| An updated report on Children's Wear is available now. Get a copy here. |
China accounted for approximately 30 percent of the world's output of children's wear in 2004. The elimination of quotas resulted in a 30 percent surge in exports in the first four months of 2005. However, it has also brought enormous challenges to the industry, threatening to hinder growth.
After the two largest markets for China-made children's wear, the US and the EU, imposed safeguards on various types of apparel, China suppliers have had to explore other options to stay in business. Small companies producing low-end apparel have been the worst hit, as many of them work on thin profit margins and do not have the resources to survive.
The following are some of the key trends and issues we see in China's children's wear industry:
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Many makers are trying to boost exports to other regions, such as Japan and the Middle East, in view of the US and EU restrictions. Some large companies are even moving production to other regions in Asia or re-exporting via other countries. |
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Some suppliers producing low-end, high-volume garments are moving up the value chain, focusing on the production of midrange and high-end apparel. They are increasing investments in design capability to be able to offer more value-added products. |
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Even with increasing production expenses due to rising material costs, the export tax and labor shortage, most suppliers will be keeping prices stable in the next 12 months. |
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Schoolchildren's apparel will continue to dominate children's wear exports from China, followed by toddlers' apparel. |
Suppliers offer a range of styles in both these categories, mainly because designs now follow adult clothing trends. Suppliers in China export four categories of children's wear — newborns' clothing, babywear, toddlers' apparel and schoolchildren's apparel. These are also the scope of this report. Almost all children's wear manufacturers produce apparel for schoolchildren, and there are some that specialize in the line. More than 75 percent of suppliers featured in this report produce all four categories of children's wear for export, and almost 30 percent have schoolchildren's clothing as their main line. The Products & Prices section in this report discusses the main features of each category of children's wear and its price ranges. It also explains the differences among low-end, midrange and high-end models in each product category. Product development and design focus are discussed in the R&D/design section, while the Materials & Components module details the main types of fabric and accessories used by China makers. The Manufacturing section lists the key steps in children's wear production and how these differ in small, midsize and large companies. The majority of children's wear companies in China are locally owned, while a few are foreign-owned. Reflecting this structure, 76 percent of suppliers featured in this report are private locally owned, while 23 percent are private foreign-owned or invested.
All information contained in China Sourcing Reports is the result of exclusive, ground-level and definitive research conducted by Global Sources' analysts. Companies featured in these reports may or may not be clients of Global Sources.
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