Sales 2022: Faced with "Made in China", how Portugal has shot the game

In the end, asphalt denim pants cost the customer 100 euros."If it had been produced in France, it would be 140 or 150 euros.Or we should have lowered our quality to sell cheaper, which was not our goal.We have also eliminated Asia for reasons of social law.With the European Union, workers are much better protected, we are sure that they work in good conditions, "he said.Today, 82% of its production is in the Lusophone country.

A know-how acclaimed by French brands

“Their know-how is very good especially in jeans, mesh or leather goods, which makes it a destination with good value for money,» confirms Simoné Eusebio, director of communication at Make My Lemonade, a brand createdIn 2015 and almost half of the clothes (42%) are also made in Portugal.

Chrysoline de Gastines, co -founder of Balzac Paris who produces more than 85% of her clothes in this country, also highlights this quality "which is based on family businesses".She also insists on the advantage of working with employees who can speak French and with whom communication can therefore be more fluid.

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Portugal, for its part, understood the attraction it aroused, especially with brands that are more ethical, explains the brand Marques de France.Even if it means giving brands a chance that was only in their early days.“These are the first factories to have agreed to work with us.They told us "go we want to embark on this adventure", even if we produce small quantities, "explains Simoné Eusebio de Make My Lemonade.A winning bet: the brand experienced a growth of 146% in 2021.

“Le made in France n’est pas un gage de qualité»

This movement, initiated “for 5 or 10 years, after the massive departure in Asia» estimates William Hauvette, could soon convince major brands to relocate to Portugal, or more broadly in Europe.Previously Eldorado of the Fingue, China finds itself confronted with repeated scandals, ordered to explain itself on the forced work of the Uighurs minority.

The COVVI-19 pandemic also had an impact, assures Chrysoline de Gastines: “At the beginning, only a small part of the customers who came to Balzac for his.With the covid, mentalities have taken a giant step.There has been an awareness on the meaning of the carbon footprint and environmental subjects in general »which could upset consumption habits.She even claims that the purchase has become a political act: "Today, the client puts the price in a consciousness clothing.By buying, she votes.»

Si le Portugal s’affirme comme le nouveau lieu de fabrication,le “made in France» peine en revanche à s’imposer, même auprès des marques qui se disent éthiques.It is not for lack of having tried for Chrysoline de Gastines, who says that he was disappointed after a first try with Parisian workshops."We realized that French manufacturing was not so glorious as the label said: working conditions were not ideal, the factories not very lasting...We were keen to find a factory in Europe (...) Le Portugal s’est imposé, car il n’a pas eu de désindustrialisation là-bas contrairement à la France qui a perdu son savoir-faire», défend l’entrepreneuse.

A point of view also shared by Simoné Eusebio, by Make My Lemonade: “Made in France is not a guarantee of quality.In addition, it is too expensive to produce: when you launch a brand with a price positioning which is not exorbitant as is our case, we cannot increase the price by 100% at one time ″.

Towards a reindustrialisation of France?

However, all the brands interviewed did not completely abandon the idea of developing their production in France.Make My Lemonade, for example, made successful banana bags in France. “On a dû négocier plusieurs fois et promettre qu’il y aurait une production conséquente avant de réussir», relate Simoné Eusebio avant d’ajouter: “Mais pour un lancer un produit, c’est trop compliqué.»