Japan's national apparel brand rate fell to 3% "Made in Japan" where to go?

Does Japan still have its own super-line clothing brand?

There may be many people who can list Yohji Yamamoto, Miyoshi Life, Comme des Garçons, Sacai and other brands, but these brands are not made in Japan. In courses such as brand creation and marketing for Japanese universities, professors only said that “how to communicate with customers” is very important, but they do not place “producing areas” as a priority. This mode of thinking differs from Europe, which places great emphasis on the place of production.

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As of 2014, Japan’s national apparel production rate has fallen to 3%. This reality has caused numerous Japanese factories to face crises and even bankruptcy. Japan's clothing production peaked in 1990, when the clothing-made rate was 50.5%, and about 1 million people worked in factories. The data has been declining since then. In 2005, the number of workers in garment factories has dropped to 400,000.

The rise of fast fashion is one of the reasons for the rapid decline of the Japanese garment production industry. Consumers began to favor low-priced goods, and sales of high-quality and high-priced goods declined. In 1991, the sales volume of the department store industry in Japan reached a peak of 9.713 trillion yen. In 2016, this figure has dropped to 5.978 trillion yen. A survey by the Japan Department Stores Association shows that fast fashion is the main reason for this phenomenon.

In addition, between the factories and consumers, there are also layers of middlemen, which ultimately lead to difficulties in sub-contract factories to obtain benefits. In general, the factory's revenue is about 20% of the selling price of the product. Higher-priced goods can guarantee a certain degree of factory interests, but the emergence of price wars quickly eroded the interests of the factory.

In 1990, Japan began to enter deflation, and various factories began to cut costs. “Overseas trainees” (referring to Japan’s system to protect the workforce and receiving foreign workers) have gradually become the backbone of support for Japanese manufacturing. The 2010 research report pointed out that about 12,000 trainees are engaged in work related to clothing and fiber products. The background of this situation is that the sewing industry with low salary is difficult to gather Japanese local talents and can only rely on trainees.

However, this situation has led to an endless cycle: hard-to-get trainees have to leave after completing a three-year training career. The factory can only recruit and train new people, and the ideal of "transmitting technology to future generations" gradually becomes more and more. Go farther. Most of those who went to Japan before to study for a Chinese student were Chinese. Due to the increase in domestic wages in recent years, the number of people has gradually declined. At present, most of the trainees come from countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar. However, when the wage level of these countries rises, Japan will again have a shortage of labor. The fundamental way to solve the problem is to ensure the interests of the factory, increase the wages of the workers, and hire local residents who can work long-term.

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Due to aging population, low birth rate and other reasons, how to use overseas labor force in Japan has become a major opportunity for the apparel industry. As of now, there are about 2.7 million foreigners visiting Japan, of which more than 2.2 million are from Asia. In addition, Japan's "luxury brand fever" has become a thing of the past. Former VP of the LVMH Group in Japan, Shinichi Sada, said: "LV is a great brand, but it is not the time of the LV or trend."

This may be an opportunity for the revival of Japanese fashion. According to Yamada, the founder of Factelier, the first Internet brand in Japan that specializes in “Made in Japan”, the revitalization of the Japanese apparel industry requires three elements: market focus, autonomy, and investment in inefficient manual production.

Focus on the market

Although the brand of Japanese-made products is highly praised, the design has yet to be improved. Under the premise of ensuring technology, the products provided by the brand must meet the needs of consumers. "The factories in Italy and France will all consider the market, fashion trends and other factors and arrange production."

Autonomy

Japan's factories use subcontracting production mode, so all production is based on the style and texture requirements of the partners. If the brand wants to be independent, it must break away from this model, cultivate its own sewing and proofing technology, and really have the ability to control the product.

Invest in low-efficiency manual production

In countries such as China, Vietnam, and Myanmar, companies with large capitals have introduced the most advanced machines to efficiently produce large quantities of clothing. However, Japan, which has high labor costs, should seek differentiation by using old-fashioned power looms and time-consuming dyeing techniques. Like the traditional factory in Gangshan, it produces denim cloth for luxury brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton. “Other factories should also be so, invest in inefficient handcrafting, and increase the added value of the product itself.”

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