The famous British stores Marks & Spencer have been selling children's pajamas whose tag reads Marks & Spencer made in Romania, for the past two years.
The same tag can be found on women's pajamas and bras as of this year, as Hunedoara-based company Star Conf has been working exclusively for the British company since June 1999.
"At first, we closed a contract for making children's pajamas. We closed another two contracts this year, aimed at the production of women's pajamas and bras," says Virginia Szabo who, together with her husband Sorin, runs Star Conf, the only Romanian company producing such items for the renowned British firm.
Star Conf makes 120,000 children pajamas monthly, 36,000 women's pajamas and 28,000 bras. The Romanian company's employees sew, pack and then export the products. The raw material comes from abroad.
"Marks & Spencer has very rigorous working methods. The British set the working conditions for all employees, who have a canteen within the plant's premises and modern toilets. Moreover, we are not allowed to sanction our employees, even when they make mistakes," says Sorin Szabo.
In fact, ever since the company started production under the Marks & Spencer logo, a representative of the British has been present at the plant, monitoring the production process.
A pair of children pajamas is made in eight minutes, eleven minutes are needed for women's pajamas, while bras take 17 minutes, because more operations need to be performed in their case. The products' tag reads Marks & Spencer and mentions they are made in Romania. None of these products is sold in Romania.
Sales posted by Star Conf are estimated at 80,000 dollars monthly. Children's pajamas are deemed as luxury items, being sold for 50 pounds in Marks & Spencer stores. Moreover, women's pajamas and bras are sold for hundreds of pounds.
In the beginning, Star Conf had 60 employees and made shirts that it exported to Italy. The company now has 400 employees and is still the sole Romanian producer working for the British company. However, as of December, Tricotaje Ineu will also work with Marks & Spencer, making women's' underwear.
Approximately 99% of Star Conf employees are women.
"Most of the people who come here looking for work have no idea about the job requirements. However, this is not a problem because we have a special line where we are permanently training ten people, teaching them how to work with sewing machines. After two weeks of training, the new employees join the production process and after two months they can become highly skilled workers," he adds.
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