Theme: After China's entry into WTO, China's clothing brands are facing strong competitive pressure in international and domestic markets. How to meet the double challenges is a realistic problem before them. This paper intends to analyze the development process of domestic clothing and the personalized operation mode of brands as the starting point, and explore new ideas from the perspective of brands, which has aroused widespread concern and discussion.
In recent years, China's economy has been growing, and the clothing industry has also developed rapidly. Clothing production and export volume rank first in the world. However, compared with developed countries, the quality of China's clothing products is still in a backward state, and there is no real high-end fashion brand so far. Are we willing to be a processing base for foreign brands? And now "global economic integration" is imperative, and foreign super-large companies come to China to seek production resources and market resources for greater development. How should we meet the external challenges is a problem that all industries, including the clothing industry, must face.
In this international environment, domestic industry competition is also intensifying. How to meet the needs of consumers? How to realize the sustainable development of enterprises? How to expand the influence of China clothing brands in the world? These practical problems in front of clothing enterprises are also unavoidable.
First, the development of China clothing industry
The research of China clothing brand is based on the understanding of the development process of China clothing industry. Due to historical reasons, after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), China's garment enterprises have experienced ups and downs for half a century. Its development can be roughly divided into three stages:
1, planned economy period. Clothing enterprises have little autonomy, production, supply and marketing depend on the unified planning and distribution of higher authorities, the clothing industry has not formed an active market, and people's desire for clothing has been suppressed to a minimum.
2. The primary stage of market economy can also be called the period of shortage economy. In the early days of reform and opening up, people's mentality of pursuing beauty has just recovered, and there is a great demand for clothes. The products produced by clothing enterprises are in short supply, which has formed a very hot sales situation for a period of time. Therefore, garment enterprises have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, but rushing headlong into it will not bring sustained prosperity. At that time, the product variety was single, which easily saturated the market. After two years of market saturation, some enterprises were eliminated. Surviving garment enterprises are prepared for danger in times of peace, no longer satisfied with the simple increase of product quantity, actively adjust business ideas, improve product quality, and lay the foundation for the sustainable development of enterprises.
3. The period of complete market economy. Clothing enterprises have experienced the test of the market and gradually become mature. Especially in the 1990s, with the rapid development, the degree of clothing marketization improved. With the acceleration of global economic integration, clothing enterprises are not only facing changes in their own structures and organizational forms, but also facing fierce market competition from domestic and foreign clothing brands. Therefore, the simple investment in hardware and equipment can no longer meet the needs of market competition, and enterprises are looking for a way out for sustainable development.
The existing garment enterprises have two business models: brand design and foreign trade processing.
Before 1995, in order to expand foreign exchange reserves, the state gave quite preferential policies to foreign trade exports, thus stimulating the export processing of clothing. Many large state-owned garment enterprises are mainly engaged in the export processing of foreign trade garments. In order to improve profits, while strengthening management and production technology, we actively expand production scale. The scale of enterprises has expanded rapidly, but because enterprises have long relied on foreign trade exports, they only need to process according to samples, ensure quality and deliver on time, without worrying about market changes, resulting in the lack of garment processing enterprises: A. The production capacity is great, but the marketing ability is weak. B. Strong production technology, but limited product development ability. C. management is acceptable, but the overall level is not enough.
With the adjustment of national foreign trade export policy and the change of international environment, especially after China's accession to the WTO, garment export-oriented production enterprises will lose the role of existing bilateral quotas to ensure their market share. With the end of the seller's market and the rise of the buyer's market, users' demand for products and services is more diversified and personalized, and the requirements for quality and delivery time are more and more demanding, the product life cycle is shortened and the update frequency is accelerated. These changes have brought foreign trade processing enterprises to the crossroads of transformation. Because the enterprises with the above problems lack talents in marketing, planning and design, they are at a disadvantage in the fierce market competition. Some early awakening processing enterprises adjust their business structure in time, change the single processing type into production and sales type, and have great potential to open up the domestic market; Some put forward to build the image brand of processing enterprises. What foreign businessmen value most is the "grade" of the enterprise, and then the cheap labor. To make your own enterprise "grade", you should not only strive for first-class hardware such as equipment and workshops, but also have advantages in talents, production management, cost and quality management, public-private relations and so on, so as to be better in delivery time, product quality and profitability and increase competitiveness. This is also a special brand effect.
Second, the process of brand growth.
Brand design enterprises are different from foreign trade processing enterprises in operation mode. Brand growth is not achieved overnight. Generally speaking, there are four stages:
1, entrepreneurial stage. At this stage, the survival problem of enterprises has not been completely solved. The design idea needs to run in with the market reflection, and there is no stable channel for product sales. It takes a lot of effort to find a suitable shopping mall or set up your own store. There are still many problems in enterprises, which can be said to be a period of running for a living.
2. Product stage. With the basic solution of the enterprise's survival problem, the product sales increased obviously, the production was relatively stable, and the technical level of employees was guaranteed to some extent. At this time, the problem facing entrepreneurs is that enterprises must further strengthen management, develop new products, expand the market and improve their competitiveness if they want to develop continuously.
3. Brand stage. The development of enterprises has been upgraded from "quantity" to "quality" and jumped to the brand stage, and the products have been significantly improved in popularity, marketing network, market share, corporate culture and employee quality. No matter what marketing method is adopted, it has its unified brand image, unified goods and prices, unified management and service. The brand image is deeply rooted in people's hearts and has a fixed consumption class.
4. Famous brand stage. In the process of brand management, new products are continuously developed and corporate culture is continuously deepened, which brings new ideas to consumers and stimulates consumption desire in new fields. The gold content of the brand is increasing, and the brand name has become the most valuable intangible asset. While being recognized by consumers, some enterprises have been rated as brand-name products and well-known trademarks by authoritative departments. The aura of famous brands attracts more consumers, and the high added value of famous brands brings more profits to enterprises.
Most domestic brand clothing enterprises have experienced such a development process.
Brand design enterprises and foreign trade processing enterprises brand in different ways, but the essence is the same-the key is the sustainable development of enterprises.
Third, the personalized operation of clothing brands.
Every clothing brand has a brand development and operation model based on its own characteristics, which can be said to be "eight immortals crossing the sea and showing their magical powers".
Wuhan Taihe Group is famous all over the country for producing professional women's wear. When Taihe Fashion's annual sales reached more than 200 million yuan and was rated as a famous brand of women's wear in China, they were not complacent and relaxed. For a clothing enterprise, simply operating products is usually thankless. Compared with international famous brands, the technology and equipment are not bad, and there are many advertisements. Why is it difficult to operate? Through hard thinking, they believe that business model is the biggest obstacle to the development of enterprises. With the help of foreigners from France, Japan, Taiwan Province Province of China and other countries, "Taihe" has made a qualitative leap from product management to brand management. They start with the reform of marketing methods, build brand culture with new ideas and drive the potential demand of consumers. These "takenism" combined with their own advantages, learned advanced foreign experience, reduced the cost of exploration and development and shortened the time.
Shanshan Group, which originally came from Ningbo and later moved to Shanghai, has always been the "leader" in the clothing industry. At that time, as a brand of pure men's wear, they had a certain market share, but they were not satisfied with fighting at the bottom of the market with a large number and low quality. They wanted to further develop and strengthen their own enterprises. So it set off a frenzy of hiring designers with high salaries, and took the lead in proposing a cooperation model of marriage between "famous enterprises" and "famous teachers", and the effect was also the best. They introduce talents and use advertising effect to enhance brand awareness and internal strength of enterprises. Later, he founded "Fa Han Shi", proposed that the era of high-end ready-to-wear in China had arrived, and predicted that the most competitive and growing scope in the future would be concentrated in the field of high-end ready-to-wear. Therefore, they no longer care whether they still win by quantity.
White-collar workers, a famous clothing brand in Beijing, mostly use silk and pure wool fabrics to cater to the consumption concept of northern women who pay attention to the texture of fabrics, and design simple suits suitable for professional women to wear out. It is the brand positioning strategy of white-collar workers not to keep up with colorful fashion trends and not to lag behind the times in elegance and generosity. They have their own clear design orientation and a fixed consumer class.
Shanghai Yifei Fashion Company adopted the concept of brand extension by drawing lessons from the operation mode of international popular brands, and launched three subordinate brands at the same time: Leyefe, a high-priced and high-quality menswear brand, Layefe collection, and Layefe street, a young series. Three brands participate in market competition at the same time, and each brand has a clear market positioning and a distinctive and easily recognizable product image. Guided by brand strategy, they are characterized by advanced, refined and serialized, fully infiltrating the international fashion culture atmosphere, causing waves in the fashion circle and bringing surprises to fashion avant-garde consumers.
Fourthly, the future operation mode of clothing brands.
There are many remarkable clothing brands and many successful business models, but there is no possibility of completely imitating them. Some enterprises are satisfied with plagiarism and imitation. I believe that going abroad twice a year, collecting some styles for mass production in our own processing plants and selling them at relatively good prices in the domestic market will win market competition. However, this phenomenon of plagiarism leads to the similarity of products. What is even more worrying is that this situation is the biggest obstacle to the development of China brand. Lack of originality will lead to the lack of style and individuality of the brand. This way can only be based on the immaturity and naivety of consumers. Once consumers are mature, the market will not give too much time and opportunity to repent, and these "plagiarists" will have no place to stand.
In the final analysis, brand development is the development of personality, and brand competition is the competition of culture. Being a brand is not just about making clothes, but also includes things other than clothes. "Culture is tomorrow's economy" —— Rand Company of the United States analyzed the world's top 500 enterprises, and found that all enterprises that still have strong vitality after a hundred years have profound brand culture. After China joins the WTO, the global market will be open to us, and we will learn more successful experiences. Our market will also be open to the world, which will make us face greater challenges. Culture has communication and mobility, and strong culture has subtle aggression. Only by enhancing the internal energy of local culture can we communicate with foreign cultures equally.
Rather than fishing in the forest, it is better to retreat and build a net.
The three signs of global integration are information integration, market unification and merger and reorganization among companies. It will lead to new and more subtle commercial wars. As long as China clothing brands establish their own brand system, define their brand image, develop scientific market segmentation standards, develop new technologies and strengthen brand culture connotation, they will surely occupy their due market share and resist the powerful offensive of foreign brands.