Meermin Mallorca - Made in China
Now for those that don’t really know much about Meermin, allow me to explain a little bit. You may have noticed that the owner, Mr. Pepe Albaladejo shares the same surname as the owners of Carmina. This leads most people to believe that they are somehow associated, when in fact the only association between them is ancestry. They have nothing to do with each other and go about things in very different ways. While both brands seemed to have wanted to create the best shoe at the best possible price, Meermin took an approach that was quite different and more risky. What he did was find a workshop/factory in China, went to train them up in order for them to hand-last and hand-welt every shoe in his production. Then once the soles are ready to be put on, they send the shoes back to Spain to have it done on the machines. So in theory, half of the shoe is constructed by hand, but done so in China. This might throw some people off, but if the quality of the work is good, it should not really matter where it was done, so long as it is done right. And because the labor in China is much lower than anywhere else, this allows for Meermin to control his prices and offer something much lower than most, for a shoe that is handgrade and even more. Good business? I think so…..
Most of Meermins’s classic line of shoes start at 160 euros, including VAT. Their higher-grade “Linea Maestro” models start at 260 euros, with additional costs for shell cordovan and made-to-order options. Meermin is able to offer their shoes at these prices in part because the shoes are partially assembled in China and finished in Spain.
Thoughts?
Posted Feb 26, 2014, 5:20 PM UTC