Chinese garment makers look to become established fashion labels
By Channel NewsAsia’s China Tan Bee Leng/ Channel NewsAsia
NINGBO, Zhejiang : From clothing factory to major fashion label – this is the dream of many Chinese garment makers, some of whom are even looking to acquire foreign labels.
If China is the world’s clothing factory, then Ningbo in the eastern Zhejiang province is where the best tailors are to be found.
And these tailors started some of the biggest and most successful textile companies now in China.
The success of these modern garment enterprises further propelled Ningbo city to become the clothing capital of China.
But for a long time, garment factories in Ningbo were focused on filling orders from foreign clothing companies.
Cheap labour meant that China-made garments soon attracted censure especially after the World Trade Organisation lifted global import quotas for textiles early last year.
Many American and European textile producers were alarmed by China’s potential dominance of the garment industry.
For example, one of China’s biggest menswear manufacturers, Youngor Group, has an annual production capacity of 10 million shirts, 2 million suits and more than 20 million pieces of casual wear.
Determined to break away from international pressures on Chinese textile exports, Youngor Group set out to establish itself as a fashion label rather than just a garment exporter for foreign labels.
“We started from scratch and now we are into our 28th year. But if we want to be a century-old profitable enterprise, we must have our own brand. We can then avoid those cheaper products and add more value to our own products. We need to let international consumers understand Youngor, then we will make it,” said Li Rucheng, president of Youngor Group Co Ltd.
It took Youngor 15 years to establish itself as a top Chinese brand and it is now prepared to go one step further and acquire foreign labels.
“Youngor is growing rapidly. I believe in five to ten years time, we’ll become an international enterprise with our very own brand. But we may not be limited to the Youngor brand name. We’ll also acquire some big international labels which Youngor China can have a good grasp of. We’ll be doing it very soon,” said Li.
Last year the Youngor Group saw revenue of US$1.9 billion and a profit of US$124 million.
– CNA /ls
