YKK Japan Shifts Global Operations Headquarter To Vietnam
The world’s biggest apparel and luggage zipper manufacturer YKK has shifted its global operations headquarters from Japan to Vietnam.
YKK has been operating in Vietnam since 1998 through its subsidiary named YKK Vietnam, with its first factory located in Dong Nai and set up its second plant in 2018.
“In the past 26 years, YKK’s zipper production in Vietnam has increased 100 times, and the number of employees has increased sevenfold,” Yuji Furukawa, General Manager of YKK Vietnam said.
“Vietnam’s accession to the WTO has attracted investments and orders from many global companies, turning Vietnam into a garment exporting major. This is the main reason for our impressive production capacity,” he added.
He further said that previously, YKK Vietnam had to import some zipper products from YKK plants in other countries, but now, the Vietnam factory produces most of YKK’s products.
“In addition to supplying to Vietnam’s clothing industry, YKK Vietnam also exports zippers to neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Myanmar,” Furukawa informed.
Currently, Vietnam is the third biggest global exporter of garments behind China and Bangladesh, which is the main reason for YKK shifting its operational headquarters from Japan to Vietnam.
According to Furukuwa, most of Uniqlo’s products use YKK zippers, while Nike and Adidas brands use around 70-80 percent.
