MUSI FURS - The Canadian Business Journal

JULY 2012 • The Canadian Business Journal
MUSI FURS
www.musifurs.com
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CB
MANUFACTURING
MUSI FURS
Canadian Luxury for the World
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MANUFACTURING • Musi Furs
The dazzling collections created by Musi Furs
have earned recognition and appreciation
worldwide for this Canadian designer and
manufacturer of luxury fur garments and
accessories. While the Canadian fur industry
goes back as far as 1600’s and represents part
of our heritage and one of the oldest trades
in Canada, Musi Furs pushes the boundaries
of fur fashion today, extending playfulness
and sophistication to its customers worldwide.
MUSI FURS PRODUCES the best quality fur apparel and accessories handcrafted by Canadian master furriers. Musi’s fresh and exciting
designs demonstrate the unique vision of the
head designer George Musi and his brothers
Nicola and Musa. Musi views fur not only as
functional fashion but as a medium for artistic
fashion industry and the latest trends. In the
expression in the collections that earn recogni-
past we fashioned garments mostly from bea-
tion and appreciation worldwide year after year.
ver, but today we make more sable, mink and
These handcrafted products made of sheared
chinchilla coats. The reason for this is that
beaver, fox, chinchilla and mink, and dyed in a
beaver coats were designed for the middle
myriad of colors, offer elegant and cutting-edge
class America, but with the changing markets
fur fashion designs.
we want to focus on the production of modern,
Musi reflected on fur fashion, “People expect
that the fur coat producers would be sticking to
the traditions, producing the same old-fashioned
garments, but it is not so. We closely follow the
high-end products for high-end customers, increasing the quality rather than quantity.”
To stay at the forefront of fashion trends and
the industry, the company works with fashion
JULY 2012 • The Canadian Business Journal
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colleges, working with students and implement-
the fashion industry in Paris. Fashion is a craft
ing their ideas into designs, while staying on
but it’s also an art, so to develop a new style can
top of changes in the fashion industry. Musi,
take weeks, and it still may not work in the end;
who designs but also works on producing the
on the other hand, sometimes the ideas develop
garments himself, told us, “For example, if
very quickly and the end result is spectacular.”
the customers see that our colours match the
colours that are currently in styles coming from
Labeled Canadian
Europe or New York, they know that we and our
The company garments carry the red and gold
products follow the trends, and these customers
label of the Beautifully Canadian — Certificate of
will most likely return. To maintain our edge, we
Authenticity program which includes information
receive the seasonal style colours directly from
about the origin of the fur, when it was made,
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MANUFACTURING • Musi Furs
who designed it and which certifies that the gar-
the young, up-and-coming Asian entrepreneurs,
ment is made in Canada. About this Canadian
the Canadian label on a fur coat is like buying
prestige image in the fur industry Musi said,
a pair of Italian shoes, a Swiss-made watch or
“As we continue to refocus our business onto
Russian caviar. The same applies to visitors to
the export markets, we see that the “Made in
Canada who visit our plant — they want to take
Canada” label is extremely important. Canada
home furs made in Canada as they represent
was built on the fur industry and Canada is a
luxury. Fur coats are also important in various
major player in the global industry today. For
cultural contexts. For example in northern China
JULY 2012 • The Canadian Business Journal
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fur coats are given to the bride-to-be, and “Made
in Canada” is considered the best. This is why we
want to represent the Canadian fur industry in
this Chinese market.”
Fur Trade
In 2009, 94 per cent of Musi Furs business was
in the U.S. and the rest in Canada; today the
U.S. shares has dropped to 72 per cent, with
China taking eight per cent and Japan at 12
per cent. This is partially due to the company
refocusing its production on the high-end market. This refocusing also affected the company
production — dropping by 60 per cent, while the
company remains at the same profit levels. The
company produces around 1,000 units per year,
and the production intensiveness varies de-
trade continues to open, the company is mak-
pending on the product quality. While the aver-
ing strides into these new growing markets for
age price per unit is around $5,000 to $8,000,
luxury products, and these Beautifully Canadian
the company also produces high-end luxury
products can be found at the finest boutiques
sable coats that retail for up to $75,000.
around the world. CB
Russia, China, Korea, and Japan represent
the largest markets for the high-end fur products and the company deals mainly with the
local trading houses that supply these markets.
However, while ‘Asia’ is the buzz word in the fur
industry, Musi Furs remains true to its Canadian
roots and originality despite offers to reproduce Musi garments in China. As the global fur
WWW.MUSIFURS.COM
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MANUFACTURING • Musi Furs
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