Apparel And Textile Industry In Austria: Marketing With Creativity, Functionalization And Niche Strategy

Austria's local apparel industry, which has been flourishing for a long time, has mostly gone out of business under the competition of globalization. According to the statistics of the Austria Federation of industry and Commerce (WKO), there are about 130 manufacturers of apparel brands and 7400 employees in Austria. The total turnover in 2018 was about 480 million euro yuan (3% less than last year), and about 70% of its products were exported to Germany, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, France, the United States, Britain, Spain and Russia.

There are 237 textile factories in Austria, employing about 11700 employees. More than 80% of the industry's products are exported, of which 83% are exported to Europe (EU Member States account for 75.46%) and Africa to 10.15%. The embroidery industry of Austria has its own characteristics and excellent quality. It is a major pillar of the textile industry. At present, there are 121 manufacturers of embroidery textiles, most of which are located in the west of Austria, Fra Perben. Special fabric is another pillar of Austria's textile industry. Lenzing, such as "Tencel", is selling well all over the world.

In addition to textiles for garment industry, Austria textile industry has the leading position in Europe in terms of technical textiles, such as protective textiles, industrial textiles, medical textiles, automobiles and aircraft interior textiles. The following are Austria's unique and internationally renowned textile and apparel enterprises:

1.Northland: founded in 1973 in Austria, it is headquartered in Graz, the second largest city in Austria. The company's main products are outdoor leisure sportswear and equipment. Northland is still known as the "domestic market" brand at the end of the century. In 2001, the company pioneers in China to set up outdoor sporting goods and equipment stores in the first place in the world. After that, it gradually established a global reputation. Currently, there are more than 500 branches and counters in China. Northland has branches or distributors in 37 countries around the world. Its main markets are not only in China, but also in Europe, South America and Central Asia. Its products include a wide range of products, including clothing, shoes, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, travelling bags, camping equipment and accessories.

2.Sportalm: the company was founded in 1953. It has been established in the production of ski suit and has been operated for 3 generations. So far, it has developed into three major product lines: snow sports apparel, Austria traditional clothing (Tracht) and fashion apparel. The main function of Sportalm is Kitzb, HL, which is the design, management and marketing center. The production line of the company is distributed in the following countries according to the classification of textile fabrics:

(1) woven fabric: Bulgaria; (2) knitted fabric and sportswear fabric (Jersey): Turkey, Portugal; (3) cowboy cloth: Italy and Turkey.

At present, Sportalm has branches or agents in the 26 countries of the world. Its main revenue comes from fashion, accounting for more than 60% of the total annual business volume of the company. Another Sportalm brand snow sports apparel has been successfully transformed into high priced market blocks, and has a fixed consumer group, which has been making a great leap in the increasingly competitive winter sports apparel industry.