From January to February 2023, my country’s textile and apparel export volume was -18.5% year-on-year, and the decline was larger than that in December 2022.
Monthly statistics of national textile and clothing exports from 2022 to 2023 (amount: 100 million U.S. dollars)
Recently, the textile industry has been flooded with this news and caused quite a stir. 2023 is a year in which textile people have high hopes. The wave of sales after the Spring Festival has strengthened the confidence of textile people. But the above set of data is like a slap in the face, waking people up. Entering March, the atmosphere of the traditional peak season is not strong, and is even weaker than that in February. This situation seems to make people more doubtful. Will the textile industry really usher in a turnaround in 2023?
Demand for outdoor sportswear and fashionable women’s clothing rebounds
Judging from the global economic recovery, the improvement in 2023 will not be obvious. However, from the perspective of the clothing and textile industry, sportswear has continued to adjust this year and has gradually entered a layout period. Clothing consumption has continued to recover since January 2023, with business men’s clothing performing better. At the same time, last week H-share sportswear continued to correct along with the Hong Kong stock market. Some women’s clothing brands were severely damaged by the epidemic, but their performance improved significantly in 2023.
Overall, sportswear and women’s clothing are the main trends this year. Three years after the epidemic, although outdoor activities have been restricted, outdoor sports have become the most popular trend. Camping culture is gradually becoming a way of life for the middle class in high-tier cities. Women have always been the main force in purchasing clothing, and fashion is the trend that women have always pursued and remains unchanged. With the promotion of consumption upgrading, the demand for fashionable women’s clothing is growing rapidly in the industry.
A person in charge of a textile trading company lamented: “This year, it is obvious that the demand for clothing in the two sectors of outdoor sports and fashionable women’s clothing is good. They are also two tracks that our industry insiders are unanimously optimistic about.”
Elastic fabric and imitation silk are hot-selling
It can also be seen from the sales of fabrics in the weaving industry in recent years that elastic fabrics have always been the best and the sales champion in recent years. The secret of its wealth is the high demand for outdoor, sports and other apparel products. With the rise of the trend of outdoor sports, elastic fabrics have always been the leader in the fabric industry. Even in the context of the epidemic in the past few years, elastic fabrics have been able to stand out from the off-season and become a highlight. This is also the reason why many weaving companies have transformed and upgraded in the past few years and started producing elastic fabrics, resulting in a large-scale influx of looms.
Women’s clothing consumption is much greater than that of men. However, in recent years, due to the economic downturn, women’s spending power has also been greatly weakened, and women’s clothing has also become eclipsed. The most intuitive example is that in the past, the textile industry was dominated by artificial silk in the first half of March and April every year. However, in recent years, this wave of market has ended in a hurry, and artificial silk has become a slow-selling product, and the price has been as low as freezing point. But this year, artificial silk has returned to the stage, shining again and becoming a hot-selling fabric in the first half of the year. It can be seen that the demand for women’s clothing is back!
It is currently the traditional peak season for the textile industry in the first half of the year. According to our research, the most popular fabrics are elastic fabrics and imitation silk. We have written many articles about high-elastic, four-way stretch, T400, chiffon, stretch satin and other such products, and they are all highlights of this year.
Although outdoor sports and women’s fashion are two recognized tracks, there are many difficulties facing them in the future. On the one hand, the macroeconomic growth rate is declining, and terminal consumption is weak in the post-epidemic era or extreme weather, which affects consumer demand for clothing. On the other hand, industry competition has intensified, and clothing brands are engaging in price wars; now in the information age, live streaming has also become a craze, and competition among e-commerce platforms is also expanding. The recovery of terminal consumption willingness is less than expected, and the risks of global inflation cannot be ignored.
But having said that, the darkest moment of the textile industry chain has passed, and the terminal recovery is expected to enhance the confidence of downstream brands and increase the willingness to place orders. Judging from the current situation, domestic demand orders are the first to recover, while external demand orders are expected to improve at the end of the second quarter.
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