The rapid spread of the COVID-19 epidemic since January this year has led to repeated delays in the start of business operations for companies across the country. For those knitting companies that originally planned to rush to produce spring orders, resume supply chain shipments, and expand sales channels from February, this is undoubtedly an unexpected test. The epidemic is a mirror that not only tests the ability of enterprises to resist risks when the market is stagnant, but also tests the ability of enterprises to respond quickly when faced with emergencies. It also tests the ability of enterprises to collaborate within the company to turn crises into opportunities. Under the epidemic, a group of enterprising and excellent companies are standing out and swimming against the epidemic through the test of fighting the epidemic. Their experience is particularly worthy of attention.
In “crisis” under the epidemic There is an “opportunity”
Many people say that the start of 2020 will be difficult. The tariff risks left by the Sino-US trade friction have not yet been eliminated. The sudden outbreak of the new coronavirus has put the country on emergency alert and caused many companies to cut off their capital chains. Physical stores have suspended operations, factories have suspended production, delayed resumption of work, and rents have been hoarded…the operations and management of many companies have faced huge challenges.
Although, according to dispatch data from the National Development and Reform Commission, the resumption rate of industrial enterprises above designated size across the country is gradually increasing, of which Zhejiang has exceeded 90%, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Liaoning, Guangdong, Jiangxi has exceeded 70%. But it is undeniable that there will be a long recovery period after the resumption of work, which puts the knitting industry in a difficult situation.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, many companies have predicted their market growth rate. Most companies believe that the decline in growth rate in the first half of the year may be between 30% and 50%, but it will not last long.
Feng Chushan, chairman of Zhongshan Rongsen Knitted Garment Co., Ltd., believes that in the short term, the most direct impact of the epidemic on brand companies or retailers is a reduction of 2 ~ 3 months of sales, because goods have been prepared before the Spring Festival to welcome the New Year and the sales peak after the Spring Festival. Due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control policies, stagnant sales will directly lead to cash flow obstruction. Currently, most brands have extended all payment periods. 30~60 days. The second is that it affects short-term orders, and the sales market in spring and summer is stagnant, which will directly affect the upstream supply chain. The third is the macroeconomic downturn in 2019. Enterprises are already facing difficulties, and the impact of the epidemic has made them even worse. According to statistics from relevant agencies, 85% of small and medium-sized enterprises can only maintain fund balances for three months at most.
Despite the active resumption of work and production, Huang Shuiqing, chairman of Zhejiang Miantian Knitting Co., Ltd., does not shy away from the impact of the current epidemic on the company. He said that the sudden outbreak of the epidemic had a relatively large impact on the company’s production and operations. The product launch plans and production plans formulated before the Spring Festival were basically disrupted. New products could not be launched, production orders were postponed, and the company’s customers’ terminal store sales almost stopped. Everything from production to sales has been affected. “However, during the epidemic, the company team maintained close communication and made a lot of preparations for resumption of work in advance. With the support and assistance of the Yiwu Municipal Government of Zhejiang Province, we became the first batch of units to successfully apply for resumption of work. The Yiwu Municipal Government also organized Chartered buses help companies pick up employees back to the factory. Currently, 90% of the company’s employees are on duty, and production capacity has gradually resumed, greatly reducing corporate losses,” Huang Shuiqing said.
The Huaxin Research Institute’s report “The Impact of NCP Epidemic Prevention and Control on my country’s Manufacturing Industry and Thoughts on Fiscal, Taxation and Financial Policies” pointed out that while the spread of the epidemic has put many companies in trouble, it will also Promote enterprises to respond more strongly, and innovation and transformation will surely accelerate, which will bring new development opportunities to my country’s manufacturing industry.
“This epidemic is also an opportunity for companies to make breakthroughs. The only way to survive is to innovate, change and break through.” Huang Shuiqing said that although the company has been affected by the epidemic in the short term, But this year, the company is particularly confident. The new factory is under construction and is scheduled to be completed and settled in June. It will further strengthen the manufacturing business and highlight its own advantages. At the same time, it will use this opportunity to sharpen the corporate team and build a more combat-effective team.
“The most profound long-term impact of the epidemic is that it has changed the consumption patterns and habits of Chinese people, which may affect the rules of the game for the entire industry.” Feng Chushan believes that regardless of whether consumers There will be changes both financially and psychologically. How to rely on this change to innovate, including product innovation, system innovation, and model innovation, is extremely critical. This is also the core that affects the development of all enterprises.
Digital capabilities need to be improved
The prevention and control of this epidemic is a downturn. Force more knitting companies to apply the industrial Internet and realize process reengineering, thus promoting the strengthening of corporate management and improving efficiency.
In order to break the ice of offline retail, leading companies in the knitting industry responded quickly to the epidemic. According to Xi Feng, director of the Information Technology Department of Hongdou Group, Hongdou Group Three “big starts” are proposed for future enterprise development: online training, online marketing, and production capacity transformation and improvement. Major industrial transformation will be achieved through technological innovation, talent innovation, team building, product construction, etc.
For companies that successfully achieve self-rescue, the Internet and data intelligence technology play a crucial role. Domestic sports brand Anta responds with a new marketing strategy of “telling stories around IP”�Commodity sales dilemma. During the “March 8th Festival”, Anta cooperated with a number of distinctive IPs to launch a series of products and activities online that were popular with female consumers. Anta brand official said that from the perspective of brand building, the epidemic cannot be a reason to cut off the connection between us and consumers.
In order to deepen the connection and emotion between consumers and the brand, Anta has continuously launched user-friendly products based on several special time points during the epidemic, Douyin hot spots, the epidemic environment and other backgrounds. Based on the scene, we launched a variety of topics, spokespeople’s exercise teaching demonstrations and fitness skills and interactive marketing videos, using online content marketing to resonate with consumers, and received good market feedback.
Li Ning, Peak, Xtep, 361 Degrees and other sports brands have also tried this. Li Ning cooperated with rappers to launch the Douyin song “Healthy House” as a brand ” The Douyin background music for the activity “Better Stay at Home”. Peak uses 3D printing technology to provide improved mask components for front-line medical staff, and uses the online mall to interact with consumers through the “make an order and receive a mask” approach to enhance consumers’ favorability for the brand.
According to the report “Can COVID-19 Trapped China’s Economy” released by Bain & Company, the U.S.-based management consulting firm pointed out that COVID-19 will change consumer behavior and preferences and will further impact The competitive landscape of the consumer market. The concentration of the industry will accelerate, the Matthew effect may become more obvious, and the continued survival of small and medium-sized enterprises will face greater challenges. At the same time, online competitiveness will become more significant, and the squeeze on offline traditional channels will become increasingly intense.
In the current “big test”, how can we survive tenaciously and rise in the crisis? Feng Chushan believes that firstly, the core competitiveness of enterprises must be improved, and only by strong enterprises can they gain a firm foothold in the fierce market competition; secondly, enterprises need to improve their rapid response capabilities, compress production cycles, improve production quality and efficiency, and turn the original impossible into become a reality; the third is to use advanced information technology to deeply integrate sales, production, and supply chains to establish an efficient and collaborative organizational ecology.
Ma Qingxuan, chairman of Guangdong Kaidi Clothing Co., Ltd., believes that the epidemic has also spawned the “stay-at-home economy” to some extent, causing consumers’ consumption behaviors and habits to change to varying degrees. , online working, social networking, entertainment, etc. have become the norm, promoting consumers and enterprises to be deeply online, and strengthening the in-depth integration of online and offline enterprises. At the same time, the industry reshuffle will be accelerated after the epidemic, and some companies that lack innovation and competitive advantages will be encouraged to think rationally and actively transform.
“In the face of impact, companies should adapt to the times and make early plans.” Ma Qingxuan introduced that in order to maintain interaction and stickiness with users, Kaidi Clothing’s marketing team combines user consumption trends For high-frequency products such as underwear, socks and other products, online promotion methods such as online traffic, online training, Douyin, and live broadcasts actively guide terminal stores to interact with consumers online to strengthen customer stickiness.
“The Spring Festival holiday is originally the golden period for offline store sales, but now the sales of clothing companies have been affected to a certain extent. At present, the headquarters and national branches have successively launched WeChat online membership special events, WeChat flash sales, mini program distribution, rotating live broadcasts in different regions, etc., hope to increase online business sales.” A salesperson at a sweater brand store told reporters.
The epidemic is forcing enterprises to undergo digital transformation. The epidemic has allowed companies with online platforms to flex their muscles; companies that do not have online platforms but have digital capabilities can quickly connect with the platforms and find opportunities. And those companies without digital capabilities are at a loss. This has made many companies realize that only when their business is online can they maintain business continuity when a disaster strikes. In the long run, brands and retail companies will open up online and offline channels and carry out digital transformation, which is the only way to “turn crises into opportunities”. </p
