“Investing in the Democratic People’s Republic”

Der Spiegel has a very interesting article on three Swedish guys who have started their own jeans brand, Noko Jeans. Noko has chosen a quite unusual country for the manufacturing of its jeans: North Korea. Apparently the People’s Republic has its own web site where it offers opportunities for foreign investors. Maybe we are actually seeing the first few steps of a softening up of North Korea and its eventual emergence as a part-taker in the global community.

For Noko the deal was closed in the same way as most early investors in China did it. Heavy drinking and socialization with the locals to build trust and making a deal with a conglomerate that really seems to make everything. They couldn’t get all that they wanted though; the jeans had to be black since blue denim jeans were considered too much of an American symbol. Some old habits die hard after all.