According to Bloomberg, the assets and liabilities listed by MUJI in the United States range from US$ 5 million to US$ 1 million, and the reason why it can't survive is not only that the rapid development of e-commerce affects revenue, but also the heavy rent pressure caused by the choice of opening a large storefront in a prime location in order to improve brand awareness. The epidemic situation made the shops unable to operate, which was the "last straw" to be crushed, so they had no choice but to go bankrupt and reorganize. Other overseas companies of MUJI are not affected.
This is a wake-up call for local fashion brands preparing to sail to the United States. Will the commercial hegemony of the United States eventually lose to borderless, remote-operated and low-cost online marketing?
In this epidemic, more than 11 companies in the United States have formally submitted bankruptcy applications to the courts, which is the fastest surge since 213; The financial and economic circles are not optimistic, pointing out that if the inflection point of the epidemic continues in the foreseeable future, the situation may become even more tragic, and even an "avalanche" crash may occur, which is more serious than the global financial tsunami in 28. Department stores and classic brands are only the first victims who can't open their doors, and the global economy may face another tsunami.
in the past ten years, H&; The fast fashion group led by M, Zara and Primark has expanded rapidly in the world, and Zara CEO from Spain has won the title of the richest man in the world because of the global spread of online stores.
in 22, under the rush of the epidemic, the major issues of fast fashion, such as racism, anti-environmentalism and class, have been highlighted in the fashion world as never before.
after the epidemic situation heated up, large retailers canceled billions of dollars in orders, which also created some factories in poor countries with agricultural power as the mainstay, and workers could not get wages, so foreign trade export orders were reduced or exempted.
fast fashion brands rely on people's excessive consumption, and new products are put on the shelves every week. Due to the epidemic, they have to slow down and make adjustments.
but the problem of fast fashion is unlikely to be solved in a short time. Experts predict that retailers will release more discounts to get rid of the large inventory created by the closure of stores when they are quarantined. "Inevitably, we will also see a large number of clothes with extremely favorable prices, because stores have lost profits for a whole season," said Orsola de Castro, co-founder of the advocacy group Fashion Revolution***. "But we all know that the production process of cheap fashion is immoral and unsustainable.
Only a million people reported the fast fashion giants in India. boohoo Group, which holds the largest proportion of social media such as Facebook and IG at present, fell into a sweatshop crisis because the factory was still open during the epidemic, and its market value fell by 1.3 billion overnight.
In the UK, a report of the Clean Clothes Campaign accused Boohoo, an online fast fashion retail group, of exposing factory workers to Covid-19 risks. The group responded that they "will not tolerate any incidents that do not meet the epidemic prevention regulations, especially the treatment of workers in the supply chain."
Because of the large-scale cancellation of orders by brands, manufacturers can't pay their salaries, leaving millions of garment workers unemployed. I believe this situation often happens in China's manufacturing-oriented factories.
According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, more than $3.18 billion of orders were cancelled or shelved in this country alone, and other garment producing countries such as India, Cambodia and Myanmar were also affected. "The situation is really grim," Kalpona Akter, executive director of Bangladesh Center for Workers' Solidity, told the media in April. "No salary means no food, not to mention medical care and other expenses.
To solve this problem, Remake launched the PayUp campaign in April, urging brands to pay the order fees in full. The petition now has nearly 2, signatures, and well-known supporters include models Amber Valletta, Cameron Russell and Arizona Muse. Barenblat said: "Garment workers are the backbone of this industry, and at a time when the actions of COVID-19 and brands have disproportionately impacted their livelihood, we should hold the industry accountable.
According to Remake's follow-up, H&; Brands such as M, Zara and ASOS have agreed to pay the order in full, but brands such as Primark and Topshop under Arcadia Group have not expressed their views. However, Primark did launch a fund to help garment workers. "In April, we set up a salary fund to ensure that workers get the salary of products in production as soon as possible-more than $2 million has been paid so far," said a Primark spokesman, adding that they "are committed to absorbing 37 million pounds of completed and/or production orders. Arcadia said that it is still "continuously discussing" the cancelled orders with suppliers.
At the same time, thousands of workers in Cambodia and other countries lost their jobs in the epidemic, which made them unable to make ends meet. Some factories have reopened in the past few months, but garment workers have reported that these places are at risk of infection.
The discussion on racial justice triggered by the activities of black life in Europe and America also highlights that the fast fashion model relies too much on the exploitation of colored women (about 8% of garment workers are women).
allowing workers to form trade unions is another step that brands can take. "unionization can make the voice of garment workers heard," de Castro said. "Under the trade union structure, workers can be better protected in case of unpaid orders.
The brand itself can also lobby governments around the world to provide better social security for garment workers. "These companies usually force labor laws that fail to protect workers," Barenblat commented. "What we really need is a safety net for workers; Social security, medical services. In addition to the treatment of workers, fast fashion brands must also rediscover the business model that relies on quantity to make prices. At present, about 15 billion pieces of clothing are produced every year, and 87% of the raw materials used in clothing will eventually be buried or cremated.
"The reality is that an overgrown system will not bring prosperity," de Castro said. "Because of the deterioration of the environment, the human exploitation and humiliation faced by people in the low-cost fashion supply chain is a level that we should face squarely.
although it is the responsibility of brands to promote systematic change, we all have our own roles to play. De Castro said: "Consumer awareness is powerful; Consumers refuse to pay for this system, and it is an important counter-force to question the brand behavior with citizens. You can directly ask the brand who made your clothes and support athletes such as PayUp to donate to the fund to help garment workers. You can also try to buy second-hand clothes and prolong the life of existing clothes in the wardrobe.
COVID-19 has given many people a chance to think about the importance of things, and experts believe that consumer behavior is expected to change for a long time.
in the future, retailers will provide clothes with reasonable prices, sustainable and ethical production.