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The number of products marked “Made in China” is growing annually. China is the world’s top exporter of goods in many industries including Fashion & Beauty. A couple of decades ago, manufacturing in the Celestial Empire was synonymous with low-cost, poor-quality products. Today, both mass-market manufacturers and luxury brands are moving their production facilities to China.
What made the Celestial Empire exporter number one in the world? How can Chinese business partners be reliable despite their cultural differences with westerners? To find out, we spoke with Anastasiya Vysotskaya, the Head of the AsstrA Fashion & Beauty Department.
Anastasia, what logistics solutions does AsstrA offer to support the delivery of fashion & beauty products from China to the CIS and Europe?
Our customers in the fashion and beauty industry can benefit from a full range of logistics services. The In addition to door-to-door delivery, our team provides direct-to-shelf deliveries for fashion retailers with on- site loading and unloading in shopping centers.
Fashion industry players – with “fast fashion” brands in particular – need to be able to bring goods to market quickly. Have you observed any trends regarding the organization of transport and logistics processes for fashion items?
Fashion retailers are looking for a reasonable balance between speed and delivery cost. In Europe, there is noticeable interest in accelerated-speed trains from China. Railway delivery is cheaper than express transportation via air. At the same time, transportation by accelerated-speed container trains is faster than sea transport, which is the cheapest option. Delivery speed and cost are two fundamental aspects to consider when choosing transportation modes.
And safety would be the third fundamental aspect. How safe are shipments via accelerated-speed container trains?
Each country’s regulations are the key factors in how goods are exported from China. The Celestial Empire, the CIS, and the European Union all have different requirements regarding the transport of dangerous goods. For example, loose pigments, which are used to manufacture cosmetic products, may not be shipped by rail in the PRC because they are highly flammable. Therefore, the AsstrA team uses combined schemes with road delivery to a Chinese port, sea delivery to the Port of Vladiovostok, and from there by rail to our clients in Russia.
China is a primary source of sewing industry materials. Have you noticed changes in Chinese textile good supply chains? Have they been affected by trade wars or other complications?
China remains a key wholesale supplier of materials to sewing companies in the fashion industry. Yes, there is a demand for transportation from India or Bangladesh, but the volumes are small compared to those from China. The PRC’s well-developed infrastructure the supportive export policy of the Chinese authorities remain the determining factors here. In addition, the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire quickly adapt to change. For example, on March 1, 2020, a law will come into force requiring that goods with Russian DataMatrix shoe codes be labeled and chipped. Chinese businesses have already added this service to their offerings.
The AsstrA corporate group develops transportation solutions connecting the world’s leading Chinese manufacturers to growing businesses in the EU and CIS.