For traditional clothing companies with a huge volume, the past two years are enough to describe the eventful autumn: the emerging D2C model allows consumers to choose more freely online, and the increasingly mature e-commerce giants have further suppressed offline stores to obtain customers, suddenly The epidemic in China has exacerbated this situation. How to break the game under multiple pincers?
In the story of the menswear brand Viktor, we may be able to get some enlightenment from its transformation from the inside out.
Open stores specifically for young people, sponsor the Chinese biathlon national team, launch red-label and blue-label series for different consumers, and use smart technology to achieve "one person, one version" measurement... Regardless of product development or brand marketing, this tradition Of apparel companies are expanding their voices through a series of changes. Cai Changxian, the founder of Victor, hopes to build up a self-confidence in clothing culture, in his words: to create a "new elephant" for Chinese men.
Cai Changxian, founder of VICUTU brand and chairman of Beijing Gray Fashion Technology Co., Ltd.
Only do one thing in thirty years
Suits have always been the craft ceiling in the field of men's clothing: it takes more than 150 processes to make a jacket, but a most common suit requires more than 300, and the elegant one needs about 500. But as a western foreign product, suits do not seem to be tailor-made for Asians.
But a Wenzhou native named Cai Changxian discovered this problem as early as the 1980s. At that time, he decided that he only wanted to do one thing well in the second half of his life: to make a suit suitable for the Asian body shape, and to make a suit of the Chinese.
Cai Changxian is no different from the Wenzhou businessman in people's mind: shrewd, capable and gentle. What may be slightly different is that even in the dog days of summer in Beijing, he still maintains the most decent dress-the shirt buttons are buttoned to the top, and the trousers are flat without wrinkles. What Cai Changxian wears is his own product. Special fabrics can solve the pain points of frequent ironing of suits. This is also the part that Cai Changxian is most proud of. What's in my heart."
For the Chinese, whether tailoring fits and whether the ready-made garment is easy to take care of are two basic issues. Therefore, unlike most domestic apparel companies who choose to use foundries, Cai Changxian built a factory by himself.
From Sanluju in Beijing to Daxing, and now to a comprehensive factory that integrates design, fabric processing and garment manufacturing in Hengshui, Hebei, the production lines are increasingly meeting Cai Changxian's demanding requirements for suits. "Raw materials, design, technology, production, each link needs to be respected in order to make a good suit. Only by integrating the upstream and downstream-design knows the choice of fabrics, and technology can realize the design, and at the same time it must be suitable for industrial production. For productivity, only in this way can a complete closed loop be formed."
VICUTU Wei Ke Duo Hebei Hengshui Production Center
In this era of Internet marketing where the concept is prevalent and traffic is king, Cai Changxian's business model has given us some inspiration. He believes that assets are irrelevant, and only a solid foundation can produce a high-quality product. And whether the limited resources can be used to generate value is the way to solve all business problems.
Changes in Chinese Men's Clothing
Over the past 30 years, the aesthetics of Chinese men has also undergone an earth-shaking change. In the 1980s, people dressed loose and fat to avoid personal symbolization; in the 1990s, people began to imitate the West, and more self-cultivating European formal wear came into people's vision; and in 2000, the casual and concise style from the Silicon Valley of the United States was all the rage. This also allowed Cai Changxian and Victor to go smoothly before 2010. Cai Changxian believes that the aesthetics at the time was very tolerant, so "every market segment has a lot of profit."
However, since around 2015, with the improvement of the quality of life, blind imitation has gradually turned to more personalized choices. This makes Cai Changxian a little confused. The rising new consumer power is like a turbulent back wave that repeatedly impacts the consumers he was once familiar with. The pain point insight he was proud of is turning into a chasm. Cai Changxian feels that he needs to see what young people want now.
Change has come
"Cultural self-confidence", a concept frequently seen in newspapers in recent years, has given Cai Changxian a lot of inspiration. He believes that to create a new image of Chinese men, self-confidence is especially important. Facing the consumer groups in the new era, Cai Changxian said: "The combination of fashion trends and the integration of Chinese consumption concepts and characteristic culture ultimately determines whether Vecton can become a brand with strong vitality." The internal reforms unfolded quietly. Cai Changxian, who once felt that "good clothes is all about the brand", is taking a new path-he needs to cater to the needs of more consumer levels.
Efficient, convenient, and individual are the major characteristics of young people's consumption. Therefore, Cai Changxian first starts with the brand, divides all the brands of the group into three branches, and provides a set of solutions for the corresponding population. "For high-end customers with customized needs, Gronia can fully meet their picky needs for fabrics and comfort; for white-collar workers with business needs, the more advantageous Vecto brand has further subdivided the blue label. There are two series, the former is traditional and formal, and the latter is younger, more fashionable and energetic. For younger customers, there are also light and attitude Wei Gao brands to choose from."
In May 2020, Victor opened its first large-scale independent store with a red label in Beijing Parkview Green, which integrates avant-garde art and trendy culture. Every consumer who comes to experience can get a complete set of dressing plans from head to toe, one-stop to meet diversified needs. In Cai Changxian’s eyes, every shopping guide is a product expert of Wiktor: “Not only selling clothes, but also a clothing matchmaker. You can recommend corresponding products according to your profession and appearance, so that you can build a long-term relationship with customers. Trust." The opening of the red label store is one of the important measures of the brand based on the transformation of consumer ideas.
RED VICUTU Beijing Qiaofu Fangcaodian Store
Under the trend of enterprise digital transformation, Victor has also increased its investment in technology. As early as 2017, Victor began to use the MTM (Made to Measure) advanced customization system to open up terminal stores, surface accessories suppliers, production technology and customized workshops, and intelligently meet the "one person, one version"; in 2020, with With the advent of the 5G era, it is upgraded to use WeChat applet to take photos to measure the body and match the appropriate version. Cai Changxian's original aspiration remains unchanged-"making a good suit" is still the most important thing, but in the face of new consumer forces, he learns to meet challenges with a constantly changing attitude.
The simple word "learning" is a true portrayal of Cai Changxian's 30-year career in the industry: learning the fabric work of high-end brands, and also learning fast fashion marketing methods. It is the continuous learning that allows Vektor to embrace change. In the coming year, Cai Changxian will continue to devote himself to exploring and creating a "new Chinese male elephant". At that time, Wiktor also signed the China Biathlon National Team, and will further expand its brand influence during the Winter Olympics next year.
The future can be expected
Although last year's epidemic brought some temporary difficulties, with a series of effective reform measures, Victor's performance grew against the trend in the first half of this year. At the 2020 annual meeting, the dancers dressed in Viktor men's clothing to easily complete the difficult dance moves one by one, the fabrics are as smooth as new, without wrinkles. This is a new fabric developed by Victor for those young people who need to run around. In Cai Changxian's view, the long-term development of Vicord still needs to embrace young people and let them feel the changes in the brand.
For the future, Cai Changxian hopes that Victor can develop on a larger scale, create a complete mid-to-high-end ready-to-wear matrix, and cooperate with more international brands, so that Chinese men's clothing can truly have cultural confidence. (Source: "Sanlian Life Weekly" Author: Zhang Chi)
VICUTU 2021 autumn and winter blockbuster
2021 APR Anti-Bacterial Silk Cashmere Sweaters
Anti-Bacterial Silk Cashmere Sweaters,Anti-Bacterial Silk Cashmere Short Sleeves,Anti-Bacterial Silk Cashmere,Silk Cashmere
ZHANGJIAGANG SPLENDID I/E CO.,LTD , https://www.ewscacashmere.com