The pace of the Beijing Winter Olympics is approaching. At Jiangsu Sanfeng Special Material Technology Co., Ltd. in Suzhou City, the production workshop is busy. Mitutoyo is a manufacturer of functional fabrics. "Under the influence of the "white economy", our company's orders have grown very fast this year." Company manager Wu Wanyu introduced.

　　The Winter Olympics is not just a sporting event, but also contains huge business opportunities. In fact, under the stimulus of the "Winter Olympics economy", there are not a few companies that have achieved an explosion of orders like Mitutoyo, and the domestic functional fabric industry is ushering in new development opportunities.

　　 The reporter learned that those apparel fabric companies with technological innovation strength are gaining the favor of the market, and at the same time, they have laid a good foundation for their own transformation and upgrading. At the same time, in the face of this market pie, the industry will also usher in more new entrants.

"White economy" heats up the functional fabric industry

　　 The hosting of the Olympic Games is a demonstration and embodiment of the comprehensive economic and cultural strengths of a city and even a country. At the same time, with the opportunity of the Winter Olympics, the feast of the "white economy" will also begin.

　　 Functional fabrics are a subdivision of the textile and apparel industry, and it is also an important part of it. The 21st Century Economic Interview learned that under the stimulation of the Winter Olympics, the domestic "white economy" has brought unprecedented growth. The sportswear industry is in a stage of rapid development. As its most important raw material-functional fabrics Application scenarios are also rapidly expanding.

　　 Mitutoyo is one of the beneficiaries. The company focuses on the development and production of breathable functional composite fabrics, especially high-breathable membrane technology fabric products. At present, the company's functional fabrics are mainly divided into four series: sustainable series, lightweight series, non-ammonia elastic K9 series and high-performance series . This year, Mitutoyo's orders ushered in explosive growth.

"This year, our company's orders ushered in a large increase, and sales increased by more than 30% compared with last year. This year the company launched a new product, due to its super abrasion resistance, tear resistance, and low carbon environmental protection. It is deeply favored by domestic and foreign outdoor sports brands," said Wu Wanyu.

　　 In fact, Mitutoyo is not the only functional fabric company that has seen an increase in orders. Wu Wanyu revealed that, driven by the Winter Olympics, the domestic functional fabric market is ushering in a new round of rapid growth. Companies are accelerating their investment in technology research and development, and new players are also actively entering the game.

Shanghai Jialinjie Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is also a functional fabric company. The high-count weft-knitted fine-gauge wool products produced by the company have solved the technical problems encountered in the knitting process of high-count wool through diversified designs. . This year, the company was shortlisted for the sixth batch of manufacturing individual champions announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

　　 It is worth noting that Jialinjie has also become a supplier of uniform fabrics for the Beijing Winter Olympics, mainly providing warm fleece fabrics. At the same time, the company also provided volunteer sports gloves, hats and related long-sleeved knitted fabrics for the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese delegation and the national team.

　　 The reporter learned that continuous R&D investment has brought Jialinjie's performance growth. Jialinjie’s recent financial report shows that the company’s textile business sales increased significantly in the third quarter. At the same time, due to the continuous strengthening of cost and expense control, cost reduction and efficiency increase, and reasonable control of sales expenses and other expenses, the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies Significant increase over the same period last year.

Textile companies explore new paths for transformation

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, from January to October 2021, the clothing output of enterprises above designated size across the country increased by 8.9% year-on-year; the retail sales of clothing, footwear, and knitted textiles by units above designated size increased by 17.4% year-on-year; the national online retail of clothing products The value increased by 14.1% year-on-year; clothing exports were USD 138.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%.

But on the other hand, the pressure on the production and operation of apparel companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, continues to increase. On the one hand, energy supply is tight and rising prices push up the prices of intermediate products. For apparel companies in the downstream of the industrial chain, the pressure of rising costs has further increased. On the other hand, international freight prices have increased exponentially, and the global supply chain continues to be interrupted, both of which bring greater risks to companies’ normal delivery and payment, and severely reduce the profit margins of export companies.

　　 Faced with problems such as declining profits, many apparel companies are also exploring the path of transformation and upgrading. An analyst in the apparel industry told reporters that with the help of the Winter Olympics, the apparel industry segment is expected to usher in rapid growth, and apparel companies should seize the opportunity and seek a new path for transformation and upgrading.

The above-mentioned analysts said that in recent years, there has been a "national boom" in China, and more and more young people have chosen to support the national tide. With the support of the "Winter Olympics economy", the national tide and national wind will continue to lead the country. The new trend of the apparel market has also brought new opportunities for many apparel companies.

　　 On the other hand, some functional fabric R&D and production companies have continuously increased their investment in technology research and development to greatly increase the added value of their products, thus forming their core competitiveness and gaining a firm foothold in the market.

　　 Mitutoyo Company is a typical representative among them. Wu Wanyu told a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald that after the rapid growth of orders, Mitutoyo will also accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading. "In the future, the company will continue to focus on the track where it is located, and promote the innovation and development of core technology for apparel fabrics."

Wu Wanyu said that in the future, Mitutoyo will cooperate with well-known domestic scientific research institutions to continuously improve its technological innovation capabilities through production, education and research. On the other hand, the company will build a "digital brain" platform to improve through intelligence and digital transformation. The efficiency and accuracy of enterprise production management.

　　 "Many people would say that the textile industry is a sunset industry, but in our eyes, it is still a sunrise industry, an eternal industry that can be armed with technology." Wu Wanyu said.

　　 The relevant person in charge of Jialinjie Textiles said that in the future, Jialinjie will continue to introduce outstanding talents. More than 10% of the company’s entire fabric production section are R&D personnel. Now the company’s R&D team has more than 100 people. The entire training plan and promotion plan basically follow the combination of production, education, research and use. The core purpose is that the company can Sustained development ability and better competitiveness.

　　 From the perspective of industry insiders, for apparel companies, they must have a keen market insight to take advantage of the Winter Olympics. When new outlets appear, they must have the courage and ability to rise to the wind, tap their own potential, grasp market trends, and achieve new breakthroughs in transformation.