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Last week I wrote about the future of Guangdong manufacturing. I thought it would be nice to show how an industry gradually moved away from its center in Hong Kong and Guangdong province.
I picked the lingerie (bras and panties for ladies) industry because I know it intimately. I was purchasing and selling lingerie around /. And some of my clients are lingerie importers, so I see where the trends seem to be going.
It is an interesting case study because lingerie production necessitates certain unique materials and accessories, as well as a specific know-how (sewing bra cups is done by hand).
Let's see how production moved away from its base and formed several clusters.
The Pearl River delta, in Guangdong
In the s, the factories located in Hong Kong (in the TaiKokTsui and SheungShaWan areas) moved across the border to Shenzhen and Dongguan, because of the price difference.
Hong Kong companies also migrated to the other side of the delta, around Zhongshan and Zhuhai (because of the short ferry trips and the higher proportion of local, Cantonese-speaking workers in these cities).
I should also mention there is a very strong concentration of lingerie manufacturers just West of Guangzhou, in the Nanhai district of Foshan city.
The above-mentioned areas are around the Pearl River delta. They now count the highest number of mid-and-high-end lingerie factories. Some of them, like Maniform or Oleno, have even launched their high-end brands on the Chinese market.
And most fabrics & accessories suppliers are also in this area, including a number of foreign microfiber, lace, embroidery, and accessories (rings, sliders, hooks & eyes') producers. It is still by far the biggest production base for lingerie.
The development of Shantou
Shantou city is to the East of Guangdong province, about 5 hours away from Shenzhen. It is now the hub for cheap bras & panties, both for the domestic market and for overseas importers.
I heard from several factories that their supplier base for fabrics is getting better. Getting materials from the Pearl River delta is not that expensive anyway. And they ship out from the Shenzhen and Hong Kong ports.
Average quality is lower than in Dongguan or Zhongshan. Understanding of customer requirements is often non-existent. Personally I hate the way Shantou people conduct business. But the lower labor cost makes it an attractive destination for buyers at the low end.
Fujian province
Around Quanzhou city (4-5 hours east of Shantou), thousands of workshops produce simple cotton underwear, and some molded bras (the type of bras that needs little sewing know-how).
For these simple goods, prices are even lower than in Shantou. Cotton fabric can be purchased locally for a very low cost.
For more information, please visit China Lingerie Factory.
Most factories don't do direct business with export customers. They often sell through Xiamen- or Hong Kong-based trading companies.
Zhejiang
There is a lot of seamless underwear around Yiwu, but no deep know-how about sewing of bras. Only a few manufacturers are capable of making the full line of lingerie items.
Inner provinces
I see more and more manufacturers setting up their operations in provinces like Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guangxi. They have to pay transport costs to get the fabrics and the accessories, but the much lower labor cost is very attractive.
The idea is to lure some skilled workers who originally come from these inner provinces to 'go back home' and train new, local staff.
However, a tiny proportion of suppliers have made this move inland.
Other Asian countries
Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia also possess the necessary knowledge to sew bras. Only Vietnam currently seems able to compete with China on prices. They often purchase their materials from China, which makes the supply chain a bit slower and less agile, though.
Bangladesh and Pakistan are suitable for making simple cotton underwear, but they have trouble facing the competition from the Shantou and Quanzhou clusters.
The case of India is more interesting. Triumph was a pioneer and opened several lingerie factories there around -, so the critical know-how might become widespread. Wearing a bra is becoming fashionable in this huge country, so everyone is eyeing this market's potential and wants to be able to produce locally.
The region of Tirupur, in the South, is the main production base of knit garments. I went there 3 years ago, and some American firms had just make multi-million dollar investments to jumpstart lingerie production.
The trend is clearly for a fragmentation of this industry, a relocation away from Guangdong, and a slow spreading of critical know-how. Exactly like thousands of other industries, right?
A decade later, crossboundaries realizes aimer's lingerie factory, a new model of industrial architecture that embodies china's economy in transition.
When Aimer first approached Crossboundaries in , it requested a factory compound of sqm gross floor area that could house conventional storage, manufacturing, and a 300-people dormitory by individual functions. However, as Aimer grew rapidly in China, the leadership quickly foresaw the importance to upgrade its operation shifting from a production-focused business to a genuine fashion brand. In order to reinforce its brand image and adapt to a maturing economy, Crossboundaries was asked to add a Research and Development office, a sqm distribution center as well as spaces to showcase its products. The realized facility of sqm in represents a successful collaboration between Aimer and the designers in rethinking the future of the Chinese brand that integrates production, brand building with the well-being of employees.
Unity: A facility that reflects the strength of a leading enterprise
To optimize the site, Crossboundaries gathered all business functions under one roof, resulted in a rectangular stand-alone building that presents strength and authority to the public.
Following the idea to boost Aimer's operational efficiency in order to move up the value chain, Crossboundaries responded with detail research and understanding of how Aimers goods, employees and visitors navigate within and between the spaces. The west public entry into the 12m high lobby invites visitors to the southwest corner of shop and Aimer museum as well as the ground floor conference center that will host industry events. Above the conference center and lobby is the office area, which shares a communal deck with the manufacturing areas, cutting down in-house communication time between administration and production.
'Even though Aimer is upgrading its operation to meet international business standard, it still provides accomodation as part of compensation for the workers based on the communist idea of 'danwei','
Not only does the complex serve conventional factory needs in a modern way, but it also creates a factory community based on the communist system of a 'danwei'. 'Even though Aimer is upgrading its operation to meet international business standard, it still provides accomodation as part of compensation for the workers based on the communist idea of 'danwei',' said principal Binke Lenhardt. The 600-people dormitory seperates from the facility with recreational areas in between, generating a distinction between work and living therefore enhancing the sense of community for workers.
Democratizing: Attending the well-being and interaction of employees
'We have to break away from the imprisoning working environment, moving from disciplining workers to engaging communication and breathing within the factories,'
While it is important to the client to present a strong image, Crossboundaries envisioned a factory environment that attends to the well-being of workers and administration employees equally.
By cutting a void in the builiding and placing a communal deck set at level +13m, the doubled public space crossing ground floor and the deck allows air to better circulate horizontally and vertically along the curved inner facade. The use of top-hinged glass windows along the inner facade maximize the amount of natural light that shines into both manufacturing and office areas. This timbered deck therefore serves as a bridge to bring administration and workers to stroll and relax in the same place. 'We have to break away from the imprisoning working environment, moving from disciplining workers to engaging communication and breathing within the factories,' said principal Hao Dong.
Branding lingerie: Speaking about seduction through architecture
Since Aimer intends to use the building for events, showcasing and industry conferences, Crossboundaries's deep understanding of Aimer's vision later led to designing the building's interior, landscape and signage for a consistent image that reflects the essence of lingerie.
Although the industrial nature of the facility is addressed with galvanized aluminum and concrete on the outer and inner façade respectively, the aluminum panles were designed with vertical fins and concrete panels pre-fabricated in order to enliven a flattened cube with tactility. The outer facade transitions from aluminum coverage to a combination of aluminum and glass, accomodating the different levels of lighting required in products-centered areas and human-centered areas. The visual effect of the facade therefore reflects the nature of lingerie: coverage and transparency.
The staircase in the lobby winds around a veil of slender white columns set at various inclinations screening off the shop and museum. It also doubles as an decending catwalk for models to reveal a new collection of lingerie, emerging from behind the veil to the audiance in the lobby. This sense of exploration and mystery is frequently echoed in lighting, walkways and voids with curves and rounded quadrilateral patterns, which were extracted abstractly from selections of lace.
Future
While the county of Shunyi sees a growing number of industrial architectures and outlets, the Aimer Factory's contemporary aesthetic and functions allocation are designed with the future in mind: the possibility to use the architecture for other purposes and setting Aimer apart as a leading national brand that will be ready to compete internationally.
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