German textile and garment market is worth cultivating

Although the outbreak of the European debt crisis has been a period of time, its impact on the German textile and clothing market is still not small. In the retail market in Berlin, the discounted sales of apparel products can be seen everywhere. The momentum of low-priced apparel products is still strong, but the first white label exhibition (WHITELABEL) in Europe held in Berlin, Germany from July 4th to 6th is still a success. A total of more than 500 merchants attended the three-day exhibition. “Although the number of viewers is not large, but the quality is high. Many of them are large customers with substantial purchase intentions, and the customer's internationality is strong.” This is a consistent evaluation of the audience level of many exhibitors. Many exhibitors’ businesses have achieved breakthroughs in the 3-day exhibition. Many exhibitors believe that the German textile and clothing market is worth cultivating.

The big customers surprised the exhibitors. "Over 30 days, we contacted more than 30 customers, among which 4 were big customers. These large customers have asked the staff for samples and color cards. One of the German customers has given us The order of 25,000 scarves and 2000 pairs of gloves was sold.” Chen Dehan, manager of the sales department of the OEM sales department of Satosol Co., Ltd., told reporters excitedly during the exhibition.

On the third day after the expo ended, Chen Dehan, who was also in the European market, received a phone call from a large customer he had contacted at the show. The other party expressed the hope that it would be able to discuss further the details of the procurement and intended to visit China to see the production plant. Chen Dehan told reporters that generally speaking, once customers complete the inspection of the company, especially after seeing Saussurea's factory, they will place orders, because the cashmere products processing factory of Saussurea is one of the most advanced factories in China. “In the past two days, there have been a total of eight merchants, two of whom have higher quality. Both are direct buyers. One is Germany, there are 65 stores, and the other is from France. There are 250 stores. The two merchants have already selected good samples and asked us to send samples to them promptly after the exhibition ends." Assistant to General Manager of Hangzhou Light Textiles Import & Export Co., Ltd. told reporters at the show.

Finding direct customers means reducing intermediate links and allowing more profits to remain in the hands of both parties to the trade. This is the most ideal exhibition result that ** looks forward to, and it can be said that the White Label Exhibition has basically achieved the desired results. “Customers visiting the conference are very professional and direct. They are looking for suppliers and the target of visit is very clear. Customers visiting the booth are retailers, wholesalers, and private label dealers. At a first-time exhibition, We are very satisfied with the fact that we have come in contact with so many guests and the overall quality of our guests is very high and international. We are very satisfied with this. It can be said that the results of the exhibition exceeded expectations." This is the general manager of Jiangsu Sumeida Textile & Textile International Trading Co., Ltd. Tiger's evaluation of this exhibition.

The international level of merchants is high, and the degree of internationalization of professional visitors is a consistent evaluation of exhibitors. **Told reporters that they had met with customers from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Peru, Canada and many other countries at the exhibition, and Jiangsu Sumeida Textile & Textile International Trading Co., Ltd. also met merchants from Germany, France and Italy during the exhibition. .

Most of the former business partners of Yantai Zhen Meng Economic and Trade Co., Ltd. came from Japan, and there were not many export business to Europe. This time, the exhibitors wanted to try to open up the European market. The first white label exhibition brought them unexpected results. The general manager of the company, Wang Kaicheng, told reporters that the exhibition had contacted more than 30 merchants in three days, of which seventy-eight had actual purchase intentions. Wang Kaicheng was greatly impressed by the international nature of the audience. In just 3 days, Yantai Zhen Meng received merchants from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece and the United Kingdom. “There are quite a few domestic and foreign exhibitions that companies have participated in, but it is the first time that they have met with customers from so many countries at one exhibition.” Wang Kaicheng was pleased to report to reporters.

The reporter has tracked and reported on textile and apparel professional exhibitions held by relevant Chinese institutions in Australia, the United States, Japan, and other countries. These exhibitions have a history of about 10 years, but none of their international audiences can match The first white label exhibition held in Berlin.

**The analysis believes that the first time a processing theme exhibition can attract customers from so many countries, it is related to the Berlin fashion week and the bread butter exhibition. Influenced by the radiation of Berlin Fashion Week and Bread Butter Show, the attendees of the China Textile and Apparel Expo are extremely international. Chen Dehan revealed to reporters that the big clients who come to the exhibition are all taking the designers to understand the fashion trends at the Bread Butter Exhibition before they come to the White Label Exhibition. The White Label Exhibition was held in conjunction with the Bread Butter Fair, which formed a good interaction with several other exhibitions and facilitated the participation of international buyers at Berlin Fashion Week.

The impact of the European debt crisis is still continuing. Hu Yali, assistant to general manager of Ningbo Veken Industry & Trade Co., Ltd., has not exhibited in Europe since participating in the CPD exhibition in 2003. Although the company has always had business cooperation with France and Germany, under the influence of the European debt crisis, orders this year have been significantly reduced. Hu Yali gave an example. The merchants who originally ordered 7 container products now often only have one container. The exhibitors learned about the status quo in the European market and increased her pessimism about the European market. "On the German market, whether it is a supermarket or a department store, the retail price of apparel products is too low. A pure cotton beach pants costs 4.99 euros. Even if we place an order for us, we can't do it." The low unit price is only one aspect of the problem. On the other hand, the order quantity of orders is also very small. In this exhibition, some of the merchants Hu Yali contacted ordered only 100 products. In the past, there were orders for tens of thousands of products for just one order. Changes in the European market can only be experienced if you go to Europe.

Wang Chao, Sales Manager of Shanghai Langkun Textile Co., Ltd. also shared the same opinion. He said: "Europe's economy is not good, and the amount of orders has been greatly reduced. The original clothing was made from 2,000 to 3,000 pieces, and now only a few hundred pieces are required."

** revealed that 60% of customers are now maintaining the original order level, but 40% of the customers either reduce the number of orders, or reduce the order style. In addition, the increase in short orders and urgent orders was mainly due to the poor market prospects and the majority of merchants taking a wait-and-see attitude.

**Analyzed in more detail, now European merchants have made a lot of changes. Due to the bad economic situation, merchants raised their technical standards. This is mainly reflected in the fact that projects that did not require inspection now require testing. The original requirements for inspection are now detected more and the standards are more stringent, which virtually increases the company's production costs.

Only by deep plowing can there be gains. “Some people think that in the context of the European debt crisis, there will not be too many gains for going abroad to participate in the exhibition. However, we believe that the more crises we have to participate in, the more we must participate in the exhibition to tap the potential market.” Lin Xuehu The reporter told reporters that this year Jiangsu Sumeida Textile & Textile International Trading Co., Ltd. has set a goal to maintain the scale of exports and increase it moderately. He learned from participating in Europe that it is now under heavy pressure from European merchants and it is difficult to see a rebound in the retail market, so orders have declined. Although the retail prices of European local brand products are still not upheld, they are also actively exploring potential markets, trying to improve the diversity of product models and reducing production costs, hoping to attract consumers through multiple styles and small batches. This requires suppliers to provide low-priced products. After learning about the development trend of these markets, Lin Xuehu began to focus on exploring low-priced products, especially looking for inexpensive accessories.

In addition, due to the sluggish retail market, Sumida's product prices are 15% to 20% lower than last year in order to maintain long-term customer relationships. This will benefit merchants and overcome difficulties with merchants.

** also adopted the same strategy. Of the three difficulties faced by foreign trade companies this year, two tend to improve. *** From the appreciation to the slight devaluation, raw material prices have also stabilized and declined. However, due to the increasing pressure on the euro’s appreciation from European merchants, under this circumstance, in order to maintain long-term trade relations with customers, the export price of Hangzhou Light Arts & Textiles Import & Export Co., Ltd. not only did not increase this year, but also dropped in order to make it more convenient. Good help for trading partners through difficulties.

In addition, we must provide more new products for merchants. ** revealed that now product innovation requires starting from the development of raw materials, not only the use of special yarn, such as core yarn, feather yarn, toothpick yarn, etc., but also requires four or five kinds of yarn mix and match, which increases the difficulty of proofing However, the product’s sense of fashion has increased sharply, the price space has increased, and other factories are difficult to imitate. The development of such products will not fall into the quagmire of price competition.

Zhou Wei, the manager of the OEM sales department of China Soil & Snow Lotus Co., Ltd., told reporters that under the influence of the European debt crisis, the clear characteristic of Saussurea's export trade to Europe is that high-end customers will not be affected. Some high-end customer orders of Saussurea in Switzerland and Germany have not been reduced, and individual low-end orders have not been affected, but mid-end orders have been affected and orders have decreased. Snow lotus is mainly made of high-end products, so the decline in exports to Europe is not large.

Zhou Hao believes that it is important for companies to establish their own position. Under current circumstances, Saussurea's strategy is to make high-end products and develop high-end markets. Because of the rising processing costs in China and the characteristics of cashmere products, it is not allowed to make low-end products. In order to ensure high-end quality, Saussurea strictly controls raw materials.

Due to the high cost of raw materials, cashmere accounts for a large proportion of the cost, and the raw materials are pure and impure, and the cost of the final products is quite different. Saussurea as a brand of COFCO, in order to maintain the brand, in the case of a very chaotic market, it also insisted on strict checks on raw materials. In addition, we focus on continuous innovation in processing technology. The exhibit of Saussurea this time is all designed for the European market. The product range is clear. Jacquard, embroidery and semi-jacquard products are all products. Even if it is a basic product, it is also unique in the collar, cuffs, clothing and other parts. Processing, to fully demonstrate the Saussurea processing level and processing technology, so that professional knowledgeable customers can see at a glance the quality of Saussurea products.

Zhou Xi told reporters that there will be new ideas after each exhibition. After the exhibition, it was thought that if they exhibited next year, they would need to have a booth. However, each style should be photographed, made into a brochure, and then sent to the relevant exhibition to send information. At the same time, there are corresponding physical exhibits on the booth, so that if customers are interested after seeing the new product promotional materials, they can go to the booth to view the physical objects.

Both Zhou Yi and Chen Dehan believe that the German market is very good. German guests recognize cashmere, and the in-depth development of the German market can bring lucrative returns to the company.

White Label Exhibition is worth looking forward to as the organizer of the exhibition. Sun Xiaoming, general manager of China Textile Advertising Exhibition Co., Ltd., told reporters that since the launch of the exhibition project in February, it has attracted the attention of all parties. The success of the exhibition marks that the White Label Exhibition has initially established its own image. Many well-known brands such as HugoBoss, Strenesse and Adidas have negotiated with the exhibition. The professional media of Germany, Japan, Austria and other countries also reported this exhibition. At present, the White Label Exhibition has occupied a place in 11 official Berlin Fashion Week events. Textile institutions or companies from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia also visited the show and expressed their intention to participate in the next exhibition as exhibitors. Exhibitors also fully affirmed the first exhibition, and generally reflected that “although the number of visitors is not many, but the quality is high, there are many large customers with substantial purchase intentions, and international strong”.

As it is the first exhibition, White Label Exhibition still has some shortcomings such as inappropriate site selection, but the organizers are confident that White Label Exhibition will be transformed into an international garment processing exhibition. Therefore, in order to continue to expand the scale of the exhibition and further enhance the exhibition's functions and influence, the second White Label Exhibition decided to relocate the venue to the U3 main railway station exhibition site before the Premium Haute Couture Expo in Berlin next July. Held.