More than 100 years ago, the artillery fire of the Opium War was like a pair of invisible arms. It not only knocked hard on the door of China’s forbidden secrets, but also uprooted many things that should have been buried under the loess or mother body. atypical civilization.
In the tide of integration of Chinese and Western cultures, a group of tailors from Ningbo appeared on this ancient land carrying a ruler and a pair of scissors. They followed the historical trend, broke through the traditional model, devoted themselves to the development of suits and cultivated professional talents, and evolved the robe system of Eguan Bodai into lightweight and practical Western-style clothing through subtle substitutions of stitches. "Red Gang Tailor" has therefore become their unique title.
In the more than 100 years since the "Red Gang Tailor" wrote the legend, Ningbo Men's Wear has been born in the glory of China's first suit, the first tunic suit, the first suit store, and the first suit. Gradually taking history as the fulcrum, it emerged from the endless men's clothing market across the country.
In 1996, Ningbo's clothing industry, which mainly focused on men's clothing, began to take shape. There were more than 800 clothing companies in Ningbo, and well-known brands such as Youngor, Shanshan, Luo Meng and Yixiu were formed. Among apparel companies, there are about 10 companies with annual sales exceeding tens of millions.
In order to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the domestic and even international clothing industry, promote the progress and improvement of China's clothing industry, gradually establish the international status of Chinese clothing, and strive for more clothing to enter international brands, Ningbo The city government decided to hold a clothing festival.
In October 1997, the first Ningbo Fashion Festival, which integrated clothing expos, clothing performances, clothing seminars, economic and trade negotiations and other activities, was officially held. In four days, 241 exhibitors attended the exhibition, including 108 from overseas, attracting more than 5,000 buyers and more than 3,000 members of the public. Trade transactions reached 3.23 billion yuan. During the period, 5 foreign-invested projects with a total investment of US$155 million were put into operation in Ningbo, and a signing ceremony was held for 11 foreign-invested projects with a total investment of US$575 million. The foreign trade negotiation volume reached US$20 million.
For the next nine years, the Ningbo International Fashion Festival will be held as scheduled every October. The Ningbo International Fashion Expo, the core of the Ningbo International Fashion Festival, has continued to expand in scale by leveraging the advantages of its growing industrial cluster and its clothing cultural heritage. In 2003, Ningbo Clothing Expo was rated as one of the 37 Class A exhibitions in the country by the Ministry of Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and entered the ranks of the 15 outstanding expos in the country.
In 2005, with the increasing barriers to international textile trade, the accelerated integration of the global apparel industry, and the arrival of the post-quota era, national apparel industry exhibitions faced a reshuffle, with Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places facing a reshuffle. The sister city of Wenzhou has ceased operations after holding several consecutive fashion festivals.
Ningbo decided to change the name of "Ningbo International Clothing Fair", which has been used for 8 consecutive years, to "China International Clothing and Accessories Fair".
“The Ningbo Fashion Festival must rely on industry, service industry, and industry improvement, and internationalization, marketization, and specialization are the only way for the Fashion Festival exhibition.” Yu Danhua, spokesperson of the Ningbo Municipal Government and director of the event office He said that based on the strategic positioning of the Ningbo International Fashion Festival in the future, Ningbo changed the "Clothing Expo" to the "Clothing Fair". On the one hand, this new formulation makes the positioning of the exhibition more accurate, that is, a national exhibition held in Ningbo. More importantly, it highlights the "trading nature" of the exhibition, which is a platform for two-way transactions in domestic and foreign markets, and this is what China Characteristic exhibitions are ultimately in line with international standards.
At this time, after nine years of hard work, Ningbo's garment industry has formed a large number of national brands such as Youngor, Shanshan, Luomeng, Luozi, Peiluocheng, Peacebird, Tangshi, Aiyimei, and Giant Eagle. Well-known brands. In the selection of China's 500 most valuable brands in 2005, Ningbo clothing companies occupied six seats.
In 2012, the total number of Ningbo clothing registered trademarks exceeded 3,000, and more than 50 clothing trademarks were registered overseas. It has four well-known Chinese trademarks such as Youngor, Shanshan, Luo Meng and Tangshi, and 16 Chinese famous brand.
Ningbo currently has more than 3,000 clothing companies, including hundreds of companies with annual sales revenue of tens of millions of yuan. Their products include men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing, fashion and other series, with an annual output of 1.4 billion pieces of clothing. Accounting for about 12% of the country.
In the early 1990s, "Youngor", which owned Asia's largest clothing production base, began to get involved in other industries when everything gradually stabilized. The first is to invest in "substantial" industries, of which the real estate industry is more successful. In 2012, it has become another leading industry of the group, and its profits are close to those of its main business.
Shanshan, also a leading company in China's clothing industry and ranked third in sales in China's clothing industry, has focused on diversification and long-term development from the beginning. In December 1999, the Shanshan trademark was rated as a well-known trademark in China. In 2012, Shanshan has initially formed a modern and international industrial group pattern with clothing as the main business and high-tech and capital operation as the two wings.
Similarly, Giant Eagle Group has established Giant Eagle Technology to produce electronic products, and recently acquired ST Wangchunhua, achieving a "backdoor listing." After several years of investigation, Pei Luocheng and Shi Danu also intend to get involved in industries such as electronics and energy.
Ningbo’s first wave of women’s clothing entrepreneurship began in the 1980s. At that time, many of the prosperous men’s clothing manufacturing companies began to get involved in women’s clothing. However, due to design, marketing and other reasons, 90 companies failed to do so. Withstanding the test of the market, Ningbo women's clothing has always been a short leg in Ningbo's clothing industry.
In the mid-1990s, Ningbo women's clothing started a second venture: a private label led by designers and managers; a men's clothing business that started out and expanded its business due to the need for diversification. ; There are also those who have started to launch independent women's clothing brands after experiencing a period of OEM processing.
Since then, more mature brands in Ningbo women's clothing such as Xiandian, Peacebird, Demana, Xili Meishi, and Dankeyun have begun to appear. However, their development has their own experiences: "Xian Dian" and "Dan Keyun" started from family workshops in front stores and back factories, and gradually achieved snowball-like accumulation and expansion; "Xili Meishi" and "Peacebird" Waiting for women's clothing was born on the basis of a strong manufacturing industry; Kangnan women's clothing relies on foreign trade OEM processing and is a newly expanded brand based on the domestic sales of men's clothing.
Ningbo women's clothing, which is famous for its men's clothing, is low-key and calm. After ten years of hard work, a group of powerful women's clothing companies have quietly formed. In the first Ningbo women's clothing brand advantage selection, Ningbo women's clothing has begun to take shape: nearly 30 brands have signed up, many of which already have relatively complete brand images, and are widely circulated and influential in the region.
At the end of September 2012, Zheng Yonggang, the head of Shanshan Group who serves as the president of the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, took several domestic clothing brands into the international fashion "Oscar" - Milan Fashion Week. Among them are "Shanshan" and "Hongdou".
Before this, Luo Meng had already moved his design studio abroad; Aiyimei had registered its trademarks in 21 countries, and Youngor America brought 'YOUNGOR' into the country in March 2012. of the United States. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for Ningbo clothing to appear on international T-stages. The exchanges and cooperation between Ningbo clothing and the international market are becoming increasingly close.
In October 2012, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the second phase investment project of Ningbo Shenzhou Knitting Co., Ltd. in Cambodia. This is also the largest overseas investment by a domestic textile enterprise, with a total investment of US$30 million. .
From a few overseas merchants at the first Ningbo International Fashion Festival in 1997 to 3,500 merchants from 91 countries or regions at the 9th International Fashion Festival in 2005, every Ningbo International Fashion Festival has It brings a different kind of surprise to Ningbo clothing companies.
In 2002, Ningbo clothing gave Ningbo the courage to build a platform for direct dialogue with the world. The Ningbo International Fashion Festival in 2012 built a bridge for Ningbo clothing to enter the international stage.