A sudden COVID-19 epidemic has silenced all industries and put my country’s industrial enterprises through a severe test. The cashmere industry has also been hit hard in the process. Although my country’s cashmere industry occupies a small share in the textile industry, it has a major global export market and plays an indispensable role in the world’s high-end wool textiles. Therefore, the trends of the cashmere industry have attracted much attention. How has my country’s cashmere industry been affected by the epidemic? How will the future develop? How can cashmere companies seize development opportunities in the post-epidemic era? These have become unavoidable topics for the future development of the cashmere industry.
Weak demand and not optimistic about exports
In the first quarter of 2020, my country’s cashmere industry exports fell by 20.18% year-on-year, which was significantly smaller than the 32.52% decline in wool industry exports. According to information collected and summarized by the China Wool Textile Industry Association, from January to April, the cumulative year-on-year decline in cashmere prices has exceeded 30%. According to analysis by industry insiders, the price of raw goat cashmere has fallen rapidly from last year’s high. The fundamental reason is a serious lack of market demand and declining corporate confidence. On the other hand, it is now the season for purchasing new cashmere. The impact of the sharp drop in cashmere prices on livestock production may make future recovery more difficult. The dilemma at both the supply and demand ends has caused many adverse effects on the cashmere industry.
Judging from the survey on the resumption of work and production of enterprises carried out by the China Wool Industry Association, cashmere enterprises have basically resumed work in early April. Among the enterprises that have resumed work, about 50% of them had a capacity utilization rate of less than 50% at that time. Only 25% of enterprises have a capacity utilization rate of more than 80%.
Since March, the European Union, the main export region for cashmere products, has been deeply affected by the intensifying epidemic, with orders being canceled and orders reduced one after another. In the market since March, high-end clothing brands have been more significantly impacted, and cashmere products, as one of the most high-end textile and clothing products, will be affected throughout the year, or even longer. Today, domestic and foreign market demand has not seen a significant recovery. Cashmere production companies generally underutilize their production capacity, and production and operations are faced with greater challenges.
Not only that, the decline in sales revenue due to the epidemic at the beginning of the year has led to a reduction in cash collection. Now we are facing the arrival of the harvest season, which requires a lot of funds. Can the harvest price be consistent with future order prices, quantities, and delivery dates? The return of funds as soon as possible is unpredictable. Faced with the cashmere production cycle that cannot be violated, many cashmere companies are at a loss. With no or reduced orders for exports, companies have turned to domestic sales. During the epidemic, offline clothing stores were required to close their stores uniformly. Companies sold through online methods such as Tmall, WeChat, and live broadcasts to minimize the impact of offline sales. reduce the impact.
Looking for development opportunities in the crisis
At present, as the new coronavirus epidemic in my country gradually In order to control the situation, relevant clusters and enterprises in the cashmere industry chain seize the time to resume work and production, try their best to recover losses, and at the same time actively seek development opportunities in the crisis.
The production site of a cashmere products manufacturer in Qinghe County, Hebei Province.
“Cashmere Capital of China” – Qinghe County, Xingtai City, uses 5G and other new generation information technology to connect the upstream and downstream of the cashmere industry chain, realize intelligent production design, and network procurement and sales, and promote the high-quality development of cashmere specialty industries. The flexible intelligent manufacturing system of Qinghe Zhonghui Textile Co., Ltd. allows big data, cloud computing, and 5G to run through the entire production. Orders can be placed through the mobile APP to achieve personalization, small batches, and rapid response. Qinghe Cixing first-line molding research demonstration factory takes only 40 minutes from a piece of yarn to a piece of clothing. Hebei Mi Xuerong Down Products Co., Ltd. has transformed from the original graphic link to an online live broadcast room with goods. So far, it has sold a total of 72,000 orders. During the epidemic, Hebei took the lead in unblocking e-commerce logistics channels and united with international fashion institutions to keep a close eye on the fashion front and conduct product research and development and stocking. In the first quarter, online sales of Qinghe cashmere reached 2.388 billion yuan, an increase of 7.7% over last year. . Under the conditions of normalized epidemic prevention and control, Qinghe County has further accelerated the transformation and upgrading of the cashmere town platform, promoted the construction of new e-commerce incubation centers, cashmere smart knitting industrial parks and other projects, and improved the smart industry cluster of “intelligent production + smart market + flexible supply” .
On May 11, at the Qinghe Cashmere Shanghai Special Promotion Meeting and Project Signing Ceremony of the “Special Industry Promotion Week” of the Xingtai Municipal Government’s Shanghai Investment Promotion Office held in Shanghai, Tongxiang Huajina Cashmere Clothing Co., Ltd.’s Cashmere Intelligent Weaving Industrial Park Project, Zhejiang Chunfeng Clothing Co., Ltd. and Hebei Yunheng Cashmere Products Co., Ltd. cooperated to build a cashmere sweater project with an annual output of 1 million pieces. Five cashmere industry projects were signed, with a total investment of 738 million yuan.
For enterprises, the most important thing at the moment is to adjust their strategic direction in a timely manner, deepen their product and service layout, and calmly respond to crises.
In response to the epidemic situation at home and abroad, Ordos Group has made multiple adjustments to production plans, order arrangements, business forecasts, etc., using the advantages of its entire industry chain to maintain the flexibility of multiple business objectives, and Provide maximum support for market and sales recovery. At the same time, we can predict the market situation in a timely manner and quickly adjust the priorities of product lines. For small programs that were originally planned,A number of new retail measures such as city upgrades are implemented quickly and with priority through the centralized allocation of resources; offline stores are adjusted to promote high-quality stores, and store opening strategies and plans remain unchanged; at the same time, dealers are supported in various aspects such as goods and funds. support.
Get ready and practice your internal skills
“At present, the international market is affected by the epidemic. The impact continues to deepen, and domestic consumption shows no obvious signs of recovery. Due to its fragility, the high-end consumer product market where the cashmere industry is located is under greater pressure under the trend of global economic weakness and decline. From the perspective of exports, cashmere products are It has a certain degree of resistance to pressure. However, under the deepening pressure of the situation, how to continue to withstand market pressure and survive the crisis safely and smoothly requires cashmere practitioners to think deeply.” Industry insiders said.
Currently, the panic caused by the epidemic has changed from the epidemic itself to the panic about economic recession. From adapting to the normalization of epidemic prevention to accepting the helplessness of slow economic recovery, whether to give up or stick to the cause of struggle , whether to wait or change, has become a factor affecting the development of the cashmere industry. Therefore, overcoming panic, sticking to the main business, seeking innovation and adapting are the correct answers given by current cashmere practitioners facing this exam question.
As the domestic epidemic situation improves, the country has introduced a series of financial, taxation, social security and other policies to help various regions safely resume work and production, and also further strengthened companies’ understanding of the business environment in the second, third and fourth quarters. Confidence in getting better. For enterprises, they should also realize that it is better to seek help than to save themselves. In the end, the enterprise itself must have stronger innovation capabilities and hard-core business skills.
This year is the final year of the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”, and the future development of the cashmere industry is the focus of common concern. “After this epidemic, the industry has been reshuffled again. Industrial concentration will become more obvious, and the advantages of brand companies will become more prominent. Small and micro enterprises should give full play to their own characteristics and maximize their advantages in order to survive in one place. Online sales Channel construction and expansion will also be the focus of the development of the cashmere industry.” Industry insiders said.
In the “14th Five-Year Plan” science and technology development survey questionnaire carried out by the China Wool Industry Association, the company proposed that the development goal of the cashmere industry is to deepen the continuous improvement of intelligent equipment technology and digital production technology, and improve the level of refined management. ; Adhere to the path of green and sustainable development and vigorously promote green technology; adhere to the implementation of brand strategy and fully promote the Chinese national cashmere fashion culture; improve the ability of independent innovation in science and technology, develop differentiated and functional products; comprehensively enhance the reputation of my country’s cashmere industry in the world The right to speak.
Focusing on the goal, the China-Mao Association stated that it will work with industry, academia and research institutes to carry out a series of work, assist in the establishment, guidance and appraisal of national key scientific research projects, organize and coordinate upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain and cross-industry The docking between them promotes the promotion of science and technology and the implementation of industrialization, promptly reports the economic operation of the industry to member companies, shares the latest information on the cashmere industry at home and abroad, and jointly maintains the healthy and stable development of my country’s cashmere specialty industry. </p
