Made-to-order clothes draw foreigners to Hoi An
19:31 04/03/2009

      In recent years, tourism has been on the rise in Hoi An, a town in Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam.

Locals have benefited from the influx in several ways, but most notably, by creating custom clothes for its foreign visitors.

Time is money

Ms. Diem, a clothes shop owner, recalls that an English woman once came to her store on Tran Hung Dao Street and ordered a jacket, but it needed it to be completed within two hours.

Diem assured her it could be done, despite the time constraints. Pleased with both the speedy service and the reasonable price, the English woman remarked that the same service in her own country would have cost at least 20 times the amount in Hoi An.

The 26-year-old shop owner speaks English and always has a smile on her face. Her friendly manner and communication skills help her deal quickly with clients and that’s what makes her shop so popular with foreigners.

The products she sells are also reasonably priced.

“A business will go bankrupt if its sole purpose is to make large profits. A good reputation and credibility are of greater significance,” says Diem.

Foreigners usually need the clothes they order right away. Therefore, garment makers must always be available and ready for a race against the clock.

Up to the challenge

Diem also emphasizes the need for flexibility and willingness to outsource work when necessary, to meet the demands of customers.

In mid 2005, another English tourist came by her clothes shop and ordered 500 suits of different sizes.

He asked that the suits be made in twenty days.

A bit worried, yet not wanting to disappoint the client, she managed to find a way to please her customer while upholding Hoi An’s reputation for quality service in clothes making.

Diem phoned ten other manufacturers for help; and the 500 suits were soon ready as planned. The client was so pleased with the finished products that he even left a tip.

The client subsequently came back for a deal on over 7,000 shirts and 3,000 handbags, requiring them in an even shorter amount of time.

As promised, the shirts and bags were finished in just 15 days. The English customer remarked that he couldn’t figure out how everything had been done so quickly, as he didn’t see any other workers in the shop.

In fact, there are actually 422 clothing shops and 320 clothing factories with more than 1,000 employees in the ancient town of Hoi An.

Many young people move to the area where they can earn a good living by sewing clothes.

“Some 90 percent of the young people in Hoi An make clothes, handbags, hats and shoes for a living. Such a large labor force means that the potential exists to meet even bigger demands than current ones,” says one shop owner to Thanh Nien about the future of the industry in Hoi An.

Culture specialty

Alongside clothes making, lanterns are a typical commodity in Hoi An and local authorities have been drawing up documents for the registration of a copyright trademark which could be very beneficial for the people of Hoi An.

Hundreds of art galleries have been opened in Hoi An, attracting visitors and creating good opportunities for professional as well as amateur artists to display and sell their work while improving their standards of living.

The beneficiaries of Hoi An’s new tourism also include boatmen and cyclo drivers who take tourists around to see quiet neighboring villages.

Reported by Huu Tra, Dieu Hien

Source : thanhniennews.com