I should not have been surprised. The factory opened in 2002 and Romania, which is now part of the EU, has workers who, I'm sure, are quite capable of producing goods to a high standard. Indeed, it's no longer usual for large companies to limit their production to within their country's borders and a representative from Louis Vuitton assured the reporter of the article I read that working conditions in their Romanian factory are comparable to their factories in Italy. The obvious reason that the factory was opened, though, is the disparity of wage levels between Romania and Italy. To put it bluntly, it's far cheaper to make a shoe in Romania than in Italy, as the average salary for a garment worker in Romania is only 133€ per month. Numerous other companies have made similar commercial decisions to open factories in countries which pay lower wages compared to their own.
Wage differences also explain why individual workers from low-wage countries are ready to move to a country where they can earn far more, and then send money home to their families. A garment worker in Romania, for example, could earn more than ten times their salary if they were in Western Europe. The cost of living is certainly higher in the West, but the higher wages more than offset the difference. To put this into perspective, the gross average monthly wage of a Romanian is 726€ (515 net), a Briton 2507€ (2102 net) and a Spaniard 2143€ (1718 net). Being averages, many people earn more, and many less (yes, that includes the Romanian garment workers). Related to this, the cost of living index shows Romania comparatively cheap at 35, the UK at 69 and Spain at 55.
The EU has opened up the labour market and workers are free to move where they want to within the Union. The fact that this could produce problems, often because of cultural differences, belatedly seems to have confounded some European politicians. It's understandable that East Europeans, anxious to improve themselves financially, are willing to move to earn more. They can do so by travelling west, even if still earning less than their foreign counterparts. They're prepared to live away from home, do jobs shunned by others and tolerate basic living conditions if it means that they can support their family back home.
The European Union implies that it's a body of countries with similar goals; in reality it's far from that. The member countries are diverse and always will be and businesses within the community will exploit any weaknesses to make themselves more profitable. Trade and labour agreements within the EU facilitate movement, so we shouldn't shout 'unfair' when employers and employees take advantage of that. Nevertheless, it's a shame that Louis Vuitton knows that they can’t make a complete pair of shoes in a foreign factory and put 'Made in Romania' on its label. For, by doing so, they wouldn't be able to convince their clientele of their high quality and command such an extortionate price in the shops. It's a matter of clever marketing and naïve perception that allows them to retain their coveted position.