Attention: Shishi Clothing Enterprises Explore Transformation

Sweaters that heat up automatically, cotton padded jackets that convert sunlight into electricity, locomotive suits that pop up airbags when encountering impact, and young pioneers' uniforms embodying Chinese style Recently, the reporter visited Shishi clothing enterprises in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, and found many "mysteries" hidden in some garments.

In 2020, due to the impact of Xinguan epidemic, weak consumption and soaring freight, many foreign trade enterprises suffered heavy losses. However, the revenue of Fujian Shishi Yicheng Clothing Technology Co., Ltd. rose against the trend, increasing by 60% compared with that in 2019.

"Because of transformation!" Chuang Xiaoqing, the general manager of the company, said that yipen Cheng gave up the old way of making traditional clothing, set product differentiation as the transformation direction, insisted on enabling clothing with science and technology, and took the intelligent road.

"We increase the added value of our products by increasing the functions of temperature control, waterproof and air permeability, emergency protection, etc., and ensure a large profit margin, which can offset the impact of the rising overseas freight costs." He said.

Founded in 2013, Yichuang was still mainly engaged in low-end clothing by 2015, but the homogenization competition in this field was serious and the profit was meager. In order to survive, yipen Cheng began to transform to smart clothing from 2015.

Smart clothing can't do without technology investment. To this end, equity incentive is used to attract talents and build research and design teams. In addition, as for the problems that can not be solved, scientific research institutes and universities will be entrusted to establish long-term cooperative relations. In recent years, the company's scientific research investment accounted for more than 14% of revenue.

Today, yipen Cheng has established a complete assembly line from R & D, design to production. The ex factory price of single product is three or four times higher than that before the transformation, and 70% of the output is sold to developed countries such as the United States and Japan.

Hong Weiyi, vice president of Shishi Youth Chamber of Commerce, shows off the stormsuit with waterproof function (photo taken on January 27). Photo by fan Shuai Shuai, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency

Empowerment through science and technology is only a way of transformation. In contrast to "air conditioning" and "armor", Shishi Jijile garment Weaving Co., Ltd., which specializes in children's wear, strives to embody Chinese style and era flavor in school uniform design.

According to Wu Qinghu, chairman of Jijile, in recent years, due to the rise of labor costs and the rise of Southeast Asian clothing industry, the competition in children's wear market has become increasingly fierce. Therefore, Jijile began to set the "design sense" school uniform as the direction of transformation in 2016, looking for a breakthrough.

"Jijile launched the young pioneers' uniform earlier. We use Chinese knot, great wall, five pointed star and other elements in collar, cuff and button Wu Qinghu said that students are the future of the motherland, so their design focuses on cultural heritage and ideological education.

Qiu Hanqing, President of Shishi City Council for the promotion of international trade, said that students are a special group, but the fabric of traditional school uniform is poor and lack of design sense, which is relatively rigid. Some children's clothing enterprises in Shishi focus on reflecting Chinese traditional culture and mainstream values in detail design, which is a source of product competitiveness.

Jijile has tasted "sweetness" because of its transformation. The annual output value of the company's school uniform increased from more than 10 million yuan in 2016 to about 150 million yuan in 2020. "At a difficult time when foreign trade and other children's wear businesses have shrunk dramatically due to the epidemic, school uniforms have preserved our industry." Wu Qinghu said.

"In order to strengthen the design and R & D, we have also cooperated with Fujian Education Equipment Industry Association to set up a campus Clothing Research Institute, striving to launch more than 100 new products every year." Wu Qinghu told reporters.

"Shishi is well-known in the 1980s and 1990s for its well-developed textile, clothing and trade. It was once called" Little Hong Kong. " Hong Yiyi, vice president of Shishi Youth Chamber of Commerce, said: however, in recent years, many enterprises have been fighting in the low-end field, price wars are frequent, and customers at home and abroad have also pushed down prices, resulting in small profit margins, which may be "erased" by exchange rate fluctuations. "Only through transformation can there be a way out.".