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High-End Suppliers for Lower-End Retailers

post #1 of 8
9/23/11 at 7:16am
Thread Starter 
A number of high-end outfits are supplying materials for lower end materials. Typically, these materials are assembled in the made-in-china fashion, without the rigorous QC standards that the high-end outfits apply. Some examples:

1) J.Crew's "made of the finest italian wool" offerings come from Loro Piana. However, Piana does not allow J.Crew to publish this, as they typically require a minimum price on their garments/would like to protect value associated with their extremely rigorous QC standards.
2) I noticed a "supplied by Zenga" logo on some of Dillard's Murano (I think the premium Murano line that may now be discontinued)

I wanted to get some thoughts on this practice (and the reflective quality). I am not really in the Made-in-China-sucks-always cult. But do you think the materials are really up-to-par to the supplier's name, or are Zenga/Loro Piana providing junk to these guys?
Edited by threeleggeddog - 9/23/11 at 7:38am
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post #2 of 8
9/23/11 at 7:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by threeleggeddog View Post

, or are Zenga/Loro Piana providing junk to these guys?

They'll provide what the customer pays for.
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post #3 of 8
9/23/11 at 7:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicola View Post


They'll provide what the customer pays for.

There are many elements to price: materials are just one element. And the obvious flaw in your statement: price does not equal quality (though in Piana's case, it does).

I'm not questioning whether the construction/tailoring quality is on par - it isn't. This is really a post about value. The J.Crew version is usually 1/5 to 1/10 of the cost of a Piana version. Is J.Crew really using close to equivalent wool sans-the-price of ridiculously strict QC checks, small batch tailoring, and brand recognition? For the average guy who isn't going to drop $1200 on a sweater, I think this kind of information is worthwhile. So the question is really about material quality - is this to-par?
Edited by threeleggeddog - 9/23/11 at 7:43am
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post #4 of 8
9/23/11 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by threeleggeddog View Post


I'm not questioning whether the construction/tailoring quality is on par - it isn't. This is really a post about value. The J.Crew version is usually 1/5 to 1/10 of the cost of a Piana version. Is J.Crew really using close to equivalent wool sans-the-price of ridiculously strict QC checks, small batch tailoring, and brand recoginition? For the average guy who isn't going to drop $1200 on a sweater, I think this kind of information is worthwhile. So the question is really about material quality - is this to-par?

Good question and valuable thread. thumbs-up.gif
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post #5 of 8
9/23/11 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by threeleggeddog View Post


There are many elements to price: materials are just one element. And the obvious flaw in your statement: price does not equal quality (though in Piana's case, it does).

There is no flaw in my statement. Any of those companies will supply a wide range of products. Like racing you get what you pay for.

Hell Zegna sells a wide range of materials under it's own names. Cottons,Linens,wools of various grades,Cashmeres. If you want cheaper they'll happily sell you cheaper product.
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post #6 of 8
9/23/11 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicola View Post


There is no flaw in my statement. Any of those companies will supply a wide range of products. Like racing you get what you pay for.

Hell Zegna sells a wide range of materials under it's own names. Cottons,Linens,wools of various grades,Cashmeres. If you want cheaper they'll happily sell you cheaper product.

Exactly. LP is probably just covering up the fact they're using a worse quality wool here.

You always get what you pay for.
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post #7 of 8
9/23/11 at 9:23am
Loro Piana and Zegna both make mind-blowingly incredible cloths. But they also make "mass market" grade fabrics.

I have a J.Crew Ludlow navy double breasted suit (which I love) and it has a Loro Piana label inside it. The fabric is acceptable, but nothing extraordinary. I would not consider "Loro Piana wool" to be a selling point so much as that it's a good-looking modern DB for under $800.
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post #8 of 8
9/23/11 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicola View Post


There is no flaw in my statement. Any of those companies will supply a wide range of products. Like racing you get what you pay for.

Hell Zegna sells a wide range of materials under it's own names. Cottons,Linens,wools of various grades,Cashmeres. If you want cheaper they'll happily sell you cheaper product.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ich_Dien View Post


Exactly. LP is probably just covering up the fact they're using a worse quality wool here.

You always get what you pay for.

The whole point of the thread was to shed-light on quality issues, if they exist. Not to cover anything up. There was an additional purpose, which was to better assess the value proposition of the lower-end pieces.

And yes, there is an obvious flaw with the "You always get what you pay for" argument, as this implies that customers always know what they're paying for. Most customers do not know what they are paying for - even SF'ers. Usually this is because of lack of research, but often it's because this information is not well known. In Piana's case, much of the money is going towards their well-known extremely high QC standards. From a supplier - manufacturer point of view: can you tell me what the cost of bulk low grade loro piana wool is versus bulk high grade wool? If so, please disclose because that would add something - simple cliched comments do not.

The whole point of this thread was to help better understand what you ARE paying for when you purchase a J.Crew (or whoever) version.
Edited by threeleggeddog - 9/23/11 at 10:10am
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