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Made In China - Designer Handbag Fashion Totally Misunderstood

Wow! What's all this garble about "everything" made in China being counterfeit or fake? Do people understand the design and manufacturing process? Or, are they just determined to squabble about one of the manufacturing industry's greatest resources?

True, there's been a lot of media about children's toys being manufactured poorly. Shame on China for the mess they've created. They'll fix the problem, or they'll lose business. We all learn from our mistakes, right? Or, at least the smart folks learn. And, let's face it, China is no dummy!

China has been manufacturing most of the clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories stocked in all the major department stores throughout the world for many, many years. And, this is not going to fade or go away. China offers low-cost labor for low-end to high-end designer handbags, clothing and just about anything around the house.

Most people don't understand the truth about the Made in China label. China has been producing most of the Designer Merchandise sold in the USA for very long time. Why? Because the price to manufacture in China keeps prices as low as possible for consumers. People complain about the high price tags on designer handbags, clothing, shoes, and accessories. If the same item made in China was made in the USA or Europe the prices would be doubled or tripled.

If the Hermes Birkin bag was assembled by hand in China instead of France, the price would not be $7,000.00 each. If Italian leather was sent to China for the assembly of Prada handbags, the prices would not be $3,000.00 each. Please put things into perspective.

Burberry's new management decided to use China for some of its assembled manufacturing needs and people went crazy. The thought of using a designer handbag made in China is misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misguided. The product made in China consists of the same quality of fabric as if it were made in the USA, France, England or Italy. The only difference is the designer item was assembled in China, or any other country offering a cheaper assembly manufacturing process.

Most of the high-end Designers buy fabrics, leathers, and materials from the USA or Europe, pay a premium price for the high-quality fabrication, and then negotiate manufacturing in China. The materials and specifications are sent to China and made. Representatives from each of the Design Houses travel to China or other manufacturing countries to supervise the process. The finished products are shipped to the USA and other parts of the world for sale. It's a process kept sweet and as simple as possible. It creates jobs and produces a global economy.

Most consumers don't know the designer manufacturing process or understand the details. They see a Made in China label and assume it's a counterfeit item or fake. In reality, it's not. It's a moderately priced item made in a country which has been stereo-typed. And, we can't blame the consumer because most of the junk, counterfeit and fake merchandise bearing the trademarks of others are made in China. Hopefully, the USA Customs Department working closely with the fashion industry will help end importing counterfeit goods.

There are many countries available the fashion designers use to outsource labor. The high-end leather designer handbags with high-ticket price tags are made in the USA, Italy, London and France. The lower cost designer products are made elsewhere. Most designers offer collections every season which provide both high-end and lower priced products. For example, Ralph Lauren has five price and fabrication determined collections: RL Classics, Collection, Black Label, Blue Label and Lauren. Plus, many of the designers produce a separate collection for outlet stores and discount stores like Marshalls, TJ Max, Target, Walmart, etc.

Some of the countries are more commonly used than others, and nonetheless they are countries with capabilities and low-cost labor. Some of these countries include, and are not limited to China, Turkey, Mexico, Romania, India and Portugal.

Fashion designers who make designer handbags, designer wallets, designer scarves, designer clothing, hats, shoes, etc. use these countries because they can sell their products at affordable prices. Some of the fashion designers include, and are not limited to Coach, Burberry, Liz Claiborne, Robert Rodriquez, Max Studio, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Dooney & Bourke, Juicy Couture, Donna Karan, Anne Klein, Brighton, and many, many others.

Just because an item is Made in China, it does not constitute fake or counterfeit. Let's get this straight and communicated clearly. The reason the item was made in China is because at that point in time, the designer's manufacturing team decided it was the best business decision to make for a cost-effective distribution of its product and collection.

The next time you see a Made in China label on a designer handbag or accessory, and you purchased it from a reputable source, thank your lucky stars for the bargain price you paid. If you have any doubt, take the item to the designer's boutique for authentication and peace of mind. Don't assume just because it's Made in China it's a fake. You know what assuming does, right?

About the author:
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She owns and operates the internet website http://www.eFashionHouse.com . EfashionHouse was named Best of the Web by People StyleWatch Magazine and recently About.com recognized eFashionHouse as the top of three sources for authentic Chanel at below retail prices. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer and Ecommerce Entrepreneur. Anna has been buying and reselling authentic designer fashion accessories online since the early 1990's. The Corporation's vision and mission is "to offer authentic designer handbags, purses and accessories below the cost of retail." You can visit the i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. fashion blogs at the following dot com locations: i-GlobalMall, ValueBags, BrandsBoutique, DesignersLA, LuxuryVintage and ShoppingBrokers.

Ref.:http://ezinearticles.com/?Made-In-China---Designer-Handbag-Fashion-Totally-Misunderstood&id=838440

Yes it is strange that people doesn't care about buying a ' typical souvenier ' in the country they are visiting , with a text saying ..."Made in China" .. I suposse the illusion doesn't seem to detract them from the real fact where it is actually made .... as long as it is cheap ? ... not so sure ...

" FAKE BRANDS RECOGNISING A REAL TREND " _ EUROMONITOR

http://www.euromonitor.com/Fake_brands_recognising_a_real_trend

Author: Sarah Boumphrey
Date published: 27 Jul 2007

Once fake brands were sold from suitcases on high streets and back-street market stalls. Then trend-setter, gap-year teens and early twenty-somethings began returning home wearing their knock-off brands with pride. Now they are more pervasive, and are attracting buyers from across the consumer wealth spectrum. Are fake brands becoming chic and fun, and are luxury brands in danger of being undermined by a consumer trend towards ironic purchasing?

BACKGROUND
Fake products represent a long established and extensive global industry. The phenomenon varies from breaches of product patents in industrial and technical products, through illegal reproductions of copyright entertainment material to fakes of branded luxury lines.

Various figures quoted by regulatory bodies illustrate the penetration of counterfeit goods in world trade. It has for example been estimated by the OECD that international trade in counterfeit goods could have reached US$200 billion in 2005.

And this market is growing. European and North American customs authorities have reported phenomenal growth in the number of counterfeits seized in recent years (though this may also reflect greater efforts to stamp out the counterfeit trade). Between 2001 and 2005, for example, seizures of counterfeit products by US Customs more than doubled.

Last year, the USA and European Union launched a joint strategy to enforce global intellectual property rights, which will include closer customs cooperation and data sharing. This is a priority initiative, led by high profile figures including Carlos Gutierrez (US Secretary of Commerce), Gunter Verheugen (vice president European Commission for Enterprise and Industry) and Peter Mandelson (EU Trade Commissioner). Intellectual property is one of the key advantages still held by Western industries and the new actions reflect how vulnerable they feel in the face of overseas infringements.

Asia is the principal source of the world's fake brands market with China the largest source economy. Official estimates suggest that counterfeit products account for 15%-20% of products made in China, representing 8% of China's US$2.6 trillion GDP.

In terms of definitions, counterfeiting covers a vast range of consumer and industrial products. A specialist area of the trade is counterfeit pharmaceuticals. In this case, fake brand medicines are mainly targeted at low-income countries � rather than North America and Europe which are the target markets in most other counterfeit areas. It has been estimated by the US Food & Drug Administration that fake medicine accounts for up to 10% of the world pharmaceutical trade, while this rises to perhaps 25% in poorer countries, and extremely high levels in China.
This article chiefly considers fake consumer brands, which are non-deceptive rather than deceptive counterfeits: i.e. the consumer knows that the brand is a copycat to a famous original.

WHY BUY FAKE?
Fake brands clearly supply a basic demand for low cost items that the consumer can associate with less affordable, scarce premier brands. However, psychologists have looked far more deeply into this area of consumer behaviour and a wealth of research has been published. A very basic finding is that despite the low price factor, fake brands are regularly bought by relatively high income households in developed countries.

A few other points to note about fake brand buying:

Fake brands are more affordable, often with a huge price difference to the original brand;

Fake brands can have far wider availability than the real, exclusive brand � especially in the low income countries where they are made;

Buying situations such as holidays favour fake purchases, as consumers are away from their normal social/legal restraints;

Counterfeits can reflect the prestige of exotic travel (to fake buying centres) and provide an authentication of the travel experience;

Many consumers see fake brands as fun and a form of popularising the real brand;

Consumers sometimes believe they are contributing to the local economy when they purchase fake brands.

Several of these points were raised in a recent academic study by Martin Eisend and Pakize Schuchert-Gueler (Academy of Marketing Science Review, 2006). Their research included a series of focus groups in Germany, and included an analysis of the �cognitive dissonance� set up by consumers having knowledge of the negative issues behind fake products alongside the fact that they bought them.
Examples of the justification process included:

�I have to think about it all the time (an original Rolex) and don't feel free by having it on me�
�When I purchased my first Gucci copy I got used to keeping the glasses safe in a case � I never did that before with other glasses.�
�Counterfeits can help those poor individuals and the economy of the country.�

The first comment about the peace of mind of cheap knock offs can be especially true when on holiday. It is also related to a recent trend towards �bling� costume jewellery, in which some women claim to feel safer wearing cheap copies � while others now say they can wear expensive jewellery as thieves will assume it's fake.
The point about testing out a brand with a cheaper fake implies that the consumer will move up to the real thing when he or she can afford it. This is also related to the wider argument that fake brands enhance and spread the reputation of the original brand, and ultimately their sales. Brand manufacturers obviously dispute this and state that fake products compete for expenditure and spoil their brands' valuable heritage over the long term.

Finally, brand owners should perhaps look at consumer comments about supporting local economies. Consumers may believe, rightly or wrongly, that the real products are manufactured in the same low-income economies as the knock-offs. Buying fake � especially on holiday � can therefore be seen as by-passing the multinational and buying local. It is harder to support this thinking at home when the knock off has reached North America and Europe via dubious means. However, consumer interest in anti-globalisation and fair trade goods is a growing trend, and could create demand for legal, low-priced imitation products sourced from developing countries.

BUT IS IT WRONG?
Research indicates that consumers seek to justify their fake purchases to themselves and that the spate of recent announcements about the wider fall out and criminality of illegal copying has largely fallen on deaf ears. One exception has been music piracy, where there has been some success in convincing consumers not to defraud musicians (emphasising local, low-paid musicians rather than major artists).

A survey last year (Synovate and TeleNations Global telephone omnibus survey) demonstrated that over two-thirds of US consumers felt that there was no problem with buying fake.

The survey involved 1,600 consumers in the USA, Serbia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong, China � UAE and Hong Kong, China are world shopping centres and major channels for fake brands.

Surprisingly, only 25% of Hong Kong respondents felt there was nothing wrong with fake brand buying.

Consumer Survey: Is There Anything Wrong in Buying Counterfeits?
% response "no"

USA 69%
Hong Kong, China 25%
Serbia 41%
UAE 53%

Source: Synovate/TeleNations Global telephone omnibus survey 2006
In terms of those who had actually bought a knock off, 57% of US respondents stated that they had, against a lower 42% in Hong Kong, China, and a very high 81% in the UAE. The high UAE results reflect the availability of fake brands in this dynamic shopping location. The Hong Kong, China response looks low given the availability of fake brands there (fake brands in Hong Kong, China can often even be segmented between �top quality,� �medium quality� copies etc).

The survey asked about the product sectors where counterfeits are most effective. Band name clothing comes top, with 59% of US consumers saying that fake brands were perfectly good alternatives to the originals. 61% of UAE respondents agreed with this.

This relates to other research showing that customers are more likely to buy fake where they can pre-test the quality (checking the fabric and stitching on clothing etc.) than where they cannot (electronics etc.).
The same survey also re-iterated the importance of price. 94% said they thought sales of fakes were driven by low price � while one-third thought the quality of knock offs were similar to that of the originals.

Counterfeit Products as Alternative to the Original
% saying counterfeits are good alternatives to the originals USA Hong Kong,China
Name brand clothes 55 33 %
Name brand accessories, e.g. jewellery or purses 51 29
CDs and/or DVDs 23 37
Fragrances 38 11
Electronics/small appliances 30 11
Any of the above 76 40
None of these

Yves Saint Laurent Uptown Small Bag

PIC>:www.pursepage.com/ yves-saint-laurent-handbags...

COOL FAKES?

Illustrations of amusing fake brands are common on the internet. Here are some current examples:
Brands and their rivals

Original Brand Fake Brand
PRADA PARADI
PUMA PMUA
THREE STRIPE ADIDAS FOUR STRIPES
ADIDAS DAIADS
SONY SONIA
NIKE NIRE
PLAYSTATION POLYSTATION
NOKIA NOKLA
SONY ERICSSON SUNY ERICSSOM
Source: Euromonitor International

A study from law firm Davenport Lyons conducted by Ledbury Research underscores the growth of fake brands in the UK, and reveals that the profile of the fake buyer is not the once-expected low-income consumer with little prospect of buying the real thing.
The study found that 12% of the UK population had bought an item of fake clothing, footwear, leather goods, watches or jewellery in the year prior to interview, while 48% had bought a look-alike (closely resembling the style of a famous brand). In comparison 43% had bought a genuine premium brand in the same period.

Factors driving the success of fakes included higher income and easier consumer credit; a general upgrade towards higher grade products in many sectors; and the entry of exclusive brands into the mass market.

Most interestingly, the research found little difference between the profile of consumers who had bought a fake in the past year and the general demographic. Fake brand buyers are just as likely to be employed, and only slightly less likely to be well-paid.

Profiles of Fake Brand Buyers and Non-Buyers, UK

% Have bought a fake Have not bought a fake
In employment 52 52
Earning over £50,000 16 19
Under 35 years old 31 33
Married/in relationship 75 69
Source: Ledbury Research/Davenport Lyons, 2006

Burberry was the most frequently bought faked brand, followed by copies of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Yves St Lauren.

Finally, not only are fake brand buyers not especially poor or unfamiliar with high class brands, but amongst fashion savvy consumers especially, there is currently a knowing irony in the use of fakes. These switched on consumers find it infra dig to pretend that a fake item is real. Rather they flaunt the copy - discuss its origin, name, price and how they acquired it - especially if abroad. Luxury brand owners will hope that this remains a niche consumer interest.

Nah I don't support fakes.