The rise in oil prices led the first-line fashion goods to rise

In early April 2011, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Libya, and Nass 4's daily chemical products under the brand's daily price increase ranged from 5% to 15%. The reason is: The price of oil has risen. Later, due to the intervention of the National Development and Reform Commission, the price turmoil was temporarily suspended. In fact, as early as the beginning of this year, high-end cosmetics and skin care products brands have experienced a wave of price increases, Chanel, L'Oreal and many other brands have about 10% gains. How does oil price increase affect the fashion ecology and further affect the business landscape?

Many luxury brands have risen recently. Louis Vuitton has increased prices by 3%-5% across the board from March 1. According to Chanel's Beijing store clerk, Chanel also raised prices from April 28th. Subsequently, the reporter called the Chanel (China) Public Relations Department, according to the relevant person in charge, only some of the classic handbags have a price adjustment, and explained: "As with other luxury brands, we will periodically based on exchange rate changes, production and raw material costs and other factors, To assess and adjust the price of handbags.” As of April 28, 2011, Brent crude oil closed at $125.02 a barrel and continued to look bullish. Oil and fashion, seemingly far away, are inextricably linked.

Fashion products rely on petroleum by-products

"If you want to understand the impact of oil on the fashion industry, we must first understand how a piece of clothing is formed," said Gong Xiao, associate professor of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Clothing. “Clothes can be classified into two types: chemical fiber and fiber. Natural fibers include cotton wool and hemp. This part does not exceed 30%; the rest are chemical fiber materials, that is, petroleum derivatives, which can be basically divided into polyester, Spandex, nylon and vinylon. Oil prices directly affect the price of chemical fiber."

Dr. Pan Xiaoming, director of the Expert Committee of the China International Beauty and Cosmetics Industry Federation, used conventional creams as an example to show the dependence of cosmetics on petroleum by-products. They include water items (deionized water) and oil items needed for making creams (except for some natural use. In addition to vegetable oils and animal oils, mineral oils and preservatives are widely used.

“If we go to buy a T-shirt and find it is easier to fade than before, we can understand this way: In order to reduce costs, manufacturers use cheaper dyes,” Gong said. In fact, after the price increase of cosmetics and daily chemical products, the apparel industry’s price increase is not obvious. “This is because the apparel industry is generally an order-based operation and is sensitive to price lag. By the second half of this year, raw material pressures will be able to increase. Passed to the apparel terminal retail sector.” Even so, the tide of price increases has already appeared in the apparel sector. Xu Zhida, the chief operating officer of the sports brand Peak, introduced that in March, cotton yarn prices rose by 80% year-on-year, polyester rose by 20%, and raw material supply costs in 2011. The average annual increase will be 15%, the fabric cost will account for 60% of the total cost, and the price increase is inevitable.

“Whether it is clothing or cosmetics, it requires a strong logistics. Now that the price of oil has risen, the logistics cost has been rising. This is also a factor that causes the terminal prices to rise,” Dr. Pan Xiaoming said.

"Natural" did not evade oil

Many people believe that wearing a natural-looking fabric and choosing cosmetic-free cosmetic products without mineral oil can reduce dependence on oil, and that it is "natural, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon". This is just a commercial excuse. The cultivation of cotton requires a large amount of fertilizers and pesticides. These are all dependent on oil. Many chemical additives are also used in the cotton processing industry, and industrial production is bound to use more petroleum power. Gong Yu said, “A kilogram of cotton needs 10 kilograms of chemical additives.” More importantly, saving natural fiber means saving land resources.

In the field of cosmetics, “natural, non-additive” is just a corner of the business. Dr. Pan Xiaoming said that it is impossible to achieve “natural” in the cosmetics industry. “Cosmetics require a lot of mineral oil, preservatives are everywhere, and most of the packaging is glass, except for glass metal.”

【influences】

Retail practice can avoid the impact of rising prices

According to Liu Bing, a senior commercial observer, the commercial department store industry will be the beneficiary of rising oil prices. With its flexible sales methods, the commercial retail sector can avoid the pressure of rising oil prices. At the same time, the commercial department store industry will become the protagonist of expanding domestic demand. .

Hong Tao, a professor at Beijing Technology and Business University, believes that price increases and declines are the norm in the business sector. In a market economy circulation field, what is more noticeable is the subtle changes in the consumer psychology of consumption because of rising basic expenditures. “A lot of product prices in the consumer and consumer sectors have objectively restrained the consumption of the residents. With the increase in income, the increase in expenditure has made people's consumption rational and cautious.”