Thus a design featuring human eyes is “the eyes of my rival” and one of a recurring bedroom suite known as “come to my bedroom on your sandals.” With these decades of knowhow behind it, and a 100 million euro (US$131.9 million) turnover last year, Vlisco is fighting back to entrench its foothold in Africa.
To maintain its edge, staff are turning out new collections of fabrics every three months now, giving competitors less time to copy.
And the company is moving away from street-market booths selling bolts of fabric to instead offer ready-to-wear lines in “flagship” boutiques opened last year in Benin and Togo and this month in Ivory Coast.
New stores are planned for Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo later this year, with one in Paris next year, Hessing said.
“We want to reach the African diaspora in Europe now,” he said.
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