Crisis, coincidences and strategic market behaviour: the internationalization of Indonesian clothing brand-owners

Despite the fact that most Indonesian brand-owners continue to emphasize their marketing activities in the domestic market, several brand-owners have started to export clothing under their own label. This has been particularly the result of the economic crisis in the late 1990s, which affected companies serving the domestic market. Companies were trying to compensate for the loss of sales on the domestic market by redirecting their marketing activities to foreign countries. This export strategy has been driven largely by the sole aim to survive. However, in addition to these export activities, some companies have rather sophisticated, long-standing business relations to their distributors in overseas markets. This paper explores these export activities in the context of the global commodity chain framework.     

海洋科技在21世纪海上丝绸之路建设中的作用

21世纪海上丝绸之路建设在海洋经济活动、海上综合保障等方面对海洋科技领域提出了新命题。在分析我国海洋技术优势领域的基础上,围绕科技创新政策伙伴关系、培育创新品牌、推进海洋经济和产业发展等方面,深入阐述了海洋科技领域在21世纪海上丝绸之路建设中的支撑作用,同时提出具体工作思路。     

Subcultural enterprises,brand value,and limits to financialized growth: The rise and fall of corporate surfing brands

Geographical political economy increasingly scrutinises the socio-spatial contexts for brands and branding. Less understood is the influence of subcultures – neo-tribal groups sharing passions, a leisure pursuit or practice - on enterprise formation and the pathways through which brands emerge, trading on perceived authenticity. Subcultural contexts, we argue, unleash distinctive trajectories of enterprise formation, reputation-building, value-creation, global expansion and accumulation, and ultimately destruction. Here we focus on how particular subcultural values – of authenticity, competition, risk-taking, and active participation in ‘scenes’ – interact with capitalist growth dynamics, and where over time and space such intersections bring brands unstuck. Using the case of surfing subculture and collapse of corporate surf enterprises (Quiksilver, Billabong), we theorise subcultural brand value creation and its interaction with financialized expansion, culminating in destructive contradictions. Subcultural enterprises with ‘authentic’, ‘back-of-the van’ origins convert subcultural values of credibility, localism, risk-taking, and scene participation into brand value. Trading on place-origins and subcultural authenticity, enterprises expanded in two phases. First by widening distribution using specialist ‘surf’ retailers, and second by offshoring production, public floating, and debt-financing brand acquisitions and massive retail expansion. Dictates of shareholders and investment banks spurred market saturation, and high-volume/low-quality goods. Surfing’s cherished insouciance gave way to unhinged expansionism and unmanageable debt. The subcultural authenticity that spawned brand popularity was undermined, amplifying financial risk. Disenchanted consumers who once co-created successful brands also co-destroyed them. As subcultural brands proliferate, geographical political economy must be attentive to subcultures as spawning-grounds for enterprises with accompanying limits to market growth, (dis)connections, and values.     

产品品牌数量对产业集群影响的实证研究——以中国服装产业集群为例

产品品牌作为影响产业集群发展的非标准化特征要素,是内生变量.选择24个服装产业集聚地作为样本,考察集群内产品品牌数量对产业集群发展的影响,发现产品品牌数量对集群的增长和竞争力的提升具有正向作用;然而,进一步研究显示,过多的产品品牌数量也会制约产业集群的发展.最后,对变量进行重新组合后发现,目前中国服装产业集群还处于初级阶段,品牌数量仍旧低于临界值,在品牌培育上需要长期持续不断地付出.