The strongest cold wave weather since the beginning of winter has hit, not only bringing a sensory experience of “winter overnight”, but also a visual feast of “thousands of pear trees in bloom”.
As a textile person, this cold wave has brought a different kind of warmth. According to the Securities Times, on November 30, takeaway sales of down jackets across the country increased by more than 440% from the previous month, and the sales growth rate in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, which ushered in the first snow, was even more significant, with an average growth rate of about 680%. Among them, Shanghai’s growth rate exceeded 10 times, Jiangsu Province’s growth rate exceeded 728%, and Zhejiang Province’s growth rate exceeded 311%.
What can the surge in sales of down jackets bring to upstream fabric companies?
Down jacket “favorite” channel fabric, sales increase
The cold wave has arrived, announcing the official entry of winter. In winter in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the outdoor temperature remains in single digits for a long time. If there are rainy days again, in order to resist the cold with “magic attacks”, clothing with strong cold resistance will become the best choice for consumers.
As one of the preferred fabrics for down jackets, channel fabric has always been favored by apparel companies. Channel fabrics are mostly made of polyester yarn and are double-layered with machine stitching and weaving in the middle. Because there are channels in the middle of the fabric, it is called channel fabric.
The reason why channel fabric has become the “darling” of down jackets is because of its excellent breathability. Since the fabric has its own channels, it is easier for consumers to conduct the heat vapor emitted from the body to the outside of the down jacket when wearing it, thereby improving the dressing experience.
A down jacket fabric company said that channel fabric has always been popular among brand owners. Well-known domestic brands such as Jiangnan Buyi and Bosideng order this kind of fabric every year, and it is mainly used to produce mid-to-high-end series of down jackets. This year’s abnormal temperatures have weakened customers’ willingness to place orders, and the intensity of stocking is different from previous years. Temperature changes have become a key factor affecting order volume. The last time sales increased significantly was during the National Day. This cold wave has also brought a boost to fabric sales. Since the end of November, although large orders for channel fabrics have been rare, there have been basically no interruptions in small batch orders, which is a relief!
It can be seen that although the terminal demand continues to be weak and difficult to improve, textile companies can still take advantage of the short-term surge in demand caused by the sudden drop in temperature, and there may be unexpected surprises!
Average polyester taffeta, poor sales
After talking about the popular varieties, let’s take a look at the sales of regular varieties of polyester taffeta.
According to monitoring data from Silkdu.com, as of December 2, the gray fabric inventory of weaving companies in the sample was about 38.2 days. As the company’s order volume improved slightly, the gray fabric inventory stopped the upward trend and maintained a stable state.
As can be seen from the picture above, the overall performance of gray fabrics in 2022 can be called “smooth” compared with previous years. Under such a current situation, the survival pressure of mediocre polyester taffeta is evident.
A certain polyester taffeta company analyzed that since the end of 2020, polyester taffeta seems to have been “insulated” from hot-selling products. Analyzing the reasons, firstly, as the most common variety in the fabric market, the polyester taffeta sold on the market can be said to be almost the same. Homogenization is serious, and with the extreme imbalance of supply and demand, it is not easy to maintain stable sales; secondly, although the arrival of the cold wave has boosted the sales of down jackets, the amount of polyester taffeta used as a gallbladder fabric is limited. In the face of huge market inventory, this kind of volume is not worth mentioning at all, and it is understandable that sales are inferior to other varieties; finally, because most people are not optimistic about the market outlook, “selling at a loss”, “clearing stocks at low prices”, etc. There is a constant stream of news, and the price of “involution” has also suppressed the enthusiasm of polyester taffeta to sell goods to a certain extent.
Although the cold wave is slightly less powerful in boosting conventional fabrics, it is still enough for companies to consume a wave of inventory. It is very difficult to escape the dilemma of oversupply without sustained positive support.
Postscript:
The sharp cooling weather has caused a surge in consumers’ demand for warmth. The sales of warm clothing, warm bedding and other cold-proof products have once again become popular, setting off a warm economic boom. Affected by this, the textile market has received varying degrees of boost, and it has also brought confidence to textile people who are looking forward to the market recovery. After all, “Winter is coming, can spring be far behind?”
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