Everyone is talking about Vietnam

There was growing evidence that as we headed to the ACLE in Shanghai for China’s premiere industry event of the year, the dynamics of the leather supply chain in the country are now shifting away and the pace is quickening. The days of China being ‘the’ low cost manufacturing hub are now gone. Wages are rising, the cost of energy and doing business is increasing, and some tanners in Wuji (Hebei) started the summer with their plants shut due to yet another environmental clamp down by the government. Major manufacturers including Stella Group have closed factories in places such as Dongguan, shedding thousands of jobs and moving them away.