Italian luxury brand Gucci has started selling shoes bearing labels indicating they are made in China.
According to Reuters on the 25th (local time), Gucci has recently been selling its new sneaker model, "Drip," with a "Made in China" label instead of "Made in Italy."
A detailed description of the product on Gucci's official website indeed lists it as "Made in China."
Reuters also reported that it directly verified products with this label at a store in Paris, France.
The Drip sneaker features a laceless, sock-like design, with prices set at around 800 euros in Europe and 1,000 dollars in the United States.
Along with this, certain models of leather slip-on sneakers from the same collection are reportedly marked as made in China on the Gucci website as well.
On the other hand, other Gucci shoes whose countries of origin are indicated on the website are all listed as "Made in Italy."
According to Reuters, Gucci dismissed public suspicions that it shifted production sites to cut costs.
Gucci reportedly explained that it selected a Chinese manufacturer because it possesses the necessary technology and production capabilities to realize the design of these shoes.
The company also stated that it has no plans to move production hubs for Gucci products to regions other than China.
However, given that Gucci's sales have halved over the past three years and dozens of stores have closed, some argue that suspicions that "cost-cutting is also a purpose" are not entirely groundless.
This is mainly supported by examples of deteriorating profitability appearing across the luxury goods industry as a whole.
Shares of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods group, have fallen by about 35% this year, and Gucci has seen its sales decline for 12 consecutive quarters.
In connection with this, overseas media outlets like Reuters analyzed that consumers are shifting from high-priced bags or shoes to cosmetics and fragrances, which entail relatively less burden.
Global consulting firm McKinsey stated that more than 80% of the luxury industry's growth between 2019 and 2023 stemmed from price increases.
However, it also analyzed that price hikes can no longer serve as a growth driver as they used to, and even regular luxury buyers are struggling to afford the heightened prices and turning away from luxury consumption.
Meanwhile, some evaluations suggest that Chinese manufacturers have gained significant competitiveness in the manufacturing technology for expensive shoes and the complex material processing capabilities required for them.
Reported by Jo Gi-ho | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
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