PHILIPPE LE BAC CASHMERE

Last week, on the way to Dalian and on a quick stopover in Shanghai, I spotted yet another article in a Shanghai magazine about the high-end European cashmere maker, Philippe Le Bac, offering great selections of stylish and luxurious 100 % cashmere clothing ranging from sweaters, cardigans, blouses and scarves both for men and women at crazy wholesale prices. My eyes widened with shock and disbelief. Something like this is almost too good to be true. 

Philippe Le Bac store at Taicang Lu, Shanghai

But after reading numerous comments on the Internet the past months from consumers and extremely satisfied returning clients all around China about the fantastic and affordable cashmere being sold at the six different branches all around Shanghai, I couldn’t resist anymore and hightailed myself all the way to the nearest store. As soon as I stepped in the beautiful boutique in Taicang Lu, I knew I landed in cashmere heaven and I never wanted to leave. 

All the cashmere at the store are sold and calculated by weight at 2.5RMB/gram (US$0.4/gram). Cashmere hats start at 100RMB (US$16), 100 % cashmere scarves range from 250-400RMB (US$40-64), 100% cashmere shawls range from 460-700RMB (US$73-110) and 100% cashmere medium-sized sweaters for ladies are 457RMB (US$73). When a 100% cashmere sweater elsewhere in the world normally retails at US$250 and up, this was an unbeatable bargain for fine quality cashmere. With the amazing range of colors and styles, I went dizzy trying to choose inside the beautiful and chic boutique. Eventually I settled on a baby blue sweater and light green scarf. 

But the question still remains…how on earth does a company like this sell cashmere at these prices? The answer is in their production scale. Since 1932, the company has been manufacturing sweaters for top luxury brands and private labels leading to a huge and vast production scale. Because of their enormous production, the French company Philippe Le Bac can sell clothes to regular customers at wholesale prices in Shanghai where the clothes and designs are manufactured.

My purchases: 100% Cashmere baby blue sweater (US$73)
and 100% Cashmere light green scarf (US$40)

So if you find yourself in Shanghai one day looking for great quality cashmere without draining your wallet, don’t miss this great opportunity.  

PHILIPPE LE BAC 

Cashmere & Co. 

(all located in Shanghai)

893 Nanjing Xi Lu (near Tai Xin Lu) Tel: (86) 21-52049699

3719 Hongmei Lu (near Yan An Xi Lu) Tel: (86) 21-54177018

319 Huashan Lu (near Jing An Hilton Hotel) Tel: (86) 21-32201608

264 Taicang Lu (near Tian Zi Fang) Tel: (86) 21-62223333

273 Huangpi Bei Lu (near JW Marriott Hotel) Tel: (86) 21-53019279

741 Fuzhou Lu (near Raffles City Shopping Center) Tel: (86) 21-63510108

Email: cashmere@plbgroup.com