At the beginning of 2026, the industrial research team of the China National Garment Association went deep into the industrial frontline, with its first stop in Xiamen, Fujian. Li Yixi, Secretary-General of the Xiamen Textile and Apparel Chamber of Commerce, received the delegation and took the lead in organizing representatives from well-known enterprises including Xtep Group, Joeone Group, Fugueniao Group, Walker Group, Youjiali Apparel, and Junyi Supply Chain to participate in the research. Relevant leaders from the Consumer Goods Industry Division of the Xiamen Bureau of Industry and Information Technology attended the symposium, gathering to offer suggestions for the development of the industry.
This frontline research on Xiamen’s textile and apparel industrial cluster focused on the actual development of garment enterprises and cutting-edge industry trends. It aimed to provide references for the annual industry economic analysis report and the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as strong support for the high-quality development of the industry.
Breaking Through with Flexible Models, Upgrading the Industry Toward Innovation
Xiamen’s textile, footwear and apparel manufacturing industry has maintained stable performance, providing a solid foundation for local economic growth and making positive contributions to the job market and social stability. Xiamen’s textile and apparel exports show strong resilience, and the port’s supporting role provides efficient logistics support for export products. Nearly 80% of footwear and more than 60% of textile and apparel products in Fujian Province are exported via Xiamen Port.
Favorable policies have injected strong momentum into the industry. In 2025, Xiamen’s textile and apparel industry was officially included in the cultural tourism and fashion sector within the city’s “4+4+6” modern industrial system. Enterprises can enjoy multiple policy benefits, including subsidies for technological transformation, financing interest discounts, digital transformation diagnosis, cloud migration, and chain upgrading.
Against this favorable background, the industry has developed in a clustered, specialized and diversified manner. Siming District has become a brand operation center, while Huli District has formed a highland for the women’s wear industry chain. A three-dimensional brand matrix covering men’s wear, women’s wear, cross-border e-commerce and independent designers has been established across the city.
The small-batch quick-response flexible production model, centered on a “small but beautiful” high-end supply chain, has become a key breakthrough for Xiamen’s textile and apparel industrial cluster. This model can quickly respond to rapidly changing market demands. Literary and artistic products shaped by local culture have gained a large number of loyal consumers in northern China. Meanwhile, Xiamen’s unique port advantages have opened convenient channels for the foreign trade development of the industry.
Despite opportunities, challenges remain. The shortage of professional and technical personnel still restricts the further upgrading of the local textile and apparel industry. In response, the local industry has taken the initiative to enhance competitiveness through exhibition investment promotion and cross-regional cooperation. It is accelerating the integration of 5G, AI and IoT technologies to promote the digital and intelligent upgrading of the entire production process, thereby improving production efficiency and supply chain collaboration capabilities.
Listening to Enterprises, Exploring Solutions Together
At the symposium, representatives from Xtep, Joeone, Fugueniao, Walker, Youjiali, Junyi Supply Chain and other enterprises expressed their concerns. “High return rate” became a frequently mentioned issue.
“The high return rate has led to an exponential increase in inventory, stocking and cost pressures.”
“During major promotion periods, the return rate for women’s wear can even reach 80% to 90%!”
At the same time, Xiamen’s foreign trade enterprises also face considerable challenges in transformation.
“When entering cross-border e-commerce, we found the market already highly competitive, and foreign tax policies often change.”
“Although cross-border e-commerce is relatively better, high platform fees also erode profits.”
Some foreign trade enterprise owners stated frankly that shifting from foreign trade to domestic sales means a comprehensive reshaping of business models, settlement methods and product standards. Although setting up overseas factories to get closer to markets or avoid barriers sounds attractive, practical difficulties such as team management, local policies and cost control often hinder such plans.
To address these problems, Xiamen’s textile and apparel industrial cluster has gradually accumulated practical experience through digitalization, brand building and multi-channel development. Local enterprises have reduced the gap between product display and actual wearing effects by simplifying product descriptions and providing virtual try-on experiences with AI tools, thus lowering return rates from the source. They have increased investment in quality improvement and R&D innovation, moved toward the high-end market, and built independent brands to enhance core competitiveness.
Meanwhile, enterprises have taken the initiative to avoid the “trap” of low-price competition, chosen markets that match their positioning, strengthened cooperation within the industry, and seized opportunities in the “domestic circulation” strategy. In terms of global market layout, they have turned to regions with more competitive prices such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa, selecting suitable overseas markets based on their own conditions.
The fashion consumer goods industry is currently in an important period of development opportunities. National strategic planning and changing consumer demand provide strong impetus for industrial development. Enterprises and industry associations need to work together to promote high-quality development.
From the perspective of industry opportunities, the 15th Five-Year Plan lists consumption as an important national strategy, and governments at all levels will strengthen related promotion, bringing new development opportunities for domestic brands. At the same time, many new trends have emerged in the consumer sector, such as instant consumption, emotional consumption, the silver economy and human-machine symbiosis, which have the potential to nurture new business models. Enterprises can actively seize opportunities brought by changing consumer demands.
Facing the complex and volatile market environment, enterprises must set clear directions and take the initiative to transform. On the one hand, they should grasp certain factors such as national policies and consumer demand as the foundation for high-quality development. On the other hand, they should persist in continuous innovation and refinement, strengthen innovation capabilities, focus on niche markets, accurately meet consumer needs, and further enhance core competitiveness.
Later, the research team visited Xinhe Co., Ltd. to learn about the enterprise’s development and operation. In recent years, Xinhe has focused on product innovation, digital and intelligent system construction, and brand promotion. A series of measures have enabled steady development, and its successful experience provides a useful reference for the industry.
Targeted Policies & Complementary Advantages, Joint Efforts for Common Development
The future high-quality development of Xiamen’s textile and apparel industry cannot be achieved without concerted efforts from policies, associations and enterprises.
On the policy support front, the Xiamen Bureau of Industry and Information Technology will formulate targeted support measures based on enterprise development issues to provide solid support for enterprises to overcome difficulties.
On the platform construction front, the Xiamen Textile and Apparel Chamber of Commerce will continue to act as a bridge. It will organize enterprises to participate in key domestic and international exhibitions as a group, promoting the industrial cluster to “go global” to expand markets. It will also strive to host large-scale industry events in Xiamen to build a high-level platform for exchanges and cooperation for local enterprises.
Enterprises will further strengthen mutual cooperation, explore more opportunities for collaboration, and achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages. Cross-border e-commerce enterprises will continue to expand markets, focus on brand building and digital transformation, and enhance the market competitiveness of products.
The China National Garment Association will continue to pay attention to practical issues of local industrial clusters, promote the introduction of relevant national policies, and effectively solve
common problems in the development of the industry.
