Follow Portugal Investment Immigration and Portugal Economic news: In addition to football, seafood, and wine, Portugal is preparing to include fashion among its most proud industries. Although the affordable leather and textile products are its natural advantages, it is unwilling to be merely a factory for major brands.
As one of the major textile exporting countries in Europe, Portugal has recently attracted the attention of many well-known fashion brands. The textile factory Riopele, located 36 kilometers from Portugal's second-largest city, Porto, may not be known to those outside the industry, but if you look at its international client list, you will find renowned European and American brands such as Zara, MaxMara, Calvin Klein, Versace, Giorgio Armani, and Hugo Boss.
Well-crafted leather products are also a core competitive advantage of Portugal's fashion industry, challenging the established fashion neighbors—France and Italy—by relying on "affordable quality." Currently, Portuguese leather goods account for 3.8% of the global leather product sales, which is only a quarter of Italy's share (Italy's leather goods account for 16.5% of the global market), but the growth momentum is evident. According to data from the Portuguese Association of Leather and Footwear, this coastal country with rich leather manufacturing experience saw a staggering 213% increase in footwear exports from 2006 to 2013.
Recently, the British fashion e-commerce platform Farfetch, which received Series E funding, was founded in 2008 by Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves. He was born in Porto, a city known for its developed garment industry, and established Farfetch after solidifying his footing in the local manufacturing sector with a footwear brand, even winning the 2001 British Fashion Award for Best "Retailer of the Year."
Neves analyzes why his hometown has become an ideal importing country for raw materials, especially footwear products, citing three main reasons: "First, the craftsmanship is very close to that of Italy and France, but labor is much cheaper; second, the industry is mainly composed of small factories, which have a lower order quantity threshold, thus attracting high-end designer leather brands; finally, efficiency is also a significant reason. Importing raw materials from Italy, France, and the UK and assembling them locally can usually be completed in just three days."
According to João Costa, president of the Portuguese Textile Association, the 6,353 textile companies in the region create approximately 123,000 jobs. The total export value of the fashion industry reaches 4.283 million euros (approximately 28.679 million RMB), accounting for 9% of the country's total exports.
However, no country can be satisfied with merely being a factory. At the end of March this year, the 20th Portugal Fashion Week kicked off in its capital Lisbon and the port city of Porto. Although neither city can be considered a fashion capital, the scenes at Fashion Week truly reflect the thriving state of the local fashion industry.
