China Looks Overseas for Designers to Build Brands
- Squeezed profit margins spur a race to build lucrative brands
- Local designers have talent but don’t yet have much experience
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When evaporating profit margins prompted China’s Zhejiang Willing Foreign Trading Co. to launch its own brand for yoga wear last year, it spurned homegrown talent and turned to a French freelance designer.
"Chinese designers just don’t have good taste for foreign markets," said Zhang Tao, assistant manager at the Hangzhou-based company. "Chinese businesses have been good at manufacturing but now we have to change our mindset. Brands are the future."