"Danger And Opportunity" Of Fashion Industry In SARS 2003

　　 Today is February 9th. According to the rule of the past more than 10 years, the author will go to France Paris every year in the middle of February. On the one hand, I will attend the PV fabric exhibition this week in Paris, France. On the other hand, I will give a lecture to the French Fashion College Students on China's fashion market. However, because of the new type of coronitis virus this year, we can only cancel this trip, and "keep our nest" at home. Tomorrow is going to start, and I always want to write something. I would like to continue to write about the development of fashion industry in the first two articles. But it seems that the timing is wrong. Today's situation is not the time to read articles in this area. It's a brainwave to write about the impact of the 2003 SARS epidemic on China's fashion industry.

　　 In 2003, the SARS started in February and March, but the real time for people to be in danger like today is at the end of April. So in March and even in the middle of April, people still walked around the country, but the number of masks on the streets is increasing. I remember in the early April of that year, I also went to Beijing to attend the annual China International Clothing and accessories fair, which was the most beautiful time of the Expo. It was also one of the largest commodity fairs in the country, and it was not enough to cover all the pavilions of the Beijing National Exhibition center. The front square also took up tents as a pavilion, and the participants in the clothing industry came from all over the country. Shortly after returning to Shanghai, about 20 April, the problem was serious and the travel was blocked. The serious SARS epidemic brings a very serious problem to all Chinese garment enterprises. That is, at the end of April and the beginning of May, when the clothing brand enterprises sold the fabric orders for the autumn and winter clothing, did they have to place the order? For clothing enterprises, the main selling season is autumn and winter each year. Autumn and winter fabrics are much more expensive than spring and summer fabrics, so they need to invest a lot of money, and their production is slow. Domestic fabrics need to be placed in order in April and May, so that they can receive fabrics in June and July and start producing clothing, so as to ensure that they are listed for sale in August and September (when the rhythm is slower than now). Faced with the epidemic, people have never met and do not know when to end. Whether to continue to place orders according to the plan is absolutely a major decision. In the face of empty shopping malls, the sense of commercial crisis is unprecedented. At that time, it can be said that the decision of most enterprises is to choose to postpone the order of fabric, and the enterprise that is more daring is to first put down some fabrics that are not too expensive, and dare not place orders for some expensive high-grade woollen goods.

　　 In this case, some enterprises are exceptions, that is, the use of a lot of European fabric brand enterprises (at that time, not many domestic clothing enterprises using European fabrics). European fabrics were seen at the PV exhibition in Paris in February. In March that year, they had to place orders for goods (because they needed time to come from Europe after fabric production). These enterprises were basically ordered at the end of March. At the time when the epidemic was the most intense (May), the bosses of these enterprises were very nervous. All the shopping malls were basically unoccupied. The relief of the epidemic seemed to be far from being expected. The expensive European fabrics would arrive in June, and the enterprises must pay. If the epidemic situation had not been alleviated, the fabrics could be smashed in the hands. The enterprises were afraid to pick up the goods, nor dared to face the import fabric agents, which really called a heavy sense of crisis.

　　 The SARS crisis began to ease in the early July of that year, and most garment enterprises began to place orders for fabrics. However, it is a long process for the fabric enterprises to start from the commencement of production to the delivery. In August of that year, the purchasing staff of clothing enterprises were very crazy for a period of time, and every day they rushed to the fabric factories to urge the goods, causing the autumn winter clothing to be seriously delayed in 2003. The batch of enterprises that had ordered the fabric of Europe very early were "having food in their hands and not getting panic". The autumn winter clothing was on time and caught up with the peak selling season of autumn and winter in 2003. Two thousand and three In the autumn and winter of the year, it is a very prosperous season in China's clothing market. After a spring and summer season of extreme panic and plague, China's consumption power has exploded rapidly. People seem to suddenly want to go. And in the nine and October of that year, most enterprises could not get anything. They could only take a year's stock to "top", and couldn't get the good stuff of imported fabrics. Maybe China's woollen cloth can also be processed by the rush class of the Chinese textile mill, and the European good fabrics can not be bought at all. So in the autumn and winter of 2003, the clothes enterprises that had been very anxious and bought early European good fabrics had caught up with the good time. Because of the scarcity of the high quality fabric clothing, they could sell at a high price and earn a "full pot", thus laying a good foundation for the brand development, while other enterprises could only "keep up their spirits". The high price of Chinese high-end fashion brands is also the price positioning established from that quarter. Chinese enterprises also established confidence in the use of European fabrics at that time, and the pattern of high price positioning continued to this day.

　　 In today's story, I think it is time value to write the story of that year. Now the epidemic is on the rise, and we are in panic again. Although it is still in early February, it will be the autumn and winter fabrics in Europe in the next one and a half months. Today, the use of European fabrics in domestic clothing brands is far more than 17 years ago. The proportion of European fabrics used in Chinese fashion brands is much higher than that of 17 years ago. At present, it seems that the epidemic has not reached its peak yet, and the hope of relieving the epidemic is far from being seen, so it is time for us to examine the eyes and courage of entrepreneurs. 。 Is there any confidence in our country's ability to control the epidemic? After the outbreak, will there be another "autumn" winter rush to buy desire? Should we be prepared for this?

　　 For European fabric suppliers, it is also bad luck. Chinese clothing enterprises have developed into one of the main purchasing power of Paris fabric exhibition. In the past few years, the PV exhibition in Paris was too close to the Spring Festival, which seriously affected the participation of Chinese enterprises. The Spring Festival was earlier this year. The French people are full of hope that there will be more Chinese brand enterprises to participate in this year. But things are against the wishes. Because of the epidemic, the Chinese fashion companies have basically cancelled their trips to Paris. The French organizers can only sigh for the launch of the PV exhibition this week.

Source: Fashion observer