EN
On the morning of December 5, 2022, TBS Group and the Reebok Vietnam team held an opening ceremony for their representative office and R&D center in Vietnam. The event was attended by high-level executives from Reebok, ABG (Reebok’s parent company), and TBS Group. The successful event marked a significant milestone in a strategic partnership that first began 27 years ago.
Inspired by American culture, Reebok is a global brand with a rich history in athletic wear since 1895. Originally named J.W. Foster and Sons, it was rebranded as Reebok in 1958. In 1995, Reebok came to Vietnam looking for manufacturing opportunities. At the time, TBS was a newcomer to the industry and lacked significant experience. The partnership with Reebok was a major opportunity that helped TBS elevate its capabilities and move beyond its previous dependence on contract manufacturing orders. However, after three years, Reebok announced its withdrawal from Vietnam to focus on production in China, citing advantages such as a strong supply of raw materials and a well-developed infrastructure for the footwear industry.
Having joined the global supply chain in the 1990s, TBS Group understands the importance of supply chain management. The fashion industry supply chain includes not just manufacturers and suppliers but also transportation companies, warehouses, retailers, and customers. Most importantly, it includes product development. All these components form interconnected links that bring a product to the final consumer. With major clients who demand speed, creative designs, and competitive pricing—such as Decathlon, Skechers, Coach, and Titleist—TBS has gradually integrated deeper into its clients’ value chains and become an indispensable partner. The collaboration to build and operate seven global-standard R&D centers is the result of TBS Group’s market research and learning over more than 30 years.
Today, Reebok has returned to Vietnam with a new approach, new ownership, new leadership, and new methods. They have once again sought out TBS Group, which is now in a much stronger position. As the only Vietnamese company among the top five suppliers for the fashion manufacturing industry in Vietnam, TBS Group is ready to meet the highest demands of major global brands like Skechers, Coach, Kate Spade, Titleist, and WWW. Together, TBS and Reebok are opening a new R&D center, not just for TBS Group but for the entire Vietnamese fashion manufacturing industry.
Spanning 4,600 square meters, the Reebok R&D Center is one of the most modern product research and development hubs today. The center is built on an integrated system with advanced technical infrastructure to meet the strictest requirements for speed and creativity. It is designed to keep pace with, and even lead, trends, while enhancing competitiveness with other top global brands.
Leveraging its experience and significant position in the global supply chain through partnerships with leading fashion brands, TBS continues to build on its strengths by focusing on material sourcing, technological innovation, and applying automation to production lines. This ensures optimal efficiency from research and development to the commercialization process, providing a competitive edge for its products. Through these efforts, TBS and Reebok aim to dominate the market together, ensuring both economic benefits and a long-term strategic partnership.
Consumer needs are limitless and constantly changing, and the supply chain must change with them. This demands that businesses make quick and logical adjustments. In this new partnership, TBS Group has thoroughly studied and learned from Reebok, deciding to develop a large-scale material library right within the center. This library stores key technical components, strategic products, material data, and supplier information to support product development, sourcing, and costing activities. With these capabilities, the Reebok R&D Center is optimized in all stages of product development, ensuring flexible access to crucial data and material samples, which makes the product development process not only fast but also more complete and efficient.
Beyond improvements in infrastructure and technology, a crucial factor in the swift establishment of the Reebok office and R&D Center was its people. TBS Group focused on investing in and attracting talent through continuous training programs, scholarship sponsorships, and job rotations within the company. In a short time, TBS built a dedicated and highly skilled team that played a major role in getting the center operational in just two months and ensuring smooth operations. With an estimated capacity of 100,000 sample pairs per year, the Reebok R&D Center is expected to begin mass production and ship its first orders in early 2023. With this achievement, the TBS Group staff is working toward the goal of making TBS one of Reebok’s best and largest suppliers within the next 3-5 years.
The launch of the Reebok R&D Center at TBS Group once again marks the successful conquest of stringent manufacturing standards from top global brands. This elevates the profile of TBS Group in particular and Vietnam in general on the world map of fashion manufacturing, taking another step toward deeper integration into the global value chain. The partnership with Reebok is also an important link in TBS’s plan to expand production into the Southwestern region of Vietnam, serving as a crucial step in preparation for future acceleration and breakthroughs.
