China Still Has Room to Improve

While the rest of the textiles-producing world views China as the unfettered dragon poised to swallow up the global market, China's manufacturers believe their industry is not yet in condition to capture as much share as it might.

China's home textiles companies continue to lag in three key areas, according to Yang Donghui, chief director of the China Home Textile Association. Areas in need of improvement include: the establishment of brands, alliances within the domestic industry to expand partner companies' reach, and more innovative design, he said.

“The only way out for Chinese companies is faster improvement of quality control, stronger awareness of patent rights and more widely recognizable brand names,” Yang added.

Sun Ri Gui, managing director of towel manufacturer Sunvim, largely agrees with that assessment.

“Due to the deficiency of the proprietary intellectual property rights — especially key technologies — added value products are still rare in many brands, with the brands only represented as the token of their trademarks,” he said.

That scenario will not only hamper profitability for many companies, he said, it also serves as a drag on the country's overall international competitiveness and the sustainability of foreign trade.

He believes the industry as a whole needs be spurred to establish brands for export, and given support to improve its technological expertise as well as product quality.

“High-end, advanced technology and high added values should be the trend guiding the production, with an aim to further promoting the brands,” he said.

Education is also an area that needs addressing for China's small mills to become players in the larger market, according to Wang Lin, general manager of small home textiles producer Yilei Fangzhi.

“The biggest problem confronting Chinese companies is the low capability and outdated thinking among employees. There is a very urgent need to solve this problem,” Lin said.

He added, “Quality is the secondary problem. If we can solve the two problems, China will be more competitive than other countries.”

While large-scale manufacturers were able to scale themselves up in preparation for free trade in 2005, the majority of the industry in China has a lot of developing to do, according to Lin Guofang, director of Fuanna, a large bedding and fabric manufacturer that is one of the country's best-recognized domestic brands.

“The home textiles industry has not reached a scale yet, and the management, quality and quantity still needs to progress to meet better standards for internal and international markets,” he said. “The capacity of large-scale production, purchasing and planning have not matured yet.”

Despite the challenges, none discount the potential. Shortly after the final textiles quotas dropped in January, China's government set a direction for the industry to follow — indicating it would lend greater support to companies transitioning out of low-end product to value-added goods.