Developing brand consciousness

As with design, there is little experience in China in how to manage a brand. There simply aren't many established paths to follow. According to Chen Dapeng, Vice Chairman of the China Garment Association, the Chinese garment industry once deemed that going global meant to participate in the international industrial chain in terms of producing a high volume of garments to feed the manufacturing link beast. But now, some native Chinese brands and designers are beginning to make inroads in the international market.

"This is a good start and also a good inspiration, but it doesn't mean all Chinese brands can apply this pattern," Chen said. "The most important thing for them is to manage their own brand cultures, readjust the connotations people have about their designs and produce market-oriented products so that they can enter not only Western shows, but also their own markets. That is the real meaning of going global."

As for how brands can manage on the international market, Chen provides several solutions. He says that Chinese garment companies could first choose to establish themselves in domestic or regional markets and later develop their overseas markets. Or, another path would be to first open to the international market and later return to develop the domestic market.

He believes they can choose to foster the image of their companies, meaning that they should concentrate on establishing the brand of their companies first, not necessarily the brands of their individual garment products.

Other strategies would be for domestic garment companies to consider purchasing foreign brands, or become fashion distributors themselves, such as Inditex from Spain, which successfully operates the clothing line of Zara, Chen suggested.

Smart garments: an example

Established in 1984, Beijing Smart Garments Co. Ltd. (BSG) is the first garment joint venture established in Beijing, with shareholders hailing from China and Singapore. With four factories in Beijing and one in Tianjin, BSG mainly produces business and casual suits. According to Seet Poh Kim, General Manager of BSG, among the annual output of 1.5 million pieces, 70-80 percent is exported to Japan, the United States, Europe, South Korea and Australia.

Not content with simply producing low value-added exports, BSG now plans to establish its own brand.

"Our first step is to export more finished products as an original equipment supplier so that the added value will be higher," said Seet. "The second step is to export products with our own brand in the next two or three years, since it is not easy to accomplish."

According to Seet, BSG is contracting with foreign fashion distributors for the export of Roma, a brand targeted at middle- and high-end customers. The first destinations are France and Italy.

"We choose these two countries because they are in forefront of the fashion industry and we want to be accepted there first," Seet told Beijing Review. Russia and African countries are also on the BSG list of markets for future Roma export potential.

In order to better cater to local customers, BSG hired an Italian designer who knows the local market and culture. Together with seven or eight Chinese designers, the designing team will offer 200-300 designs every year.

To enhance exchanges with foreign fashion industries, BSG sends its designers to international fashion expos twice a year, and at the same time invites foreign designers to China every year, discussing new products for the upcoming seasons.

"We attach importance to the quality and culture of our brand and will not be involved in price competition," Seet said.

Aiming to improve product quality, BSG passed the ISO9000 certification early in 1995, the first to do so in the Beijing garment industry. By comparison, most Chinese garment companies passed the ISO9000 certification after 2000. Moreover, BSG has also started projects aimed at passing the SA9000 certification for social accountability and ISO14000 for the environmental management system.

"It takes a long time to establish a brand," said Seet. "Major challenges include promotion and input into research and development."