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Stars fit tailor's bold brand designs

Agent 007 is used to operating in unfamiliar territory.

But James Bond, or rather the actor Pierce Brosnan, who plays the British spy these days, may not have been ready for this one.

Brosnan has been enlisted as the point man in the advertising drive for Shar Moon Garment, a maker of men's suits in the mainland city of Wenzhou.

Not many Chinese companies can boast they have enrolled a Hollywood star to head their advertising campaign. Even fewer would be able to say they have tapped the best-known Western spy - albeit a fictional one - as their choice.

Asked why the Chinese company turned to the Irish actor, deputy general manager and co-founder Chen Xiaoping replied: 'We thought he looked great in a suit.'

While there is no question that the Irish actor cuts a pretty dashing figure in a suit, and preferably a Shar Moon suit, there are other reasons for the decision to ask Brosnan to lead the charge.

For one, lots of mainlanders have seen the James Bond movies - at least on a pirated VCD if not in a theatre. The association with the character from the Ian Fleming spy novels could not hurt.

'With so much competition these days, we saw this as an advantage for our brand,' said Mr Chen, the youngest of three brothers who set up their company 10 years ago.

'We thought a Hollywood star would raise our profile in the domestic market.'

Moreover, that competition is likely to get even keener with China in the World Trade Organisation.

While the company is not worried that foreign brands will snatch away its market share, it is concerned that entry into the WTO will mean a big change in the way Chinese firms do business in the home market.

Company director Li Yanhui said: 'It was the WTO which made us think of this. We were expecting a lot more competition with China's entry into the organisation.'

Officials declined to disclose the terms of Brosnan's efforts, saying they were not aiming to justify the costs right away.

'This is a long-term strategy,' Mr Li said, pointing out the arrangement with Brosnan was only for the domestic market.

The company spent nearly a year negotiating the deal with Brosnan's agent.

'If he was not happy with our product he would not have signed,' Mr Li said.

Brosnan is not the only star working for the company. Mainland actress and glamour girl Gong Li also represents Shar Moon even though the firm does not have a line of women's clothes.

Mr Chen said: 'We might go into ladies' accessories some day, but even if we don't, James Bond needs a love interest.'

Well before there was a flicker of interest in hiring Hollywood stars, the Chen brothers started out on the tiny island of Lingkun in the Ou River, which flows through Wenzhou.

They bought a few sewing machines, hired a tailor and workers from Ningbo and went to work.

'Everyone in the family pitched in,' Mr Chen said.

Shar Moon borrowed the name of the daughter of the eldest Chen brother, but that presented an early hurdle because a state-run company in Jiangsu province had already registered the name. They changed one of the characters in the company's Chinese name though they later bought the name they wanted originally when the state company went out of business.

Shar Moon has since become something of an industry powerhouse. It boasts an Italian designer on its payrolls who makes quarterly visits to discuss the upcoming season's designs. The company has four factories with more than 1,000 workers turning out some 200,000 suits a year. It recently sponsored a male modelling contest.

A senior reporter asked company executives if they might be looking to build on the firm's association with James Bond by hiring the man who first made the character famous - Sean Connery.

Mr Li rolled his eyes briefly and replied dryly: 'I think we're looking for a slightly younger market.'

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