OECD Culture and Local Development.pdf - PACA

3. PROMOTING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT BY CREATING CULTURAL PRODUCTS
aware that they are getting a fake. And with the development of distance sales,
counterfeiters now have a wider field of action.
Counterfeiting, then, is important, but it concerns mainly the fashion and clothing
industries. For other products, production costs are sufficiently high and markets
sufficiently narrow that it is difficult to turn much of a profit from making fakes. Thus,
a whole range of products situated at the interface between trades and crafts are safe
from such risks. But who is to say that the new digital technologies will not soon
broaden the opportunities for counterfeiting?
International openness
The confined nature of some districts may suggest that they are hardly interested
in an international dimension. But in fact, their artistic dimension places them squarely
in the flow of new ideas, from which they are unlikely to insulate themselves, and this
is in itself enough to give them an international outlook. The real question is how their
development can be linked to sales and investments abroad.
Exports, particularly of luxury goods, can play a significant role: such goods are
very sensitive to the domestic economic cycle and international markets can thus take
up the slack when required. The lace industry in Calais sells as much to America and
to Asia as it does in Europe. Other products are more difficult to export: Quimper sells
40% of its faience output within the region, and only 20% is exported beyond France.
Other products that are less well known than the big brands have trouble achieving
recognition. Winning a prize in a competition or exhibition may be a necessary
condition for these products, but to establish a lasting export presence will require
appropriate marketing channels 101 . Smaller firms that venture out in this direction are
likely to succeed only with exceptional effort.
When clusters invest abroad, they generally do so by setting up partnerships. Such
investments often involve the purchase of stores in major cities, which may not offer
a continuous or significant outlet. Here again, the lace makers of Calais took an original
tack. Their customers are made-to-order clothing manufacturers that are steadily
moving their production abroad, particularly to low-wage countries. Thus a large
portion of the lace produced in France will, surprisingly enough, end up in India, Thailand
or China. Once it is turned into a finished product, it will be re-exported to European
and American markets.
The transmission of know-how
With the possible exception of self-training, apprenticeship is the dominant form
of training in cultural districts. But the more important the district becomes, the more
CULTURE AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT - ISBN 92-64-00990-6 - © OECD 2005 117