.
New ‘state of the art’, new production facilities,
which we probably would have got a problem finding in Taiwan, at a reasonable price and…
Because we were seasonal business, so everyone is looking for production capacity
at the same moment.
What happened in China was a quite unique thing, I think is quite exceptional.
Frankly speaking I think it’s…
I don’t see it happening so quickly as in other parts of the world, because you got a unique
combination of Taiwanese and Korean manufacturers that had not only the business and the knowhow
- of how to manufacture - but they also had the money and the capital willing to invest.
And then thirdly, which is not unimportant, they also had the orderbooks, I mean they
had their customer base which they were providing them with orders.
And then on the other hand you had China with - as I already told - opportunities of
buying land at virtually no cost
and a huge available workforce that was very eager to start working in these factories
coming from all over in mainland China and working in these factories.
And - I mean - that combination of knowhow, money to invest, and customers that
are waiting to give their orders and the Chinese workforce is - I think - a quite unique situation
that will not that quickly be repeated in other parts of the world.
So, China has been the biggest platform for production of
apparel and fashion industry for many many years.
But we have seen a lot of trends happening, quite recently, that made
China actually less attractive and also less competitive compared to its neighbors.
The first one, is truly the rise of the middle class
and as such also the increase in wages, which didn’t allow anymore China to be
competitive against its neighboring, Vietnam or Thailand or Indonesia.
So, this has been a big impact that affected a lot of brands, to look at production somewhere else.
The second one is truly the trade deals going around very specifically, the US,
China trade deal issues or trade wars that affected a lot of apparel brands.
Today, in terms of bag, if you want to produce in China,
you need to pay a 15% import tax to go to the US. As such, many brands moved out of China.
And one of the favorite locations there to change was
happening in Cambodia and Vietnam but also Bangladesh became very interesting.
You also have trade deals going on with Europe where there is
some preferential treatment happening, was the everything but arms trade deal,
that also influenced in which location actually the production site would move.
So, with Kipling we have been following this trend and, and actually where China still
remains very interesting in the production of products that are China for China.
We have moved a lot of our production out towards
Cambodia as in order not to pay the import tax for the products going to the US.
So, I think one, one important characteristic is that in terms of producing products,
the main priority was always, is very much the price.
But we see another element entering to it, is the speed going to market.
Today, the request also when development of fast-fashion and following the trends
requires a much shorter go-to-market and if we look today at online channels,
such as Tmall, there is products that come on to the market within six months
and this is really something that also influences where we will actually produce
and that we will also influence some production site in the future for some brands.
The competition landscape has just become more intense
because there’s more brands that develop bags now.
On the other hand, I think the market has only been growing
and especially in Asia. I mean we see two trends.
First of all, there is a huge, that same segment of kind of younger
generation looking for branded products and the kind of affordable price range,
is exactly happening about thirty years later, but now in Asia.
You see growing trend of shopping store, shopping malls. You see trend of
e-commerce that is booming.
So, that’s one given trend, there is a that generation now which is having more money to spend
and is very much inspired by those western brands then it was twenty-five years ago.
Second thing is obviously - I mean, as I already said - the route to market. I mean,
there’s fast department stores, shopping malls, e-commerce that are available for them.
And then in the case of Kipling - not to neglect - is that also these people start to
travel and go on holidays. So, I mean they need luggage to travel with or they need additional
bags to travel with, which is definitely - I mean – fitting our product category.
Already for the last ten, fifteen years, people are moving in the direction of Thailand, Vietnam,
also now Cambodia as additional production sites.
Again history repeats itself, again there land and workforce is available. But as I pointed out,
just before; the availability
of spare parts, raw materials, logistics, etc. is definitely not up to the level of China, so.
the logistics part of China should not be looked over. I mean, China did a great job,
not only offering the land for the factories
but also building the roads and the connections to allow the transport
quite smoothly, which is not the case in the countries I just have been talking about.
And then again, distance, lead times, etc. are not always facilitating things so
I think these countries will also develop and evolve over the next years to come.
But for sure, the Asian market
has become a huge market for any company, as well for sourcing and now also for sales.
Another part, which is extremely important, which is also very much consumer driven and
also the ethical behavior that brands need to have in terms of ethical responsibility
and sustainability is really choose partners that can answer these responsibilities.
So, VF has a very close look on ethical responsibility. As such,
we would not choose a partner that is not responding to this.
So, we would choose subcontractors, such as we have in Cambodia, where everything is solar-led,
where there are solar-led panels for the production site
where we also follow the community, where there is a local school.
And also, it is something that, that we see as our responsibility but also as a consumer need.
Because consumers today ask for much more transparency,
to see where the products are coming from, where the materials are coming from,
how they are actually followed-up in the future, and also how they are recycled.
So, to summarize, the big keys really from price to speed and sustainability.
Another point, just to also answer the question on “where is the future lying?”
There are different opportunities that are rising on the future.
One big country or continent that we see coming up is Africa. We have seen a lot of
Chinese investments into Africa, that will also be considered as one
opportunity of production for the future.
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