DEVELOPMENT OF EXOTIC LEATHER BUSINESS Ken Edrich

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DEVELOPMENT OF EXOTIC LEATHER BUSINESS - Ken
Edrich

• I am a third-generation tanner/leather
  entrepreneur that was trained in the school of
  hard knocks in Brooklyn, N Y. I grew up in the
  midst of the most vital segment of the US leather
  industry, i.e. In and around New York City.

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• Use quality as selling point. Exotic leather is
  highly romancing so to some extent it sells
  itself but in todays competitive industry the
  quality must be there.
• Yield is key for exotics.
• Pricing should depend on source and product look.
• Dealing with skins on consignment send bill
  after making the leather or product.

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• Questions
• Whats your business? Dollars or boots - Dollars
  or wallets?
• I worked closely with the highest caliber
  fashion houses and designers and know who knows
  exotic leather. For those using exotic leather,
  it is a product-enhancing attribute and not a
  matter of dollars and cents or materials costs.

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• How do you cut alligator skins?
• Use a clear view transfer pattern. Use every
  available square inch of the leather to make
  something saleable, that is, use cuttings and
  trimmings to make small items or accent pieces.
  Remember that any item made from leather is a
  value-added item and more marketable than one
  made from a synthetic material. Products beyond
  case good and western wear are an untapped area.
  The market, or at least interest, is there but

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• designers arent developing much in this area
  and they should be.
• The state-of-art in exotic leather manufacturing
  is the TCM tannery in Paris, France.
• Tanneries des Cuirs dIndochine et de
  Madagascar, 59 rue du Faubourg Saint- Martin.
  F-75010, Paris, France
• Products/Services Alligator, Crocodile, Exotic
  Leathers, Lizard, Ostrich, Reptile and Shark

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• Visit the tannery you are considering doing
  business with before you buy their product.
• Lime with pigmentation cause problems.
• Na2S (sodium sulfide) with pigmentation appears
  to be okay.

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• To conclude, I would be highly sympathetic to
  more domestic manufactures of exotic leather and
  perhaps this could be done in the El Paso area.
  But, raw material availability, labor costs and
  very strong international competition make this
  very unlikely. One has to have a world-wide scope
  and a fair amount of smarts to make it. I wish
  you or anyone luck in this venture.