From “chasing famous brands” to “personalization”, from “big logos” to “national craze”, high-end shopping malls have changed from the dominance of a few brands to today’s fashion flourishing… Behind the changes in China’s clothing consumer market , is the change of the times in a trillion-dollar industry.
From “sewing shops” to modern factories, from backward craftsmanship to internationally leading technology, from single foreign processing to fashion creation characterized by cultural confidence, China’s garment industry has developed in one fell swoop over the past forty years. It reflects the rise of an industrial manufacturing power since the Industrial Revolution.
01 Unparalleled industrial power
The new coronavirus epidemic suddenly struck in 2020 and wreaked havoc worldwide. Chinese garment workers have taken on the responsibility bravely and switched production one after another. In 2020 alone, the textile and garment industry provided the world with more than 220 billion masks and 2.25 billion protective clothing, a considerable part of which were produced by clothing companies. This is due to the strong industrial foundation and industry reserve capacity, which fully reflects the completeness, strength and rapid response of China’s textile and apparel industry system.
Indeed, after more than 40 years of tempering, China’s garment industry has built the world’s largest and most complete industrial system.
According to statistics, there are currently 170,000 industrial enterprises in the clothing industry nationwide, employing 8.26 million people. Adding in 7.94 million employees in the circulation field, the industry provides employment for 16.2 million people. With an annual output of approximately 71.2 billion pieces of clothing, a domestic sales market of 4.5 trillion yuan, and annual exports of approximately US$150 billion, it can be described as a well-known clothing power.
More importantly, since the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan”, China’s garment industry has launched a strategy to build a strong country, and China’s garment manufacturing has embarked on a fast track.
For example, a large number of “manufacturing brands” with international standards, such as Shenzhou, Dishang, Chenfeng, and Jifa, continue to exert their efforts, and China’s clothing manufacturing is moving towards high quality.
For another example, almost all luxury brands and well-known brands in the world are looking for and placing orders for high-quality manufacturing factories in China. The reason behind this is that China has high-quality industrial workers and a complete production and supply chain system.
In the era of Internet economy, the opportunity of digital transformation has given rise to a number of new models, new business formats, and new advantages of flexible and fast-response clothing supply chains, driving the growth of a number of Chinese clothing Internet brands.
SHEIN, the “invisible rich man” currently popular on the entire Internet, has become a phenomenon-level enterprise and is one of the most popular clothing e-commerce companies among overseas young people. , second only to Amazon in the US market. The reason why it has developed so fast is that, on the one hand, the rapid response industrial chain has played a basic guarantee role, and on the other hand, it can use new technologies to discover and tap needs in a timely manner.
02 The world’s leading technological force
The application of new technology in the clothing industry has been very extensive And deep.
How many times a piece of clothing has been tried on in a store, and which styles and colors are more popular. These data will be accurately captured by the store and then fed back to the merchant. Which factory produced a piece of clothing, which assembly line and which worker participated in sewing it? This information can be easily obtained through the traceability system. With just one button, a shirt can be completed from cutting to sewing. This is the technological innovation behind a piece of clothing.
At present, the high-tech application level of China’s clothing industry has long been ahead of the world. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the accuracy of original fashion design has been improved. The accuracy of three-dimensional clothing visualization and simulation technology has also been greatly improved. Virtual reality (VR) fittings and virtual fashion shows have also appeared one after another, giving consumers more A different experience.
On the production side, the overall solution for smart clothing factories is basically mature, and a number of smart production workshops and smart factories have made positive progress. There are more than 100 companies applying mass customization technology for clothing in the industry, realizing a small-batch, personalized customization model based on demand. We have seen that automatic sewing units are being vigorously promoted, clothing of different colors and styles can be sewn alternately on the production line, and production management can even be realized on mobile phone terminals.
On the retail side, the consumption experience is richer. At present, the penetration rate of artificial intelligence technology in China’s clothing retail industry has reached as high as 33%. Through the creation of panoramic digital consumption scenarios, companies can meet consumers’ diversified and personalized consumption needs in a timely manner.
Technology changes life, and fashion adds color to life. The clothing industry has keenly grasped the pulse of the times and paid close attention to technological progress, which has led to industrial progress.
03 The cultural power to lead the trend
Technology has achieved the development of the industry, assisting in the construction of new retail capabilities, the construction of product quick response capabilities and the construction of data middle platforms, it has implemented refined intelligent distribution management in more than a thousand stores across the country, and vigorously promoted brand development.
Conclusion: The beginning of a fashion power
After more than 40 years of development, China’s garment industrialization system has been established, the industrial chain and supply chain have become increasingly mature and complete, the design power has risen rapidly, cultural confidence has gradually returned, the industry has an obvious trend of healthy development, the growth momentum has become more diversified, and the quality of the industry has been further improved. , entering a new track of high-quality development.
Relying on industrial advantages, in the era of digital economy, as a global clothing power and manufacturing power, China’s clothing industry has the responsibility to shoulder the mission of transforming the global clothing industry, relying on technological innovation, and taking Oriental cultural creation as fashion Lead, build a new image of China’s fashion development in parallel with world fashion, and build China’s clothing industry into a world fashion power rich in Chinese genes and characteristics. In this process, a number of Chinese fashion brands with world influence will inevitably emerge to meet the needs of the world. people’s expectations for a better life. </p
