Third-generation entrepreneur Jennifer Lo has developed a discerning eye for aesthetics growing up with a family who appreciates and creates useful arts.
Her pursuit of beauty and artistry led her to complete a short course on Manufacturing Management at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles in 2006. She had worked with various fashion companies before coming back to the Philippines to help in her mother’s handbag business.
After nearly 40 years in the business since it was established in 1984, Makati City-based Larone Crafts Inc. continues to be a leading artisanal maker of finely-crafted handbag pieces.
Lo has sustained the family legacy, taking over the business after getting herself acquainted with several foreign brands in the US while polishing her knowledge of the local industry.
“I’m the steward of my parents’ and grandparents’ hard work. My goal is to make the business sustainable for another 20 years,” Lo said. She recalled how she, as a young child, helped her mom look over the business during trade shows and exhibits.
The designs are modern concepts weaved into the traditional Filipino nuances by incorporating the indigenous T’nalak and the woven fabric Inabel. Natural plant fibers such as abaca, raffia and seagrass—sourced from all parts of the Philippines—add indigenous charm to Larone Crafts. The results are timeless accessories that buyers can keep in their wardrobes season after season.
“The bags are meant to be used all year-round. We do not make items that are just for a certain season to be thrown away the next. We manufacture them to last,” Lo said.
Global market
The agility of Larone Crafts in staying abreast with technological advancements and design trends has built a stable relationship with foreign buyers and established a successful export market for the brand over the years.
It first exports in 1984 went to the United States. Back then, Lo was three years old.
“I can see how conducting international business during times when the Internet was not yet existing must have been quite a challenge,” said Lo, expressing her appreciation for the ease and speed that technological advancement has brought about over the years.
Lo joined the company in 2009, as she stepped up to evolving market trends. Following the pandemic, Larone’s largest export base remained the US at 90 percent, while the EU market accounted for 3 percent. The rest is a mix of niche clients from other countries.
Gov’t support
For the longest time, the only way to start an international business was through participation in trade fairs—which is not an easy thing to do alone.
Larone Crafts has been part of the Manila FAME almost every year since the 1980s. Participation at Maison et Objet, NY Now and Ambiente over the last 10 years were also sweet and fruitful.
The business has received support from the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, to participate in international trade shows in the EU and the US. Before the age of internet and emails, this was the only way of gaining new overseas customers.
Lo felt that her company’s participation in trade shows was instrumental in reaching customers, particularly in the EU.
CITEM’s support in terms of product design and pre-show marketing has been invaluable in upgrading her business. “These are all high costs that would be difficult for our small business to absorb when initially trying to enter into a new market.”
GSP+ for the EU
Larone Crafts is one of the many Filipino enterprises that have successfully utilized the EU GSP+ platform to their advantage. “The EU GSP + makes our products more competitive in the European market by reducing the cost of importing our goods into the country for our buyers. It improves access to the 27 countries in the EU,” Lo said.
Larone Crafts is exporting to Spain and the Netherlands, with samples sent recently to Italy, to generate more brand awareness and outright orders.
She gives credit to the Arise Plus Philippines project which enables Philippine exporters to take advantage of European Union market access and the trade privileges granted under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP+). It supports the overall EU-Philippines trade relationship and trade-related policies.
Leaving no one behind
As Lo works towards expanding her product assortment in home and lifestyle products, she is cognizant of those who work for her. Depending upon the volume of orders, in any given season, Larone Crafts employs about 100 workers.
She did not only retain artisan families employed during her parent’s management days, but she continues to source supplies from small businesses that employ women.
“We work with weavers and artisans in their communities from all over the Philippines, giving them a reliable livelihood and helping to preserve the region’s traditional crafts,” she said. Othel V. Campos
