Wensli has designs on European silk market

Now, it will manufacture, as well as design, silk products for Wensli. Bonnefond also will become CEO of Marc Rozier.

Li Jianhua, CEO of Wensli Group, said the purchase represents a big step toward brand-building.

"For more than two decades, Chinese companies have been doing original equipment manufacturing for European brands. Now it is time for them to manufacture for us. With Marc Rozier as our European front, our products, from design to craftwork, are exactly the same as European brands like Hermes," he said.

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In 2011, Wensli began combining silk products with Chinese culture. The upgrading helped the company to win high-end Chinese customers over the past five years.

Domestic sales have grown by more than 20 percent year-on-year, but it was still proving hard for the company to enter the overseas luxury market.

Li said consumers of luxury products value manufacturing origins. "That is why Hermes' silk scarves are always produced in France or Italy. Thus, it is very difficult for Chinese brands to get recognition in the high-end market. But I always keep in mind that a Chinese company should be the best producer of silk products because this industry has been in China for 5,000 years," he said.

Apart from using Mark Rozier to enter Europe, the company also hopes to learn from the French manufacturer.

"One deep impression is that the equipment the company uses are 30 years behind ours," Tu said. "However, they can produce better quality products than us. This is what we have to learn from them."

The company's ambition is a lofty one: to become the most famous silk brand in the world.

"I hope in three or five years, when people think of silk, Wensli will be the first brand that jumps into their minds," she said.

Tu also revealed that Wensli is considering setting up a material foundation in Europe to get the price of raw materials under control.

Fei Jianming, chairman of the Hangzhou Silk Association, said the hiring of Bonnefond could be considered a milestone for the city's silk industry.

 

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