Born into a family who owns successful leather manufacturing firm MBP Leather Industires, which includes the Albedo brand, Thanasut Chiu admits he was not particularly keen on the products because they were too mature for his liking.
Thanasut Chiu of MBP Leather Industires poses the firm’s with Albedo brand bags.
Albedo was known for what Thanasut describes as an “uncle’s bag” — a James Bond-style briefcase without many details, which he personally deemed “boring” despite its tip-top quality.
“[It seemed like] something my uncle or grandfather would use. It was in 2006 when I first had an idea to change the look of the brand. I wanted to make it younger.”
Not much needed to be done about the brand’s quality — Albedo is already known for that, he said. It is the only Thai brand to have won awards — in 2011 and 2013 — at Mipel, an international leather show in Italy.
“At the exhibition, most visitors were surprised to learn that we are a Thai brand because the quality easily rivals European ones. With our Italian-sounding name, a lot of people thought Albedo was an Italian brand. When it comes to quality, I am very confident in our factory because we use an original equipment manufacturer,” said Thanasut.
But quality alone is not going to cut it in the fiercely competitive men’s fashion market. Gone are the days when men were treated to limited choices of bags — senior-looking black briefcases, painfully plain messenger bags or boyish backpacks. Through extensive research and consultation with international leather experts, the brand has been successfully revamped to attract 20-somethings and the young at heart.
Thanasut said it is just unfair that men’s bags aren’t as diverse as women’s, be it in colour or style. “Growing up, I saw every man carry black and brown bags, and I just wanted to be different. Why not orange? Why not green? I wanted to make Albedo bags stand out,” he said.
He also noticed that men’s fashion has changed tremendously over the past decade. They no longer conform to the cookie-cutter model that makes every businessman look identical.
“It is common to see men, even aged 50, wearing jeans to work and still looking respectable. In the past, men wanted to look older than they actually were because they wanted to appear respectable. Now the trend has shifted, and they want to look younger. The fashion therefore has to change, too.”
Another interesting trend is how local consumers are no longer exclusively attached to global brands. Thanasut said that consumers today are more quality savvy and know what to look for in a product.
“Of course, there will always be a group of consumers who prefer international brands, but a lot of men are now looking for quality and functionality, not just the label on the bag. They want something that enhances their character and they might not want to carry the same bag as everyone else. They care about how they look — looking exactly like a 100 other people is the last thing they want. Consumers today are willing to try new brands, but we have to know how to attract them. That’s the challenge, or rather, the opportunity for a local brand like Albedo.”
Albedo is currently sold in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Italy, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Germany and the US.
It has not been an easy ride, as introducing Albedo to a new market.
“For example, making wallets for the Italian market requires a different size because of the odd size of the country’s ID card, which is about a centimetre larger than traditional cards,” he said.
“For the Myanmar market, they want something more conservative and not too funky. It might sound like an easy adjustment to make, but let me tell you, it’s
not. Each wallet comprises 50 pieces of leather, stitched together in over 300 steps.
"Any slight difference means we have to make a lot of changes in the process.”
Now that the rebranded Albedo is off to a good start, Thanasut wants to expand the product range to include other lifestyle items.
“Why stop at just the bag when I have the total look in mind?”
