Where Are Saben Bags Made?
Saben bags are mainly made in China whereas the designer range is made largely in Indonesia, New Zealand, and China.
Roanne studied art at the White Cliffe University of Arts and Design in Auckland. She was working as an artist in New York when she started her business. After a failed quest to find a handbag that suits her taste in form and function, she began to create one for herself.
She named it “Saben” after her grandmother, Sara Saben. In her designs, she was able to combine her unique sense of style and original interpretation of trends to create a reputable brand.
Core value
Her core values are summarized under the following:
Modern design IntentionalityQualityLongevity
Modern designs:
Saben has always been about designs with intention. Her designs according to her, where inspired by colors; and informed by travel, innovation, and heritage. Roanne uses beautiful texture leathers in addition to intuitively functional design to meet every woman’s demand.
Intentionality:
Handbags are supposed to serve a function to the user. This gave rise to this core value. Every handbag with all its parts is made to provide a particular function. A typical example is her favorite Bea design which she recently added a feature strap for cross-body ease and a feature handle for over the shoulder and when on the go, to accommodate her lifestyle.
Quality:
Saben brand has a reputable quality. Roanne can achieve this, by employing competent personnel that produces bags with the best materials while she focuses on designs.
Longevity:
Roanne desired a brand that can stay in every woman’s wardrobe for long. This is why she creates very lasting products with high-quality raw materials. Her philosophy remains, to create few numbers for every design, that way, there’s always room for innovation. This explains why there is always a new collection to be launched.
Brand growth
After Saben created her first sample, she took it to four stores that all agreed to stock her product. Currently, she has up to 40 stockists around the country with Redcurrent and Scatpa in Auckland’s topping the list. Saben showroom and workshop at suburban Mount Roskill focus on wallets, men’s bags and belts, luggage, and some other accessories.
The corporate world has been their main operation over the years. The branding with Nokia happened to be the first. They helped them introduce their fashion phone to the fashion world by producing a bag with a phone pocket, and promoted it on both brands’ channels. There’s then the plane-themed backpack for Air new Zealand during their 75th birthday, L’Oréal’s Kerastase brand, and then the ranges of handbags and accessories for the Warehouse in 2009 which increased his affluence as a designer.
Other brands it included include snowberry, telecom, spark, Westpac, Nes, preso, cavalier, and Bremworth.
Saben designs
With Roanne’s obsession with creativity, every season is an opportunity for a new design, and each comes with a collection of designs. Some of them include:
The BeaThe CocoThe ChelseaThe TussockThe Willow etc.
Warranty and Repairs
Saben brands have a reputation for Longevity, so they offer a one-year warranty to their customers for every purchase made. Repairs are made at no charge.
Before repairs are done, certain criteria must be met. They are included in the return policy.
The return policy
The customer must notify Saben within 7 days after the order was made. For a product that was purchased online, a picture of it with proof of purchase will be emailed. If such a product was purchased offline, the retailer will have to be notified first. If the product is not returned in its original state, the return will not be made. Items shipped outside New Zealand will not be replaced. For purchases that came with a gift, like the free strap promotion; during return, both product and gift must be included so that the refund can be completed.
If any of the above criteria are met, the return will only be accepted at the brand’s discretion.
The Return Process
The brand has three return processes:
If repair is achievable, the brand will repair the product at zero charges. If repair is, however, not achievable, a replacement of the said product will be made. If the product is out of stock, a refund or store credit will be issued to the customer.
For Damaged or Lost items
The brand must be notified within 7days of confirmation of dispatch to claim insurance for the product. The details of the product with the tracking number used for delivery will be sent to the brand. Damaged products will have to be returned to the nearest postal authority as soon as possible in the same condition as were delivered. Replacement is done at zero charges.
However, a replacement will not be done if:
government agency seized the product. The item was sent to a country without any postal services. If the loss or damage is beyond the company’s control. The loss or damage happened after the product was delivered. The product was sent without any authorized tracking or insurance.
Payment
Payment can be made on Visa or MasterCard credit card via Shopify and PayPal payment. All prices are shown on the shopping card in New Zealand dollars. Discount codes and any shipment fee are taken into account during checkout before payment. payments can be done using Afterpay which allows customers to buy a product now and pay later through installment payments for both in-store and online payments.
Users pay the first installment at the time of purchase. The rest are done every two weeks for three consecutive times. There are, however, terms and conditions for this process to be achievable as stated by the company.
Conclusion:
Saben products were first produced mainly in New Zealand. However, as demand increases over the years, production was mainly done in China while the designs were done in New Zealand, Indonesia, and China.
