The operating data of 46 textile and apparel specialized markets (including market groups) monitored by the China Commercial Circulation Association of Textile and Apparel (CATA) shows that in the first half of 2021, in terms of turnover, the overall operation of China’s textile and apparel specialized markets has basically returned to the pre-pandemic level. Some markets have performed outstandingly and have risen against the trend. Market transactions have even exceeded the pre-pandemic levels.

 

Market turnover achieved a breakthrough

 

In the first half of 2021, the total turnover of 46 textile and apparel specialized markets (including market groups) monitored by CATA reached 596.7 billion yuan, an increase of 43.93 percent year-on-year and an increase of 11.52 percent over the same period in 2019. Among them, the turnover of 35 markets increased year-on-year, accounting for 97.76 percent of the total turnover, an average increase of 49.41 percent; the turnover of 11 markets fell year-on-year, accounting for 2.24 percent of the total turnover, an average decrease of 44.68 percent.

 

From the perspective of market operating efficiency, the average operating efficiency (annualized) of 46 textile and apparel specialized markets was 53,601.50 yuan/square meter, an increase of 42.80 percent year-on-year, and an increase of 10.61 percent over the same period in 2019; the average shop efficiency (annualized) was 4.0963 million yuan/shop, a year-on-year increase of 43.27 percent, an increase of 11.52 percent over the same period in 2019.

 

From the perspective of regional structure, among the 46 markets in the first half of the year, the turnover of specialized markets in eastern China was 524.415 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.76 percent and an increase of 13.06 percent compared to the same period in 2019, accounting for 87.89 percent of the total turnover; the turnover of the specialized market in central China was 50.306 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 57.15 percent, an increase of 2.20 percent compared with the same period in 2019, and accounting for 8.43 percent of the total turnover; the turnover of the specialized market in western China was 21.979 billion yuan, an increase of 74.11 percent year-on-year, an increase of 1.29 percent compared with the same period in 2019, accounting for 3.68 percent of the total turnover.

 

From the perspective of circulation level, the 46 markets include 27 production area-based specialized markets and 19 sales area-based specialized markets. In the first half of 2021, the turnover of 27 production area-based markets reached 531.959 billion yuan, accounting for 89.15 percent of the total turnover, a year-on-year increase of 44.72 percent, and an increase of 14.80 percent over the same period in 2019; the turnover of 18 sales area-based markets was 64.741 billion yuan, accounting for 10.85 percent of the total turnover, an increase of 37.81 percent year-on-year, and a decrease of 9.68 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

 

Responding to challenges and opportunities

 

In the first half of the year, the key monitoring market turnover exceeded the same period in 2019 by 11.52 percentage points, which is the result of the active innovation and upgrading of the markets and the rise in performance against the trend.

 

In the first half of 2021, the textile and apparel specialized market continued to optimize new models and new business formats for online and offline integrated development. On the basis of further extension and accurate service in 2020, it will actively build e-commerce supply bases, web celebrity incubators, live broadcast service platform, offline experience centers and other new services and new business formats.

 

Market brand value enhancement

 

In the first half of the year, China’s textile and apparel specialized market and merchants’ awareness of brand management has increased significantly. Manufacturing merchants in the upstream of the industrial chain actively improve product quality and increase product value-added through equipment updates and technological upgrades.

 

In order to adapt to the new competitive environment and enhance their core competitiveness, merchants in China’s textile and apparel specialized market actively optimize the supply chain, integrate high-quality resources in the upstream and downstream of the industry, promote accurate matching of supply and demand, reduce business and transaction costs, and comprehensively improve products and services, improve the operating efficiency of enterprises, especially in the specialized markets of production areas, relying on the agglomeration advantages of production clusters, strengthening the synergy between business circles and clusters, and improving the flexibility of supply chain management capabilities through channel management, more and more supply chain platforms driven by different models such as design, order, manufacturing, and financial services have achieved good results. According to the data, in the first half of 2021, the transaction volume of the key-monitored production area-based market increased by 14.80 percent compared with the same period in 2019, while the transaction volume of the sales area-based markets has declined compared with 2019.

 

In addition, in terms of products, merchants in the specialized apparel and home textile market have achieved product quality improvement and steadily transitioned to brand management by improving original design levels, enriching brand cultural connotation, strengthening product research and development, and highlighting sub-category characteristics.

 

In particular, it is worth mentioning that in recent years, new changes have taken place in China’s consumption environment as merchants in the specialized textile and apparel market continue to optimize supply chains to improve operational efficiency. On the one hand, online consumption demand has seen explosive growth in 2020, gradually becoming the first choice and lifestyle of the young generation of consumers; on the other hand, personalized consumer demand, channel diversification, order fragmentation and other complex consumer trends are increasingly prominent. The profound changes of consumer end put forward higher requirements for the layout and coordination of supply chain, management and application ability and level of textile and apparel enterprises, and the market competition has also transformed from inter-enterprise competition to supply chain competition and platform competition.

 

For the development of China’s textile and apparel specialized market in the future, industry insiders said that recently, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party, Beijing Winter Olympics and other focus topics of public concern are heating up, Chinese consumers’ cultural confidence and national pride are unprecedented, the demand for domestic goods, guochao continues to rise. Meanwhile, frequent factors unfavorable to market operation, such as the spread of COVID-19, are still interfering with the daily operation and activities of the market. The co-existence of opportunities and challenges has become a long-term problem faced by China’s textile and apparel specialized market. Therefore, the specialized market should remain stable in the change, actively innovate to "turn crisis into opportunity", constantly seek for new breakthroughs and growth points, and comprehensively improve the online and offline flow and market circulation efficiency of China’s textile and apparel specialized market.