- Title: CHINA: CHINESE EYE GLASSES MAKER OVERCOMES BANKRUPTCY TO TAKE ON ITALIAN MARKET.
- Date: 23rd July 2005
- Summary: (ASIA)WENZHOU, CHINA (JUNE 23, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WORKERS AT WAKING LION GLASSES FACTORY 2. VARIOUS OF WORKERS POLISHING GLASSES FRAMES 3. PILE OF FRAMES 4. VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING GLASSES 5. HU WENCHU, CHAIRMAN OF WAKING LION, TALKING TO WORKER 6. (SOUNDBITE)(Mandarin) HU WENCHU, CHAIRMAN OF WAKING LION, SAYING: "My ultimate goal is to create a worldwide brand. To do that, I plan to penetrate the Italian market. The best glasses are made there. If I can win that market, then I can conquer the whole world." 7. VARIOUS OF WORKERS (ASIA)BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 4, 2005) (REUTERS) 8. ARTHUR KROEBER, MANAGING EDITOR, CHINA ECONOMIC QUARTERLY, AT DESK 9. CLOSE OF HANDS 10. CLOSE OF COMPUTER SCREEN 11. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTHUR KROEBER, MANAGING EDITOR, CHINA ECONOMIC QUARTERLY, SAYING: "Building a brand is hard and expensive. So if you don't have a strong base to do that from, it's very hard to achieve. Chinese companies don't have that luxury. They're exporting and going abroad mainly out of desperation, not out of some considered plan that this is the best strategy for them." (ASIA)WENZHOU, CHINA (JUNE 23, 2005) (REUTERS) 12. VARIOUS OF WORKERS ASSEMBLING GLASSES 13. PILES OF FRAMES 14. (SOUNDBITE)(Mandarin) WORKER, ZHANG CHUNMEI, SAYING: "I can finish 2,000 pairs a day, 3,000 if I'm fast. I believe the quality here is just as good as the ones they make in Italy." 15. VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEES ARRANGING GLASSES 16. VARIOUS OF GLASSES ON SHELF 17. SUNGLASSES ON MANNEQUIN HEAD Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 7th August 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BEIIJING AND WENZHOU, CHINA
- Country: China
- Reuters ID: LVA2LJXYJMGLA3AODNLUN96RPSV3
- Story Text: A Chinese eye glasses maker overcomes bankruptcy to
take on the Italian market.
+++EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO IS AS INCOMING+++
It's early in the morning, but these workers will be
labouring till nearly midnight, churning out eye glasses
for export.
They work for self-taught businessman Hu Wenchu, who
lost his life savings three years ago when his first
business went bankrupt.
But Hu is determined to make his comeback a success,
using China's manufacturing might to flood world markets
with inexpensive spectacles and sunglasses.
"My ultimate goal is to create a worldwide brand. To do
that, I plan to penetrate the Italian market. The best
glasses are made there. If I can win that market, then I
can conquer the whole world," he said.
Hu named his company Waking Lion, a metaphor for his
own growing business savvy.
The factory is typical of the 4,000 or so in southern
China that assemble spectacles entirely by hand.
China makes 40 percent of the world's glasses, but
accounts for only five percent of sales. So makers are
increasingly turning to quality.
Building an international brand is the Holy Grail of
Chinese businessmen and has proved to be just as elusive.
Virtually none of the local companies have their own
brands, so they end up passing the 1,000 percent retail
mark-up to sellers overseas.
Arthur Krober, editor of China Economic Quarterly, says
it will be tough for low-cost manufacturers to become the
next Raybans or Gucci.
"Building a brand is hard and expensive. So if you
don't have a strong base to do that from, it's very hard to
achieve. Chinese companies don't have that luxury. They're
exporting and going abroad mainly out of desperation, not
out of some considered plan that this is the best strategy
for them," he said.
Hu says he's undeterred. He plans to start selling
direct to buyers in Poland and India first, before taking
on Italy.
He relies on workers such as Zhang Chunmei, who make
just less than $200 a month soldering nose pads onto
glasses.
"I can finish 2,000 pairs a day, 3,000 if I'm fast. I
believe the quality here is just as good as the ones they
make in Italy," she said.
Hu plans to double the number of employees this year
and to switch over to making higher-priced glasses.
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