More than % of Yantai’s apparel companies’ export market share has declined

The reporter learned from Shandong Yantai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau that in the first eight months of this year, the value of Shandong Province’s exports of Japanese clothing was US$2.6 billion, a decrease of 6.3% compared with the same period last year. Among them, the value of Yantai’s exports was US$4.1, a decrease of 5.8% year-on-year. %. Among the nearly 300 export clothing companies in Yantai’s jurisdiction, more than 90% are facing a decline in market share or even operating at a loss.
A survey by the inspection and quarantine department found that the main factors restricting the development of my country’s garment export industry are: rising business operating costs, narrow profit margins, transfer of orders to neighboring countries; significant impact of technical trade measures; lack of brand advantage, weak competition in export products, etc.
Yantai is one of the largest textile and garment processing bases in northern China. In 2014, the wages of garment workers reached 2,400 yuan/month, and increased by more than 15% every year. The labor gap continues to increase, and skilled sewing workers are even more difficult to find. “demand”, structural employment contradictions are prominent.
As risks such as production costs, delivery times, and quality claims are increasing, the average profit margin of the export clothing industry is only 3%-5%, and some small and medium-sized enterprises with backward production management are even unprofitable. In addition, because the production costs of countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and even North Korea are significantly lower than those of my country, the price competitiveness of similar clothing has emerged, and more and more orders from foreign traders are placed in Southeast Asia for processing.
The continued weakness of the export apparel industry has had an increasing negative impact on my country’s entire textile and apparel industry. Statistics show that clothing retail giant Uniqlo’s sales in China reached RMB 7.575 billion in 2013, with revenue and operating profit increasing by more than 60% year-on-year respectively. The influx of foreign brands has intensified the pressure on the development of the domestic textile and apparel industry. In the first half of this year, domestic brands such as Baleno and Metersbonwe fell into a “shutdown wave.”
Due to the continued sluggish demand in the ready-made garment market, the performance of clothing companies has generally declined, and many large clothing brands are in cash flow difficulties due to high inventory and other issues. Data show that Bosideng’s inventory reached 1.215 billion yuan in 2011, 1.399 billion yuan in 2012, and rose to 1.971 billion yuan in 2013. In the first half of 2014, it exceeded the 2 billion mark and climbed to 2.043 billion yuan.
In this regard, the inspection and quarantine department suggested that enterprises should be continuously guided to strengthen the soft power of technological competition and create high value-added products; enterprises should be encouraged to explore diversified markets; and attention should be paid to the research on international technical trade measures.
In recent years, the European Union, the United States, Japan, etc. have introduced new trade technical requirements. my country’s exported clothing, especially infant and children’s clothing, has been repeatedly recalled due to quality and safety issues such as ropes, small parts, and flame retardancy. Relevant departments have The latest response measures should be fed back to enterprises in a timely manner to guide them to respond as early as possible.