Who knew that the humble zipper could unleash such fury? If you've ever paid any attention to the metal tab and teeth that fasten your favorite jackets, jeans, bags, and circa-1980s parachute pants, then you'll probably be familiar with the letters "YKK." This is the Japanese brand, founded in 1934 by Tadao Yoshida, that has dominated the zipper market for most of the last 70 years. Unfortunately for YKK, that dominance is eroding.

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SBS Zippers, a Chinese firm founded in 1984 in the coastal town of Jingjiang, has become a major worldwide zipper force by selling affordably-priced zippers to mass-market brands. The result, as chronicled in a fascinating article by Business of Fashion, is an all out war for global zipper domination.

By 2020, the international market for zippers is expected to reach around £10 billion. And it's a market that's highly fragmented, with China now serving as the world's largest zipper producer. That's according to a gloriously named and actually real 2015 Zipper Market Research Report from Global Industry Analysts, a US-based market intelligence source. To combat the competition, YKK has increasingly focused on design and innovation in order to supply zippers to the higher-end luxury market—a market that has historically been controlled by European brands like Lampo and Riri.

And while SBS is also shooting for the top of the pyramid, so far YKK has had more success in that arena. According to BoF, that's largely because YKK not only makes zippers, "but also the equipment that allows them to do so." This gives the company a manufacturing ecosystem that allows for a far more customizable product.

So if you're keeping score, that's China battling for the middle market, which has pushed Japan into the luxury market, which, until now, has mostly been dominated by Europeans. And just to add to the fun, SBS Zippers, the Chinese brand, has also cast its eye on the high-end market. Basically all that's left now is for Neville Chamberlain to give up half of Czechoslovakia and then we're really in trouble.

Who knew there was so much international intrigue involved in keeping your jeans zipped?

From: Esquire US