Research Of Transformation And Upgrading Strategies Of Chinese Apparel Enterprises On "smile Curve" Theory

In the last30years’ development after the reform and opening, China’s apparel industry has become an important manufacturing base for global apparel. However, most of China’s apparel enterprises are engaged in low-end processing link, the design and marketing ability of which are weak. What these enterprises provide are low value-added products with low profits and they still linger in the low side of apparel industry’s value chain. So far, transforming and upgrading have beenthe main topic in the development of China’s apparel industry and transforming China form a big apparel country to a powerful apparel country has been the wish of many business owners.This paper mainly discusses on the problem how China’s apparel enterprises canrise to the two ends of value chain. Through the research on China’s apparel development history in modern times, we can see that China’s apparel industry has been in a situation of passive structural adjustment. In this situation, both the entering of externalcompetition and the lacking in external demand will affect the scope of China’s apparel manufacturing industry while the digging of internal market and the attraction of the profits of high value-added link will both promote apparel industry’s structural adjustment; Through the research on “Smiling Curve” theory, we can make a conclusion that only by strengthening the integrating ability of the two links--design research anddevelopment and brand marketing can China’s apparel enterprises achieve the rise ofvalue chain; only by increasing the input of technology, human resource, fund and time can China’s apparel enterprises gain high added value and high profit. This process won’t happen overnight, the rewards won’t be gained after a long-term experience and development. Through the research on Italian, Japanese and other countries’ apparel industry, we can conclude that the making of powerful apparel country must be ledby strong culture, which is affected by many elements, such as social economy develo pment, social culture and arts, people’s cultural cultivation, etc. The characteristic of strong apparel culture are the appearance of many famous brands and the approval ofmarket; the investigation in apparel industry and the analysis of current economic situation show the current difficulty and the transforming and upgrading method. As China’s environment can’t afford the longperiod extensive and inefficient development model, the transforming and upgrading of apparel enterprises need the support of national policy and finance; through the practice in apparel industry, the writer knows the detailed process and operation details of brand positioning, product planning and designplanning. Besides, the writer knows that perfecting mature design development process needs continual modification by analyzing apparel enterprises’ transforming and upgrading cases.The upgrading of China’s apparel industry is a enormous and systemic project. At the same time, industry development is closely interrelated to many complex elements such as social economy and culture, technology progress, human and culture accomplishment, etc. Only by continuous success of China’s apparel enterprises can China be made a strong apparel country ultimately.