Grandion – Creating Shared Value with "To Make Locally" Industrial Development

Grandion’s Shared Value Initiative

Grandion Industrial Ltd. (Grandion) is a garment manufacturing company headquartered in Hong Kong that specialises in apparel design, screen printing, embroidery, trimming and manufacturing. Faced with the increasing cost of labour in Mainland China, many companies are relocating their factories to other countries to reduce costs, but Grandion uses innovation to rethink the problem and reframe the business model, and established its To Make Locally (TML) project in Hong Kong in early 2015. Rather than continual competition for cheaper labour, TML project aims to bring added value to different stages of the garment production process in Hong Kong, to revitalise the city’s historically prosperous garment industry and gain competitive advantage through increased efficiency and a new business model.

The TML project was set up with a rationale to develop a holistic and sustainable apparel value chain based in Hong Kong, with initiatives covering design, LCFP production, 3D&digital printing and an Online-to-Offline (O2O) platform.

• The Co-creation Hub aims to help young designers, including design school graduates and entrepreneurs, start their own business.
• The LCFP Green Production Centre employs approximately 100 technicians. The centre targets at employing those with past experience in clothes manufacturing, especially elder technicians and new immigrants from Mainland China.
• The 3D & Digital Printing Centre was set up to ensure timely response to the market with eco-friendly production processes.
• The O2O Experiential Centre is capable of hosting around 100 pop-up stores and aims to promote “Made in HK” and “HK Brands” through its experiential O2O business platform.

Shared Value for Business and Society

While Grandion’s TML project was originally set up as a strategic value chain transformation, the approach adopted and the value generated is aligned with the Shared Value model – creating Shared Value through reconceiving products and markets, redefining productivity in the value chain, and enabling local cluster development.

While tackling the intensive modern operational challenges in a traditional industry, Grandion is creating Shared Value across its value chain. Through engaging with new immigrants and elder technicians, the TML project unleashes the potential of underprivileged communities in Hong Kong while realising its vision to revitalize the garment industry in Hong Kong and facilitate the building of “Made in Hong Kong” brands. The project is committed to utilising the competitive edge of the city, including the top design talent, free flow of goods, information and funds, and a well-developed legal system for protection of intellectual property rights. With the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology, the project also increases the productivity of its value chain and enhances the company’s competitiveness. Shared Value is also created for its customers, who now face a lower level of market risk and inventory cost due to the efficient operational model from the design to the sales stage enabled by TML.