Beijing News reporter Zhang Zeyan
Scattered customers, shop assistants are using their mobile phones, and when the hustle and bustle of the wholesale market recedes, the red-letter sign of "sale" is particularly conspicuous.
"It is expected to evaporate at least 400 billion in revenue." Recently, this figure has amplified the fatigue of the Chinese apparel market. A reporter from the Beijing News Shell Finance and Economics recently visited the clothing wholesale market. Most shopkeepers were unable to conceal the impact of the epidemic on their businesses. Some of them finally decided to withdraw their shops and "go home and work" because the landlord did not reduce rent or reduced them.
Choice data shows that as of July 29, more than 10 listed companies have disclosed their 2020 semi-annual performance bulletins. Most of the listed companies have suffered a serious decline in performance. Among them, Pathfinder is expected to lose 130 million to 148 million. The reporter noticed that in the state of "loss of blood", many listed service companies began to sell their overseas subsidiaries.
In the opinion of experts, the epidemic has at least affected the apparel industry's sales in the winter of 2019, spring, summer of 2020, and even autumn. Right now, a certain period of healing is needed. However, the trough also indicates opportunities to some extent. The "new method" that Zhang Ying and his wife, who run a children's clothing store, think of is to bring the goods live. In addition, the apparel industry is launching new attempts to sell goods in Moments, WeChat spike activities, and social marketing.
Two pairs of trousers of 50 yuan, open in advance for summer clearance
On July 28, the Shell Finance reporter visited a clothing wholesale market in Beijing. There are only scattered customers in the six-floor market, and most shopkeepers sit in the shops and use their phones. However, when customers were passing by, the clerk standing at the door furiously shouted.
Walking in the shops, some clothing stores hang promotional signs such as "Withdrawal of stalls, sale" or "clear inventory" and "clearance". Trousers are 30 yuan per pair and 50 yuan per pair.
According to many shopkeepers, the current wholesale market traffic is not large, and some shops have been withdrawn and leased. "It's really difficult now" became the resonance.
A shopkeeper told reporters: "Summer clearance is ahead of schedule. Although sales have been started in July, the effect is not very good. The clearance time may be extended. After all, autumn clothes will be available in August." "After the outbreak, people shopping. Very few. Basically only one or two items can be sold every day. The landlord is not willing to reduce the rent and cannot sell the goods. It is no longer new, and I hope to sell all the current goods quickly and go out to work." Some clothing store owners Already had the intention to leave.
However, some stores told the Shell Finance reporter that it is not a large-scale closure of stores at present, but some stores are adjusting. Many stores have almost the same source of goods, and the homogeneity of clothes is serious, and they are not willing to lower prices. It is normal to close stores. The epidemic situation in Beijing has improved, and passenger traffic is gradually recovering.
The Shell Finance reporter immediately visited a large shopping mall in Beijing. Compared with the wholesale market, the passenger flow increased significantly. Similarly, many clothing brands are also "crashing", and some fast fashion brands even offer 30% to 50% discounts.
Cheng Weixiong, a textile and apparel brand management expert and general manager of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., told Shell Finance reporter that 2020 can be said to be the most difficult year for the textile and apparel industry. In other words, the impact is not just the first half of the year, but a certain period of time to heal and recover, and to prepare for a protracted battle.
The performance of listed companies dives, Semir apparel, *ST Laxia "sell" overseas subsidiaries
Regarding the "difficult experience" of the apparel industry, the market has recently begun to measure with numbers. According to media reports, Liu Jinyan, vice president of the Marketing Department of Convertlab, said in a keynote speech at a clothing conference in Shenzhen recently: “2020 is bound to be a turbulent year. It is expected that the Chinese apparel market will evaporate at least 400 billion in revenue and the overall market size will shrink by 15%. "
This number directly pushed the Chinese apparel market to the hot search. A survey conducted by Oliver Wyman Consulting in April also showed that China, as the world's largest apparel market, is expected to shrink by 15% in 2020, which is equivalent to erasing US$60 billion in market value. There is almost no retaliation in April and May. expenditure.
The problem caused by the epidemic has naturally become a hurdle for listed companies.
Choice data shows that as of July 29, more than 10 listed companies have disclosed their 2020 semi-annual performance reports. Most of them have experienced serious performance declines, with losses of nearly 10 million, while Pathfinder expects losses of 130 million to 148 million. In the same period of the year, the profit was 81,855,900 yuan.
In the first quarter of this year, the country was hit hard by the epidemic, and the retail industry was basically in a state of suspension. Shell Finance reporter counted 20 listed companies including leisure, business and other clothing categories and found that, except for Youngor, the performance of the other 19 listed companies all declined.
Youngor said that the performance of the first quarter of this year can become "a little bit red among the green", mainly due to the growth of its real estate sector revenue. The company's apparel business was greatly affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and sales recorded a year-on-year decline of 52.3% and 29.04%. With the gradual control of the epidemic in China in March, the decline in sales of Youngor brand clothing gradually narrowed.
It is worth noting that the epidemic has broken out globally, and the business of listed service companies has also been affected, and they have begun to sell overseas subsidiaries. On July 20, Semir Apparel, the leader of the domestic children's clothing industry, announced that it would sell 100% of the assets and business of its wholly-owned subsidiary French Sofiza SAS to shareholder Semir Group. In 2018, Semir apparel once spent 110 million euros in cash to complete the acquisition of Sofiza SAS, thereby taking over French mid-to-high-end children's clothing Kidiliz, hoping to improve Semir apparel's popularity and influence in the European market.
However, two years later, Semir apparel announced the sale of Sofiza SAS to major shareholders. The company explained to this that after the outbreak, Kidiliz Group’s main operating areas in France and Italy and the entire European market suffered significant losses, which adversely affected the company’s performance In order to avoid the business's continuous adverse impact on the company's performance, the company plans to sell the assets and business.
According to Semir Apparel's 2020 semi-annual performance forecast revision announcement, the company's net profit attributable to the first half of the year is expected to be 0 million to 72.210 million yuan, a decrease of 90% to 100% over the same period of the previous year. The reason for the correction is that the company's overseas business losses have increased due to the impact of the new crown epidemic.
*ST Laxia also announced earlier that the original wholly-owned subsidiary of France NafNafSAS has officially entered the judicial liquidation process on June 19, local time in France. Excluding its own operating reasons, *ST Laxia said that due to a series of events that have adversely affected the French consumption environment and market demand, NafNafSAS is facing greater operating pressure and funding gaps. In addition, affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, NafNafSAS's operating conditions further deteriorated in the first quarter of this year. In view of the inability of NafNafSAS to repay 24.106 million euros due, the local court ruled on May 15 local time to initiate judicial reorganization.
Cheng Weixiong told reporters that from the demand side, the epidemic has at least affected the apparel industry's sales in the winter of 2019, spring, summer, and autumn of 2020. On the supply side, due to the decrease in demand-side income, factory orders have shrunk, which is transmitted to the upstream supply of auxiliary materials and raw materials, and the demand is declining, which has a profound impact on the entire industry.
Cheng Weixiong believes that the footwear industry is getting sad year by year. The industrial transformation and upgrading is driven by user demand at the retail terminal, and is forced by new technologies, new tools, new platforms, and new models. The middle stage and back office have been quietly changing. However, the dialogue between the industrial chain and the consumer side still has its own battles. The industrial chain and fast-iterative user scenarios cannot be matched and integrated. The low-end, low-value, low-tech, and low-threshold industrial system is gradually transforming into a mid-to-high-end industrial system. There are many contradictions and great challenges.
Ride the wind and waves online: live broadcast, sell in Moments, WeChat spike...
However, for the epidemic situation, Zhang Ying and his wife, who run a children's clothing store in Jiangsu, are not choosing to sit still.
"When we first entered the industry 10 years ago, the store was only a few square meters, and now it has expanded to about 200 square meters. During peak seasons, turnover often exceeds 20,000 yuan a day. But after the epidemic, there were fewer customers, and we had to Explore new ways."
The "new method" that Zhang Ying and his wife thought of was live streaming. "Every day, I will match a set of clothes, let the model wear it for live show, and make it into a small video. In addition to publishing on the video platform, it can also be disseminated in WeChat groups, so that dozens of clothes can be sold every day." Ying said.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, many companies have begun to try new marketing models and actively explore online marketing channels, including Moments sales, WeChat spike activities, social marketing, live broadcasts, cloud stores, etc.
Clothing brand sales Xiaoyue told reporters that the company "tested the waters" on the live broadcast platform as early as the end of February, and broadcast live for about 2 hours every afternoon, mainly to help customers try on and recommend clothes. "Live broadcast has helped us gain more fans. Many customers who were not reachable before can also watch our new products through live broadcast. This is also very good for offline sales after the epidemic."
Peacebird's previous performance report for the first half of 2020 showed that in the first half of this year, the company's operating income increased by 3.09% year-on-year, and non-net profit increased by 129.14% year-on-year. In this regard, the company explained that the rapid advancement of new retail business, the substantial increase in e-commerce retail sales, and the rapid adjustment and recovery of offline retail business in the second quarter have made up for the losses in offline stores during the epidemic to a certain extent, and the channel partners’ With the support of rent reduction and exemption and the preferential support such as social security reduction and exemption granted by the state, the company’s operating profit has increased significantly year-on-year.
The live broadcast brings the goods blessing, and the clothing industry "rides the wind and waves."
The chairman of Red Dragonfly, 56-year-old Qian Jinbo, appeared in the live broadcast room many times in three months to bring goods. On March 8, Qian Jinbo made his live broadcast debut, connecting with music producer Huang Shujun and singer Bai Xue and other fashion figures and entrepreneurs. The live broadcast attracted 435,300 people to watch. The official flagship store of Red Dragonfly Business Fashion Leather Shoes Sales increased by 114% year-on-year. On April 11, Qian Jinbo led a group of anchors to open the live broadcast day of the Red Dragonfly brand. The editor-in-chief of Harper’s Harper’s Su Mang and actor He Hongshan helped out; on May 23, Qian Jinbo walked into the live broadcast room for the third time as Red Dragonfly. The live broadcast brought the goods, and the spokesperson Angelababy was connected to the wheat. The number of viewers on the whole network exceeded 3.79 million, and the global sales increased by 160% year-on-year.
Cheng Weixiong believes that in 2020, enterprises should survive to have a chance. Everyone has equal opportunities in the face of crisis. The key is still to look at the entrepreneur's strategic pattern and choices. Every crisis comes with a lot of uncertainty, but the companies that remain after the big waves are high-quality. The survival rule determines the survival of the fittest. It is not the crisis that is eliminated. In fact, it is still the company's own problems. The company's immunity does not have the ability to resist risks. Ability should be analyzed from the company's own brand, product, channel, business model, etc.
In addition, Cheng Weixiong said that the omni-channel model of online and offline interconnection is the mainstream choice, which is not shifted by human will. After the epidemic, the realization of this megatrend at the enterprise level will be accelerated.
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Zhang Zeyan