China’s apparel fabric market has the largest capacity in the world. Relevant data show that my country consumes more than 25 billion meters of clothing fabrics every year on average, and imports a total of about 5 billion meters of various fabrics. The import value accounts for 30%-40% all year round, mainly higher-grade chemical fiber products and wool products. , which is highly favored in the Chinese fabric market.
Unique finishing process of imported fabrics
Relevant data show that Italy occupies an important position in China’s clothing and fabric import sources. Italy is China’s largest fabric supplier. In 2009, China imported a total of US$145 million of wool fabrics from Italy, accounting for 33% of China’s wool fabric imports.
Mr. Huang, who is familiar with the agency business of Italian imported fabrics, believes that Italian fabrics have left an impression on Chinese people. Italian fabrics are a guarantee of quality and popularity. Although they are expensive, they have still become the first choice for high-end brands. This is due to two reasons: First, there has been a considerable gap between my country’s textile products and foreign countries for a long time, especially compared with foreign high-end products. Second, in the field of R&D and production of clothing fabrics, especially in finishing, many European companies have their own unique processes and technologies to ensure that their products have characteristics. Compared with European textile companies that have existed for hundreds of years, many domestic enterprises have obvious gaps in technology and management. This is reflected in the end products, that is, the quality stability is not guaranteed. At this stage, we still need our scientific researchers to build domestic fabric brands. A huge effort.
Why do clothing companies like to use imported fabrics so much? South Korean women’s clothing brand QUEEN STORY China Product Director Nan Lihua said that the color and finishing of imported fabrics are better, and the simple and fine accessories and styles enhance the quality of the clothing and the wearer’s temperament. QUEEN STORY’s spring and summer clothing this year uses more blended fabrics, and there are more types of prints. Because blended fabrics are highly functional and comfortable, combined with the advantages of a single fabric, they are easier to care for and wear daily.
Mr. Huang told the “Clothing Times” reporter that the Italian fabrics his company represents are mainly men’s fabrics, and the clothing brands that use their fabrics are generally high-end domestic clothing brands. They generally face three types of customers: the first is market brand customers, mainly retailing in the market, such as the Good News Bird brand, etc.; the second is professional wear brand customers, that is, customized clothing for units and groups, etc.; the third is Customers engaged in tailor-made products, such as the Hongdu brand known as “Chinese customization”.
In the eyes of the public, brand means grade, a product whose quality can stand the test and is completely trustworthy. Nan Lihua revealed to the reporter of “Clothing Times” that QUEEN STORY, which will release new autumn and winter products in July, boldly uses plaid, leopard print and metallic reflective fabrics. The addition of dark-toned jacquard adds a special sense of sophistication to this season. Visually it gives people a sense of nature and rhythm. The entire series is mainly based on simple and easy-to-match basic models, which combine chiffon and leather to create a more layered look. Wool, reprocessed and finished fabrics, the silhouette is more crisp and stylish. Women’s clothing with fungus edges, abstract prints, and wool blends as the main fabrics has been added. The nude color that reflects the graceful characteristics of women is mixed with classic black and a small amount of pink. Mature khaki and fruit green are used as auxiliary colors to add to the cold winter. Warmth.
In a market economy, the ideal product is a cost-effective product. Among all imported fabrics, chemical fiber fabrics are the bulk, accounting for 60%-70%. 70%-85% of cotton, wool, silk and their blended clothing fabrics are domestically produced, and 98% of hemp and linen blended clothing fabrics are domestically produced. In recent years, with the development of my country’s chemical fiber production technology, my country’s import of chemical fiber fabrics has shown a gradual downward trend, but many high-end brands of clothing still favor imported fabrics.
Cheng Jiang, general manager of Beijing Diheng Textile Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from the “Clothing Times” that they are a textile company specializing in Korean fabrics, mainly chemical fiber fabrics, mainly futures, custom weaving and dyeing. When completed in South Korea, the delivery time is usually one month, and the price is between 40 yuan and 50 yuan/meter. It has an absolute price advantage. Many clothing companies in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang come here because of its reputation. More importantly, their order processing speed is also very fast, usually taking 20 days.
Then there is the design style. Cheng Jiang told a reporter from the “Clothing Times” that customers choose their fabrics not only for the stable and high-quality quality of foreign fabrics, but also for the pattern style. Since many domestic brands are close in style to Europe, Japan and South Korea, they will of course choose more original imported high-end clothing fabrics when it comes to fabric selection. In order to ensure that their products are unique and avoid being similar to similar products on the market, some powerful clothing companies will even spend more money on fabric selection and buy out the right to use a certain pattern for a period of time. To be precise, Diheng eliminates thousands of fabric samples every two to three months. Because product updates are getting faster and faster nowadays, combined with international popular elements and the specific conditions of the Chinese market, Diheng has also transformed into 6-season fabric product design and is working closely with some cooperative companies.
Face up to transaction difficulties and properly resolve them
Mr. Huang told the reporter of “Clothing Times” that as an agent of imported fabrics, it is inevitable that he will encounter…There are many unexpected problems. In order to protect the rights and interests of both parties, the company will first sign an authorization agency agreement with the upstream Italian fabric factory. Generally, it is an exclusive authorization with a term of 5 to 10 years. All transactions are in euros. Secondly, it is to sign agreements with downstream customers. For example, brand customers are required to pay a 30% deposit when placing an order. For group customers, agents generally purchase and stock up in bulk first. Of course, the spot price is at least 30%-40% higher than the futures price.
According to Mr. Huang, market brand customers are not particularly sensitive to delivery times, because these brands generally have to develop next year’s products one year in advance. Generally, designers first design styles based on popular trends, and then find their companies to manufacture the next products. Samples of fabrics that are trending in the year are made based on the samples, and orders are placed after the samples are made. This means that it takes nearly a year from design, proofing, and ordering. Their company’s delivery time is three months, which is completely acceptable to market brand customers. Business wear brand customers cannot wait for half a year or a year because they want to customize group clothing. Generally, it may be 2-3 months. Therefore, the imported fabric agents are required to have the goods in stock. His company has them in Beijing. 400,000 meters in stock. The delivery time for tailor-made garments is roughly divided into 15 days, 45 days, and 60 days. Their company’s spot goods can be delivered to the customer’s designated location within 3 days in areas across the country except Xinjiang. In addition, there are some so-called “express goods”, which usually take 7 days to 1 month to be transferred directly from Europe.
Nan Lihua told the reporter of “Clothing Times” that the price of fabrics has indeed increased in recent years, and the cost of fabrics has increased by about 10%. In order to effectively control costs and ensure the grade of QUEEN STORY fabrics and quality of clothing, the fabrics used by QUEEN STORY are generally advanced every year. I started placing orders half a year ago and looked for direct cooperation with fabric developers in South Korea, bypassing the layers of price increases from middlemen, effectively controlling fabric costs and ensuring the competitive advantage that clothing fabrics bring to the entire brand. Because it cooperates directly with Korean fabric developers, and the two parties have formed a long-term cooperative relationship, if problems arise, they can be properly resolved.
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