Minister Yoon Sang-jick of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy participated in a New Year’s gathering of CEOs in the textile and fashion industry at the Textile Center in Seoul on Jan. 7.
Minister Yoon told 19 CEOs and experts in the industry that the government appreciated the achievements of the industry last year to export $15.9 billion worth of textile and fashion products, despite the difficult conditions for the industry including reduced demand due to an economic slowdown around the world. The title of the New Year’s event read, “the Prospect for the Textile and Fashion Industry and the Policy Direction” and also “Wearable Device and Fashion Industry Fusion.” About 300 people from government, the National Assembly, textile related organizations, and research institutes on fashion, university professors and journalists participated in the New Year’s affair.
Prospects for the industry this year appear not too be bright, with the EU and newly emerging nations experiencing a slowdown in their economies, although the U.S. economy looks bright, the minister said.
The top trade government official said Korea has the potential to wisely overcome the tough times and he is sure the difficulties can be beaten with creative ideas and segregated, high value-added strategies, which will be needed this year more than any other.
Yoon urged the industry to boost the self reform of its operational structure and explore the market in S.E. Asia in cooperation with “Hallyu,” or the Korean entertainment fad sweeping the region, including China, S.E. Asia and other newly emerging nations in the region. The minister hoped that the industry would be able to export $16.4 billion worth of its products this year.
He noted wearable device as a blue ocean, with watch and eye glasses mixed with textile fabrics requiring creativity for fashion design, with trends in the industry changing fast.
The industry wanted the government to help with the modernization of the dye industry, the expansion of the use of carbon textiles in the auto and aviation industries, and come up with a solution to the manpower shortage in the industry, among others. Yoon promised the ministry’s support to solve the problems in cooperation with other government ministries where needed, so that the industry would not have to suffer from the problems.
Toray, Uniqlo and Zara are some of the big-name companies that have been thriving, but you can also see many medium-and small-sized textile and fashion firms that have been going strong both at home and abroad, Sung said.
There are always factors for dangers and opportunities when the market changes for the textile industry. You have to explore the world market with cool eyes where competition is unlimited, the chairman said.
From the global point of view, demand would not expand in a big way, but you can always expand the production easily in this age of many changes. In a nutshell, supply is much bigger than the demand in the global textile market, Sung stressed.
In this context, the competition in price, quality, design and service cannot be avoided for textile and fashion companies, the chairman said.
They should collect manpower and material resources effectively to build a value chain to manufacture competitive products, explore sales channels and satisfy buyers — ultimately consumers so market share continues to expand in a market that is very limited for growth, Sung said.
KOFOTI will try to solve the problems that cannot be taken care of by the companies through contracts with the government to get administrative support and changes in regulations. “We also would like to ask for positive support and cheers from all the textile and fashion firms,” the KOFOTI chairman said.
