Interview with Honorary Vice-President, IFTF

Henry Sun

by Lise Leonhardt Hjort “The fur trade is experiencing an incredible peak” “We have to create a high-level image for fur by keeping it exclusive. Fur fashion should never become mass production; instead, we must continue to develop our products to stay in demand,” says Henry Sun, General Manager of Hong Kong Fur Factory Ltd. in Hong Kong. Sun believes that the fur trade should pay close attention to brand development. “Consumers today are very brand conscious, and to some extend they value brand recognition more than quality and price.   www.hkfurfty.com The fur trade can benefit from this by continuing to develop our brand, cooperating with the international fashion houses, and associating ourselves with trendsetters and celebrities,” he says. He is known as one of the influential manufacturers of fur garments and is active in the business as advisor and former Chairman of the Hong Kong Fur Federation. His company, Hong Kong Fur Factory Ltd., was founded in 1957; it produces high-quality fur garments under the brand name ‘Michelle’ and exports to the USA, Europe, and Japan. “The fur trade’s present success is based primarily on our ability as a trade to unite, adapt, and work with the international fashion houses, thereby creating new demand for one of the world’s most luxurious materials: fur. Also, fashion designers have been looking for something new – a natural fabric – and in that way they have influenced the world of fashion and made everybody crave for fur,” says Sun, who believes that fur’s current success might also be the biggest challenge. “Today, all influential media in the world feature fur of all kinds – continuously. We are experiencing an incredible peak, and in my opinion the fur trade’s most important objective is to stay ahead of fashion trends and navigate towards another peak. The fur trade needs research and guidance that are years ahead of the game if we want to keep our market position, our success, and maintain our progress.”