Intima Asia
Ready to "Cloverise" China
17 April 2019
Long-time manufacturer for major American brands, including Victoria's Secret, Aerie, Under Armour, Lululemon, and Lane Bryant, Hong Kong-based Clover International has just undergone a series of organisational changes and is now ready to offer quality production to key Chinese brands.
Angie Lau, CEO, and one of Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen 2014, tells us more about her scope and views.
Almost by chance Angie found herself the head of the company founded by her father in 1956. She is now successfully leading it forward, and shares management responsibilities with her sister Emily - who she refers to as the “thinker” and to herself as the “talker-. Today, Clover employs around 8,000 people at manufacturing facilities in China, Cambodia, and India and has built a reputation within the industry by developing best-selling lines for high-street American brands and retailers. More recently, they have hired a group of high-profile professionals, including Ralph Jansen, former CEO of Mas Holdings, as Chief Operations Officer; Uta Witting, former Chief designer at Triumph Asia, as Senior Vice President of Design & Product Development; Robert Neilson, formerly at Top Form, as Vice President of Production Operations as well as Sigi Rabinowicz, previously at Tefron, as Chief Innovation Officer.
Angie, you are a very dynamic and determined woman, one of the very few to hold a top management position in the underwear business in China (and elsewhere). Can you tell us what you mean by "Cloverisation"?
From a marketing perspective, it is very important to employ words that communicate the aim. Cloverisation is the perfect word to embody the transformation our company is undergoing. To tell you the truth, Gucci inspired me, but I found the idea very appropriate to express a new way of doing things. We now have teams, such as Trendify, for design, Sportstify, for the athleisure group, as well as Unify, for sizing, but also brand-specific teams like Aerify and Victorify. We want to show our different approach, we want to be creative not only in our products, but also in our way of thinking and approaching business.
What do you expect from your newly hired, highly qualified management team?
I expect a total refresh from them, a change of mindset that can help us think even more freely and openly in order to stay on top of the market requirements by reviewing processes in all areas. This includes everything from R&D to production planning and manufacturing. It’s time for new eyes to see what needs to be changed.
I remember a friend of mine who would say: ‘Always come back to what you could have done better and make it happen for the New Year’. My sister and I have been managing for a long time and we felt we needed to bring in new energy to keep on growing.
What makes you feel that this is the right time for Clover to enter the Chinese market?
Chinese brands are immensely mature now, domestic competition is very high and they might also consider venturing outside China. Most of them have self-made products and they are still very focused on their own provinces. With Clover’s support and experience with international brands, they can upgrade their products to international standards. This would make a big difference in their home market.
We feel we have an opportunity to share our experience and this is why we have a booth at SIUF for the first time.
Which of your features are most appealing to potential Chinese clients?
Our expertise in product development is a big asset. In our long history, we have launched highly innovative products that have become iconic for the brands we work with. Like the first foam padded bra launched in 2000, a padded bra for large sizes, Biofit in 2007, the Nowire Ipex presented in 2016, the loungebra…. Product innovation is the major factor for growth in our industry.
Angie, tell us more on your incredible Go Color development…
Well, at Clover, we are very passionate about innovation and this leads us to invest and experiment a lot. Three years ago, we found a way to dye a full bra in eight hours. We have patented the technology, called Gocolor, and we are in the process of industrializing it, since the test machine only has a capacity of 100 bras.
You have production units in China and Cambodia, but have also invested in a JV with other prominent players, namely Brandix Lanka Limited, Brandot International Ltd. and Mast Industries (Far East) Limited to create Seeds Intimate Apparel India Private Ltd. in 2009. Whilst affordable labour is essential to production, so is maintaining a level of skill, and efficient production co-ordination. What made you chose those locations?
My father chose Cambodia for duty reasons, mainly. India was a request from one of our important customers…. Decisions on where to invest depend on a variety of reasons, not necessarily the same for each one. By the end of the year we will open a new plant in Vietnam since we do believe it is important to have multiple production options and Vietnam is our best choice because they have a strong vertical supply chain.
Can you produce any style in any unit or is there specialization?
All our sites must be able to produce any line in order to assure flexibility. Nevertheless, China factory is still considered the most skilful and produce extremely complex bra products.
Besides innovation and product consistency, time to market is becoming key, especially to the new digital players. How is Clover handling this?
Clover was the first manufacturer, nine years ago, to introduce speed manufacturing allowing bra replenishment in 26 to 28 days, depending on style, complexity, and volume. New digital players value our expertise and rely on us to help them launch best-selling lines. This was the case for Amazon’s Core 10 sports bra, as well as Rihanna’s Savage by Fenty line.
You are very sensitive to sustainability; how can Clover and all of apparel manufacturing contribute to it in the most efficient - and fast - way?
The concept of sustainability lies on several pillars, not just environment, which is the most sought after today. Sustainability is a mindset, and has to be present in every action, be it in the way to manage people, in the way to imagine new products, in the way to contribute to customers’ success…It is the way you want to pass it on to the next generation. At Clover, we believe in a top down approach and my sister and our management team are the first to give the example.
Can you unveil you latest R&D innovation?
We are presently working on Chitosan textile applications.
Some of your competing manufacturers have chosen to launch their own brands and retailing. Is it something you might consider?
No. I think this would take us away from our focus. And in any case, we don’t need to be the largest company; we want to be the best.
Copyright 2024. All rights reserved - Terms