Why Should Chanel Hold The Upper Throat?

"When we talk about Chanel, the first thing will come out of the Tweed, but in fact, 40% of all fabrics are silk."

Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel global boutique, explains why the company invested in four small and medium sized silk factories in Lyon, France.

As early as sixteenth Century, silkworms were the exclusive skills of Sicilian people in Europe.

Until the late Middle Ages, France still imported silk mainly from Italy.

In order to cut off their dependence on Italy's expensive silk fabrics, French king Louis eleven decided in 1466 to plant mulberry trees in large quantities and develop the local silk industry.

In 1540, the city of Lyon in southeastern France was granted a franchise for silk production.

At that time, 12 thousand Lyons lived for weaving, almost 1/3 of the city's population.

Today, the silk theme museum is still a feature tourist attraction in Lyon.

Just like Chanel's advanced handcraft shop acquired in recent decades, Lyon four

The reputation is quite weak outside the industry, and their number is between 15-49 people.

Probably only people in the industry know that three of them are Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant recognized by the French government.

However, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld started using these silk factories early.

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Linings, prints and scarves.

In this investment, Chanel acquired most of the three silk factories: Moulinages de Riotord, Textiles Henri Lacroix, Hugo Tag Ennoblissement.

In addition, Chanel also bought a minority stake in Denis&Fils.

"We step by step to increase investment in clothing upstream to ensure adequate clothing resources."

Bruno Pavlovsky said, "one of the keys to success or failure of the show is whether the company has the ability to produce the fabric quickly."

In fact, Chanel has been implementing this strategy since 1984, and the first one to be bought is Desrues jewelry and jewelry workshop.

It is a subsidiary of Chanel, which is made up of more than 10 advanced workshops, including Lemari, camellia and feather house, Maison Michel hat making workshop, Massaro shoe workshop, Lesage embroidery workshop, Montex embroidery workshop, Causse gloves workshop and Lognon folding square.

Just a few days ago, Chanel just bought Richard, a family business specializing in the production of high-end sheepskin.

The small company in the south of France has been supplying soft sheepskin to luxury brands including Chanel.

In the same area, Chanel bought the Joyeux leather factory three years ago and the glove maker Causse.

Up to now, the acquisition of upstream suppliers of fashion production chains is no longer a novelty.

In 2013, its luxury group, including YSL, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and other brands, had invested in a minority stake in French leather company France Coco.

A spokesman for the group said in an interview with TFL television, "this ensures that the Kai Yun brand continues to get high-quality crocodile skin."

For the same reason, Louis Vuitton won Heng Long, a Singapore based leather supplier several years ago for $160 million 800 thousand, and Prada invested in French leather supplier Megisserie Hervy and Tuscany leather supplier Conceria Superior.

Almost all the first tier luxury brands are trying to gain more initiative through their upstream efforts.