A Word from our Partners Amaury Christin, Brand Manager in Korlanda Can you introduce yourself? Amaury: I am Amaury Christin, I have been working in the Philippines for 8 years, but my first trip in the Philippines was in 2004. I am Brand Manager in Korlanda, in charge of one of our brand, which is Nature Bijoux. This brand is using natural components to do jewelry.
Can you tell me more about your company?
“I am always impressed by the focus, the all interest and the dynamism of the Youth”
Amaury: Korlanda Corporation manufactures all kind of jewelries. We have 3 brands: Nature Bijoux, which is made of natural components, Frank Herval, which plays with mix of colors (using glass, plastic, resin, glass beads…). This brand is more colorful and does not use only natural components. We are currently developing a 3rd brand, based on metal, that will be presented in September. The 3 collections are 100% made in house. Korlanda Corporation manufactures also for other brands from France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and other countries. My father founded the company in France in 1982, and he did his first trip to the Philippines in 1986. It is a family business: I am working with my brother who is based in France, my sister who is in charge of the brand Frank Herval, and my brother-in-law, who is in charge of the organization and production. We have 430 employees in the Philippines.
Why did you decide to go to the Philippines? Amaury: I would say it was by accident. At the beginning, my father was selling some souvenirs (mainly shells) in markets in France, travelling from city to city. He ordered some shells from one of his suppliers living in Paris. When he received the box, all the shells were wrapped up in newspapers. He realized that the Ricky newspaper was Sunstar, and coming from the Philippines. Regina, Therefore, he decided to go members directly to Cebu, in order to of the squeeze his supplier from Life Paris. He started to make Project some very simple Center Cebu necklaces, but little by little, prepared the designs improved, the and led development started to be the entire more complicated and that interview. is why he created the first workshop in 1989.
What do you think about the development of the country? Amaury: I was 14 years old when I did my first trip in the Philippines, and there are huge differences from that time to now. In Cebu, everything is growing very fast; they are LP4Y ALLIANCE : PHILIPPINES - INDONESIA - VIETNAM - USA - FRANCE - BELGIUM - LUXEMBOURG www.lp4y.org www.lp4y.tv www.fb.com/lifeproject.foryouth LP4Y is part Youth 4 Change - www.youth4c.org
renovating all the roads, etc. But I don´t know what it will become. Sometimes, I´m a little bit scared that it will become like Manila. I have some friends travelling in different countries in Asia and they are always impressed by the Philippines compared to other countries: anywhere you go, you can speak English, the culture of the Philippines is more international, and the Filipinos are more open. It is easier for a foreign company to work here rather than Thailand because the culture there is really strong so the adaptation is more difficult, or China, because the language barriers are very hard. That is why there are a lot of call centers here in the Philippines, which is the 1st source of income now. For all of these reasons, the Philippines will grow very fast, but the country has many other problems to face…
What do you know about LP4Y? Amaury: LP4Y is trying to help people from the Philippines, people in needs. LP4Y is giving time and energy to help others.
When was the first time you heard about LP4Y? “We started 5 months ago giving advice and trainings and now, we included Ariel as a member of our R&D team”.
Amaury: Some LP4Y staff contacted us 2 years ago. At the beginning we did not know how to work together: LP4Y was not ready to work in our area of expertise and Korlanda, wanted to do something but didn´t know what to do, we just kept the connection. Little by little, we found a way to work together. Korlanda has already a foundation that is carrying out short-term projects. With LP4Y, it is a long-term relationship and it is more personalized and we can see the evolution of people.
What kind of partnerships have you developed with LP4Y? Amaury: We started 5 months ago giving advice and trainings about jewelry making (materials, tools, techniques, and ways to work on a collection). Now, we included Ariel as a member of our R&D team. However, we have a lot of different kinds of job specialties like manufacturer, accounting, etc. Why not including more Youth from LP4Y in other departments?
Why did you decide to work with LP4Y? Amaury: First, the common French nationality helps a lot. Second, you are extra motivated, and last, you know what you are doing so we need you to guide us. We would like you to use us as a tool in the development of the Youth.
What do you think about the youth of LP4Y? Amaury: I am always impressed by the focus, the interest and the dynamism of the youth we met. It is always pleasant to work with people like that, it is more interactive, with the smile, and you can feel that they are motivated.
Are you not afraid that one day, Origin will be your main competitor? (Ricky smiling) Amaury: Not at all! You know, when I arrived in the Philippines, there were jewelry manufacturers all over Mactan. In shows in Paris or in Hong Kong, there were special areas for Filipino manufacturers, with more than 50 different Filipino companies. Today, we are between 5 and 10, because all the companies closed. We could think that less competition is positive, but it is not, because the clients To know more about Korlanda: do not come anymore in the Philippines. The competition helps to improve the The Website: http://www.korlanda.com/ Contact: info@korlanda.com quality, the design, etc. See! The more France: Tél: +33 5 63 23 03 95 we are, the better it is. So we are not Philippines : Tél: +63 32 340 5292 scared at all of competition.
LP4Y ALLIANCE : PHILIPPINES - INDONESIA - VIETNAM - USA - FRANCE - BELGIUM - LUXEMBOURG www.lp4y.org www.lp4y.tv www.fb.com/lifeproject.foryouth LP4Y is part Youth 4 Change - www.youth4c.org