Textiles in the light textile city: Homogeneous competition is a dead end; differentiated competition is the way out.

The international market is sluggish, and domestic market demand is shrinking, making this year's textile business difficult. In recent years, more and more international fashion brands have begun to shift their fabric procurement targets to the China Light Textile City located in Keqiao, Shaoxing County. However, compared to first-tier cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou, the fabric prices in the Light Textile City are relatively lower, and product homogeneity is one of the reasons. "Many fabrics from textile enterprises in Shaoxing County have a high repetition rate and similarity. If you randomly take out a fabric, more than ten companies have it, which is not suitable for the personalized development needs of high-end brands. In contrast, some foreign fabric companies have thousands of yarn types, providing not only a wide range of choices but also the ability to meet personalized needs," said Fu Guoqing, chairman of Shaoxing Yongsheng Industrial and Trade Co., Ltd.
   
"Only by constantly occupying a leading position in a certain fabric field and continuously innovating to differentiate from conventional products can one attract the attention of international fashion brands and become a high-end fabric supplier," Fu Guoqing believes. He thinks that almost all domestic companies dedicated to producing high-end fabrics are working on product differentiation.
   
Fu Guoqing believes that as the export market for textiles faces obstacles, competition in the domestic textile market will become even more intense. To maintain stable development amid fierce competition, it is essential to have unique characteristics. Implementing a differentiation strategy is the current and future business strategy of Yongsheng Company and is also the core competitiveness of the enterprise. To this end, the company will increase investment in technological development, cultivate advantageous products, build product brands, enhance product reputation, and ultimately expand market share.
   
Fu Guoqing stated that in recent years, the fabric industry has experienced overcapacity, with the increase in market orders far below the growth rate of industry capacity. The phenomenon of product homogeneity among various fabric companies is very obvious, and companies are engaged in fierce price wars to compete for market orders, resulting in a serious decline in profit margins across the industry, leaving companies severely wounded in their internal conflicts.
   
With the shift in brand perception and awareness of differentiation positioning, fabric companies are increasingly realizing that only by developing differentiated products can they gain pricing power, thereby maintaining the business philosophy essential for the survival of the enterprise. They are abandoning the previous low-end imitation and the business approach of only selling 'common goods' and are beginning to focus on differentiated product development. Whether to cope with market survival challenges or to develop brand building, the differentiated development of fabrics is becoming increasingly important. To obtain personalized fabrics that fully reflect brand design styles, many clothing companies are starting to collaborate with fabric companies on product development. Fashion designers participate in the fabric research and development stage, fully conveying their ideas to fabric designers. This way, products can be created that meet the needs of designers from multiple aspects such as raw materials, processes, patterns, colors, and textures, satisfying the fabric needs of clothing companies while reducing development costs and risks associated with research and production.