China’s leading textile and apparel enterprise, Yageer Group, recently released its annual report for 2024, showing a nearly 20% year-on-year decrease in net profit. Both revenue and profit in the fashion sector experienced declines, while real estate business also exhibited a downward trend. This marks the fourth consecutive year of declining net profit for Yageer.
According to the announcement, Yageer’s total operating income in 2024 stood at 14.188 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 2.767 billion yuan. This represents a decrease of 666 million yuan compared to the previous year and a 19.41% decrease year-on-year. The company’s net cash flow from operating activities was 1.546 billion yuan, down by 76.37% year-on-year.
Yageer explained that its core business is focused on the fashion industry, primarily branded clothing, with other businesses including real estate development and investments. In 2024, the low consumer confidence index in China and intensified retail market competition posed challenges.
In 2024, the fashion sector of Yageer achieved operating revenue of 6.799 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 431 million yuan. Factors such as sluggish consumer recovery and increased investment-related expenses led to respective year-on-year decreases of 6.94% and 43.90%.
In response to these challenges, Yageer increased investments in branding and expanded offline channels. In 2024, the acquisition of InCity Department Store was completed to enhance its fashion ecosystem.
The growth rate of per capita clothing consumption expenditure in China slowed in 2024, with demand for non-functional leisurewear particularly weak. Despite efforts to attract young consumers through a multi-brand strategy in sports and outdoor sectors, the main brand YOUNGOR struggled to generate revenue growth, failing to reverse the decline in the fashion sector. Additionally, the decline in real estate business revenue further weighed down overall performance, indicating the limitations of its diversification strategy in the current economic environment.
Since the outbreak of the US-China trade war in 2018, the Chinese clothing industry has faced significant challenges. Industry experts believe that the trade war not only raised export barriers but also accelerated the shift of the global clothing supply chain to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America. Countries like Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh, with their cost advantages, have attracted international brand orders, gradually eroding China’s market share in the global market. Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises are under dual pressures of rising raw material prices and labor costs, further squeezing profit margins.