Since this year, the COVID-19 epidemic has been raging around the world, world economic growth expectations have been continuously lowered, and sluggish demand is becoming a long-term phenomenon. Due to major changes in consumption scenarios, the apparel industry is facing major challenges. At the 2020 China Apparel Forum held recently, industry insiders pointed out that China’s apparel industry has entered a new period of development as it accelerates from the industrial economy to the digital economy. From a manufacturing power to a fashion power, the future development of China’s apparel industry should have the following three characteristics: Aspects of capabilities: First, continued strong innovation capabilities, especially technological innovation capabilities; second, to comprehensively enhance cultural creativity and give new value to the industry; third, to contribute to the commercial civilization process of the global garment industry, and China will surely become A staunch promoter of responsible development and sustainable development. China’s garment industry must recognize the situation clearly and strengthen its direction and motivation.
The epidemic has triggered new changes in clothing consumption and industrial development
According to analysis by the China Textile Federation Industrial Economics Research Institute, the epidemic has changed the consumption scenario and the demand for clothing has dropped sharply.
Research shows that usually, consumer goods show different changes in consumption volume in response to changes in income or price based on their different demand elasticities. When personal income decreases, updated spending plans for durable consumer goods with relatively high demand elasticity, such as furniture, appliances, and automobiles, are more likely to be postponed. Except for a small amount of luxury goods, clothing consumption mainly consists of non-durable necessities that meet daily needs, and the elasticity of demand is relatively low. The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 broke this economic law, and clothing became the consumer product with the sharpest decline. The main reason is that the epidemic caused major changes in the consumption scene, resulting in changes in the consumption structure.
In addition to changes in consumption scenarios, the complexity of the international situation will also have an impact on clothing consumption and industrial development to a certain extent.
First, the prospects for world economic development are highly uncertain. The COVID-19 epidemic has ravaged many regions around the world, world economic growth expectations have been continuously lowered, and sluggish demand has become a long-term phenomenon. The World Bank predicts that the global economy will shrink by 5.2% this year; the WTO predicts that global trade growth will shrink by 18.5% in 2020; the United Nations predicts that global foreign direct investment will drop sharply by 40% in 2020. With the normalization of domestic epidemic prevention and control, the economic operation of China’s garment industry has shown marginal improvement in 2020, and the decline has continued to narrow. However, in the first half of the year, major indicators such as production, export, investment, and efficiency are still in the negative growth range.
Second, geopolitical conflicts are deepening and are highly uncertain. China’s textile and apparel industry has also been deeply affected by geopolitical conflicts; the noise of decoupling of global industrial and value chains has increased, and the risk of disconnection and imbalance in the global supply chain remains high.
Thirdly, the construction of multicultural relationships is highly uncertain. Based on different cultures, China and Western countries have different discourse systems, information interpretation methods and management rules. The spread of uncertainty makes social interactions between different cultures more unpredictable and faces a serious crisis of trust. Building harmonious multicultural relationships has become even more important for bridging cultural gaps and improving industrial and economic stability and predictability.
Grasp the development initiative of the clothing industry from three aspects
Under the current situation, Sun Ruizhe, president of the China Textile and Apparel Industry Federation, believes that the garment industry must transform to cultivate new opportunities and open up new opportunities through reform. The industry must be keenly aware of the complexity of the international current situation; grasp the initiative of industrial development; establish a systematic digital transformation; and promote the contemporary nature of traditional culture.
In his speech at the clothing forum, Sun Ruizhe said that the initiative for industry development should be grasped from three aspects.
First, new lifestyles drive changes in production methods. The biggest change that the COVID-19 epidemic has brought to human society is that social isolation has promoted the onlineization of economic activities and daily life. Accelerating transformation has become a necessary path for the industry to survive. On the supply side, the traditional textile and apparel supply chain needs to become digital, flat, shared, flexible and ecological. On the demand side, brands need to shift from a single physical store to a full-customer group, full-channel, full-category, full-time, full-experience, full-data, and full-link approach to e-commerce PCs, e-commerce mobiles, and information media. Fusion.
Second, promoting integrated development has become an important way to extend industrial value. From “individual fashion” to the establishment of “pan-fashion ecology”, with the integration of new fashion technologies, new models, new formats and new mechanisms, fashion brands, fashion designers, fashion events, fashion talent training systems, and the fashion industry The comprehensive integration of a series of complex fashion elements such as public service platforms, fashion industry clusters, and fashion cities is also the integrated development and value of the fashion industry with textiles and clothing as the main body and film and television, music, finance, technology, accessories, tourism, urban construction and other fields. merge.
Third, to achieve high-quality development, we must break through factor bottlenecks. At present, the garment industry still faces many obstacles in the entire factor market, including the allocation and flow of factor resources such as capital, land, and labor. To break through the obstacles of these factor resources, there is an “upgrade” in the “transformation”, and it is necessary to achieve the true meaning High-quality development in the industry, focusing on “technology, fashion, and green” products��New positioning to build a new manufacturing civilization, a new business civilization and a new consumption civilization that are intelligent, beautiful, spiritual and dignified.
While pursuing digital transformation
While grasping traditional culture
Sun Ruizhe pointed out in his speech that the clothing industry should establish a systematic digital transformation from three aspects:
The other First, digital geo-competition is becoming a new means of industrial competition among countries around the world.
In digital geopolitics, core technology and data have become key factors. In the future, will the fashion industry also encounter hard-core disputes over layout and digital supply chain ports under the digital geographical landscape? We need to be fully mentally prepared for new means of industrial competition and match new capacity building.
Second, digital transformation is becoming a new asset driven by innovation in the textile and apparel industry.
“Digital industrialization” led by Internet platforms, mobile Internet applications, and information technology is gradually developing into artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies to promote the in-depth transformation and upgrading of real industries. A new stage of “industrial digitalization”. Industrial digitization and digital industrialization are giving China’s textile and apparel industry important development opportunities.
Thirdly, digital fashion is becoming a new form of growth in the value of Chinese clothing brands.
In the process of promoting the development of digital fashion in the clothing industry, the intelligence (IQ) and experience (EQ) of products will play a key role. With rich imagination and new skills, they can think forward about how to design, manufacture and sell truly digital products and deliver more personalized experiences. The real challenge lies in whether they can organically adapt diversified technologies to corporate development genes. Matching, with points and noodles, from the outside to the inside.
In addition, it is also very important to promote the contemporary nature of traditional culture. First, the diversification of contemporary lifestyles is giving rise to a diverse industrial and cultural landscape. Second, the creativity of contemporary cultural styles is activating the cultural regeneration of traditional industrial resources. Third, the influence of contemporary fashion brands is strengthening the unique identity of Chinese fashion culture.
The industry must concentrate on doing four things
Facing the new situation and reform tasks, Sun Ruizhe said that in the future, the clothing industry should concentrate on doing four things well.
First, focus on deeper market cycles. To build a sound domestic demand market, it is necessary to clear various obstacles that affect the domestic circulation. On the one hand, governments at all levels need to have a full and persistent understanding of the employment-stimulating role of the textile and apparel industry; on the other hand, the apparel industry should continue to lead the internal cycle with innovative and creative entrepreneurship, product upgrades and market reengineering, and use the digital economy and cross-border Cooperate with other sectors to empower the internal circulation, promote the internal circulation through coordinated regional economic development, cultivate world-class industrial clusters and new growth points of the industrial economy, and clear the internal circulation through the integration of industry and finance, urban and rural integration and talent integration.
Second, focus on a higher-quality industrial system. Building the ecology of the industrial system is not about flaunting a leaf, but cultivating a forest. In the future, we should accelerate the construction of a modern textile and apparel industry system with coordinated development of the real economy, technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources, and promote the superposition of industry 5G applications, industrial Internet, data centers and other information infrastructure with new manufacturing methods and business models. To promote industrial development towards the middle and high end of the global industrial chain value chain, and enhance the overall function and comprehensive competitiveness of the industry.
Third, focus on a more comprehensive cultural revitalization. The same psychological foundation, similar aesthetic standards and development values lay the foundation for the integration of fashion culture. This will also become a prerequisite for the Chinese clothing industry to start an all-round cultural renaissance and gain deeper value recognition. In the future, we must continue to do a good job in Chinese design, tell Chinese stories well, shape Chinese attitudes, and strengthen Chinese influence. The cultural character of the Chinese clothing industry is independent and unique, enlightened and open, and innovative and good-hearted. Based on the post-epidemic era, we must avoid being isolated in the economic structure and cultural status. We must enhance value with strength, gain respect with dignity, and sustain the future with the present.
Fourth, focus on a more responsible development model. At the national level, IDI (Inclusive Development Index) has become a better standard for measuring the quality of national development. The World Economic Forum proposed that IDI should replace GDP. The evaluation criteria of the inclusive development index include not only the size of the economy, but also factors such as population life expectancy, unemployment rate, median income, poverty-stricken areas, inequality rate, household savings rate, carbon emission intensity and other factors. At the economic level, ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance has become an important dimension of market investment value. The pressure of demand, the guidance of policies, the catalysis of capital, and the implementation of technology have accelerated the integration of green economy into the strategic system, production system, innovation system and value system of China’s clothing industry. In the future, we should assume broader social responsibilities, deepen humanistic responsibilities, environmental responsibilities, and market responsibilities, and promote the harmonious development of people and people, people and society, and people and nature.
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