From September 22 to 24, the 2017 Hunan Apparel Industry Expo and Lushong Apparel Festival, themed “Coming Together in Unity—Jointly Promoting New Development of the Apparel Industry,” was held.

　　On the opening day of the Fashion Festival, a High-Level Forum on the Development of the Apparel Industry was held, under the guidance of the China National Textile and Apparel Council and co-organized by the Council’s Circulation Branch, the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, and the People’s Government of Zhuzhou City, with support and collaboration from local governments and numerous industry associations.

　　Xia Lingmin, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council and Chairman of its Distribution Branch; Bai Jinfu, former Director of the Economic Bureau of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and President of the China Institute of Economic Research; Peng Yuyuan, President of Wuhan Textile University; Ni Yangsheng, President of the China Society of Textile and Apparel Education; Bu Xiaoqiang, Chair of the Presidium of the Asian Fashion Federation and President of the Guangdong Apparel and Accessories Industry Association; Lang Ping, Assistant to the President of the China Fashion Designers Association; Ye Liang, Assistant to the Chairman of the CNTEX Distribution Branch and Executive President of the Anhui Provincial Apparel Chamber of Commerce; Xie Hao, Brand Director of Jiumuwang Co., Ltd.; as well as other industry leaders and guests, including Huang Fang, Vice Mayor of the Zhuzhou Municipal People’s Government, and Pan Cailiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhuzhou Municipal People’s Government, gathered at the summit forum. More than 400 apparel enterprise managers and representatives from the media across the country also attended the event. The summit was chaired by Xu Jianhua, Vice President of the CNTEX Distribution Branch.

　　Xia Lingmin delivered a speech titled “Transformation of the Textile and Apparel Industry and the Rise of Central China,” in which he provided an overview of the basic conditions of China’s textile and apparel sector, acknowledged the achievements made in recent years through industrial transformation and upgrading, analyzed the developmental advantages and opportunities of central-region cities such as Zhuzhou, and outlined the direction for future transformation and upgrading.

　　In his speech, he stated that in recent years, driven by both local government support and market forces, the textile and apparel industry has undergone continuous transformation and upgrading through innovation in new materials, new technologies, new processes, and new business models. This has elevated the industry’s level of intelligent manufacturing, brand development, and green practices, positioning it on a trajectory toward becoming a technology-driven, science-and-tech-based sector; a culture-led, fashion-oriented industry; and an environmentally conscious, green economy. As an important hub for the apparel industry cluster, Lushong should capitalize on its inherent strengths and external opportunities to usher in a new phase of development for Zhuzhou’s apparel sector and thereby propel the rise of the central region’s apparel industry. Xia Lingmin recommended that the apparel industry in the central region should fully leverage the role of government, strengthen talent development, pursue a dual strategy of attracting talent from abroad and sending domestic talent overseas, and embrace a path of technological advancement, intelligent manufacturing, and brand-building.

　　In her address, Huang Fang noted that the Zhuzhou Lushong apparel industry took root in the 1980s. Over more than three decades of development, the Lushong apparel market cluster has evolved from a humble street-side bazaar into today’s sprawling network of 38 specialized markets for apparel, footwear, and headwear, bringing together over 4,000 renowned domestic and international brands. The cluster now serves more than 20 provinces and over 230 counties (cities and districts) nationwide, with annual sales exceeding RMB 50 billion, making it the largest apparel market complex in Central and South China. It has also been honored as one of “China’s Top Ten Apparel Wholesale Markets,” “China’s Famous City of Apparel,” “China’s Apparel Brand Incubation Base,” and “China’s Famous City of Women’s Pants.” To further advance toward the goal of building a RMB 100-billion apparel industry, Zhuzhou has planned a 22.5-square-kilometer Apparel New City, which will establish an integrated, end-to-end apparel value chain encompassing R&D and design, manufacturing and processing, warehousing and logistics, exhibition and retail, and e-commerce.

　　Bai Jinfu delivered a compelling keynote speech titled “The Transition from Old to New Growth Drivers and the Transformation and Upgrading of the Apparel Industry.” He outlined four core principles for this transition: first, advance market-oriented reform and uphold the pivotal role of the market in resource allocation; second, integrate stock restructuring with incremental optimization to achieve an organic synergy among “revitalizing existing assets,” “fostering new growth drivers,” and “modernizing outdated ones”; third, leverage new technologies and emerging business models to transform and upgrade the real economy; and fourth, enhance quality and efficiency by shifting the focus from maximizing scale to maximizing value.

　　On this basis, he also identified five key priorities for the transition from old to new growth drivers: integration, customization, platformization, digitalization, and intelligentization. In terms of integration, it is essential to promote both technological integration and business-model integration; in terms of customization, we should explore new approaches to reconciling personalized customization with mass production, thereby opening up greater opportunities for industrial expansion; in terms of platformization, the focus should be on strengthening the development and application of industrial Internet platforms and industrial cloud platforms; in terms of digitalization, we must enhance the development and application of data resources; and in terms of intelligentization, we should leverage intelligence to infuse traditional industries with new vitality.

　　Peng Yuyuan delivered a compelling keynote address titled “The Talent Dividend and Talent Competition in the Textile Industry: A Perspective Based on the Transformation Toward Advanced Manufacturing,” in which he elucidated the process of inheriting and transforming the traditional dividend of the textile industry. He pointed out that traditional, labor-intensive industries are undergoing a transformation into advanced manufacturing characterized by intelligent manufacturing, green production, and sustainable development. Drawing on the latest domestic and international research on talent development, Peng Yuyuan highlighted that the textile industry faces a pronounced concentration of high-end talent in eastern regions and a corresponding shortfall in central and western areas, accompanied by serious shortages in overall numbers and a relatively homogeneous talent structure. On this basis, he offered policy recommendations for talent cultivation in China’s textile and apparel sector, with particular emphasis on strengthening talent reserves and attracting top-tier professionals in the Zhuzhou region.

　　Jie Hao delivered a compelling keynote speech titled “Brand Innovation in the Context of Consumption Upgrading,” outlining the transformative shift from traditional product consumption to experience-driven and value-oriented consumption, and underscoring the critical importance and urgency of strategic innovation for apparel brands. By reviewing the three pivotal stages in the development of the Jiumuwang brand, Jie Hao elucidated Jiumuwang’s platform-based, multi-brand, and omni-channel growth strategy, and proposed four key dimensions for brand innovation among apparel companies amid the broader trend of consumption upgrading: brand, product, channel, and member community. His insights offer valuable guidance for the development of Zhuzhou’s apparel and fashion industry as well as for brand marketing strategies.

　　The high-level forum concluded successfully amid lively discussions among industry professionals, with four distinguished guests delivering insightful presentations that unveiled new avenues for the transformation and upgrading of Zhuzhou’s textile and apparel sector and for the innovative development of local garment enterprises. Leveraging the 2017 Hunan Apparel Industry Expo, the Lushong Apparel Festival, and the Apparel Industry Development High-Level Forum, the Zhuzhou apparel industry cluster is poised to usher in a new era of synergistic growth for five of Zhuzhou’s emerging industries, each with an output value exceeding RMB 100 billion.