Textile and garment businesses successfully weather the storm.

Good management, the application of modern technology, and especially the willingness to invest in developing new products with high risks have helped some textile and garment businesses successfully weather the storm.

They escaped danger, but not thanks to luck.

Speaking at a press conference on the business performance of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group in 2024, Mr. Cao Huu Hieu, General Director of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group, said that the fact that the Vietnamese textile and garment industry achieved an export turnover of 44 billion USD in 2024 was partly due to good fortune.

When Bangladesh – a competitor in Vietnam's textile and garment exports – experienced political instability, many partners shifted orders out of that country. Vietnam, with its skilled workforce, experience, and long-standing reputation in garment manufacturing, was able to secure these orders. As a result, many domestic textile and garment businesses, including members of the Group, have been fully booked from July to December 2024.

Mr. Cao Huu Hieu - General Director of Vietnam Textile and Garment Group. Photo: Vinatex

It wouldn't be wrong to say it was luck, because in the first half of the year, domestic textile and garment businesses were still "stuck" in a situation of sparse orders. As the leader of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group said, some businesses were forced to restructure their products to maintain production.

However, not all businesses are fortunate enough to receive orders from Bangladesh, because these are basic orders that companies investing in the production of high-end, fashion products like May 10 and Hoa Tho will not be able to take advantage of.

Although not blessed with "good fortune," the textile industry in 2024 saw a significant transformation. Specifically, the textile industry group only incurred losses of about 10% compared to 2023, an absolute figure of approximately 100 billion VND. Mr. Hieu noted that, most notably, while the textile industry suffered losses, some units still made profits. These are all businesses with good management, established brands, and, importantly, have invested in researching new, differentiated products 5-7 years ago, launching them in 2024 and gaining market acceptance.

“ Phu Bai Yarn Joint Stock Company has been researching yarn products from recycled materials since 2016-2017. After many failures, this type of yarn has now become a high-value product for the company, ” Mr. Hieu explained, giving an example.

Distinctive, green, and fast.

Differentiation requires businesses to have strategic thinking, even accepting large short-term investments and no revenue to develop products.

For the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group, this mindset has also yielded positive results, with the company launching a new product development center in July 2024. This center is something the Group has long envisioned, aligning with its "one-stop shop" strategy for product development, from design to completion.

“ Although the center has been operating for a short time, it has already secured major customers who placed orders in 2024 and are continuing negotiations for orders in 2025. Hopefully, building on this success, the Group will continue to invest in more new product development centers for the yarn industry in 2025, ” Mr. Hieu said.

Producing new products with diverse components, coupled with green manufacturing practices, helps textile and garment businesses conquer the market. (Illustrative image)

He also stated that the textile industry will lose out if it doesn't research and produce new, differentiated products in line with green and circular trends. Conventional products have faced fierce competition in the last two years, especially in the Chinese market, and may even be uncompetitive on price. The industry must develop products with more components, using recycled cotton as a raw material.

" The key here is speed; if we're not quick, other competitors will offer this product first ," the leader of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group emphasized.

It is known that, in addition to its new product development center, last year the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group explored new, niche markets with special, high-tech products such as fire-resistant fabrics and clothing, and researched and developed new types of filament core yarns and blended yarns. Fire-resistant fabrics and clothing are the Group's expected products for 2025, with projected export revenue of approximately 4 million USD.

Although research and development of new and differentiated products are ongoing, many experts believe they cannot be linked to green production trends and sustainable growth.

In fact, over the years, textile and garment businesses have adapted very well to this trend. Specifically for the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group, 100% of its yarn factories use renewable energy, all raw materials from cotton have green certifications and traceability, and water is reused… Regarding production equipment, in addition to modern technology, the company pays close attention to energy consumption, because yarn production consumes a considerable amount of electricity.

Thus, it can be seen that for the textile and garment industry in general, or the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group in particular, developing in a green direction combined with differentiation is the right orientation and has been somewhat proven. However, with limited internal capacity, especially lacking important foundations in raw materials, high-quality human resources, textile and garment businesses still face many difficulties on the path towards mastering the supply chain.

To achieve this, as Mr. Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association, shared, the efforts of businesses alone are not enough; it requires the joint efforts of state management agencies in policy making. In particular, policy stability is crucial to help businesses feel secure in investing and developing.

Producing products with diverse and distinctive features and components to conquer the market is the goal of promising textile and garment businesses. However, this journey requires not only capital but also speed, therefore timely support from policies is essential.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/doanh-nghiep-det-may-vuot-song-thanh-cong-368235.html