‘China has arrived’: From $1,000 Gucci sneakers to German cars, China is coming for the industries that made Europe rich
Source: Fortune ·
China learned from Europe's industrial giants, and now its factories are challenging them in cars, machinery and even luxury goods
From the source
Gucci built its luxury reputation on Italian craftsmanship, but its newest $1,000 sneakers break with its 105-year-old tradition with a new label: Made in China. But instead of citing the cheap labor long associated with Chinese factories, the fashion house said it picked a Chinese manufacturer known for its “technological know-how” and ability to meet the brand’s quality standards. Gucci told Reuters it will keep making its other products in Italy. But unlike the connotation a “Made in China” sticker carried from days of yore, the move to China is the latest signal of Chinese manufacturing moving into Europe’s most storied industries, like high-end consumer goods and cars. “I think symbolically, China has arrived,” Ker Gibbs, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, told Fortune. “It’s no longer a place where only cheap stuff gets manufactured and poor quality this and that.” The shift is part of what some economists, like Apollo Global Management chief…