Branded apparel retail growth reached a new low of nearly 10 years

Following the sports brand Li Ning, the company has more than 3,000 franchise stores in the national market is also inevitable to fall into the cold of the apparel industry, the chairman of Ba Jin menswear Hong Minming admitted in a letter to the internal employees, "We rush this year Suffered the most serious market decline in history." Although Hong Yuming did not disclose the specific operating figures in detail, this is not an isolated phenomenon in the industry.

Luo, who owns high-end men's clothing brands in department stores, told reporters that sales volume has fallen by 30% this year. “While last winter’s colder weather triggered a certain amount of sales, the overall situation was not optimistic last year, especially in the summer. Sales are the worst during the period.” It is even more noteworthy that due to the downturn in the apparel industry, although the renewal dates of Mr. Luo and department store contracts that have been stationed in Guangzhou’s well-known department stores for many years have been delayed, “contracts are generally annual. It was signed in March, but last year's contract was delayed until the end of last year," Luo told reporters.

It is understood that this is due to the fact that the sales target signed by the department store and the merchant at the beginning of last year was not up to the standard. “In the previous year, we had a sales amount of 4 million yuan for a shop with an area of ​​about 30-40 square meters. In general, the department stores will increase their target sales every year and should normally rise to 4.4 million yuan. However, last year’s economic downturn, we 80% of merchants in the department store could not reach the target. If the contract request is raised again, it is estimated that no merchant can achieve it. However, department stores are not willing to sacrifice their own prices, so the contract has never been signed.” Mr. Luo Told reporters.

Closing the brand is almost equal to the cost price. In fact, in addition to the slump in the end market, the phenomenon of bankruptcy caused by the cold weather of the clothing industry is also spreading to other brands. “In the face of the economic downturn, some clothing brands cannot operate, and most of their products will be discounted at a cost price. Many consumers will switch to these products and affect other brands.” Mr. Huang, an industry expert, said The reporter reflected. "Especially some brands that joined the team during the rapid expansion of the apparel industry in the past few years are unable to continue."

“As if there was a real estate company in Shaoguan, a real estate company chose a position in its own store to do men's clothing, but also took down the agency rights in the entire region. But after more than a year, it encountered the winter of the industry and the business could not continue. All have to be discounted." Huang told reporters, "A brand pressure on more than 100,000 yuan of goods, several brands have several million dollars, this real estate company to clear the inventory on the clear for half a year, a long-term discount, a great influence The normal brand business.” Mr. Huang said that this situation was more common in second-tier and third-tier cities last year. “Guangzhou department stores have higher entry thresholds for men's wear, so there are not many such conditions.”

Although Guangzhou's men's wear brands are less affected by the discounts of their counterparts at all costs, it is difficult to avoid price competition with the wholesale market. “In the past, the wholesale market basically did not do retail business, especially when they went to Weihuo. The tails are handed over to companies that specialize in cleaning off-shelf goods, usually selling for 20-30 yuan, but since last year, they have also begun to start retailing, and more goods have been sold in their own stores."

In fact, the overall situation of clothing last year was not very optimistic. Statistics from the China National Business Information Center show that in 2012, the retail sales of clothing products of 100 key large retail enterprises nationwide increased by 12.3% year-on-year, which is 8.1 percentage points lower than that of 2011. The retail sales volume of various types of clothing increased by 2% year-on-year, a 2.9% decrease from the same period of last year, and it was the lowest growth rate in the past decade. Moreover, this year-on-year slowdown has not improved. According to data from December, the retail sales of apparel products increased by 8.7% year-on-year, and the growth rate slowed by 14.1% from the previous month.