The information provided in this section is derived from various public and private publications. This information has not been prepared or independently verified by the Company, the Vendors, the Directors, the Sponsors, Guotai Junan Securities, the Financial Advisor, the Underwriters or their respective affiliates or advisers. The Directors believe that leather accessories such as belts and small leather goods can be classified under the accessories market which is highly fragmented and competition is intense. According to Market Research.com, the structure of the global market is undergoing rapid change, with Asia now tanning most of the leather products in the world, much of the expansion being at the expense of tanning industries of the western Europe. Asia is also responsible for a rapidly increasing portion of the world s production of finished leather goods. Hong Kong leather accessories market Overview There is a cluster of leather goods manufacturers in Hong Kong and most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which predominantly produce and export on an OEM basis for leading brands in North America, Western Europe and Japan. The products they produced range widely from footwear, travel goods, handbags, wallets, briefcases, clothing, gloves, mittens, belts and other miscellaneous fashion accessories. With high quality products, flexibility, quick-turn production, sensitivity to changing fashion trends and ability to meet customer specifications, Hong Kong is widely attractive to and viewed by overseas customers as an important sourcing center for leather consumer goods. Indeed, Hong Kong s leather consumer goods manufacturers are competent in using different accessories to add value and enhance the styles of their products. In view of the rising operation costs in Hong Kong, a majority of the local manufacturers have shifted their manufacturing bases to the PRC while their offices in Hong Kong will focus on product design and development, engineering, modeling, tooling and quality control. The statistics below shows the features of leather consumer goods industry with production facilities in Hong Kong: No. of establishments 117 (manufacturing) March 21 4,257 (import and export) December 2 Employment 661 (manufacturing) March 21 19,518 (import and export) December 2 Gross Output (1999) Value Added (1999) HK$278 million HK$72 million Hong Kong Trade Development Council * Industry statistics refer to production in Hong Kong only 31
Productwise, exports of other leather clothing accessories, which usually include belts and other small leather goods, remain strong. As the chart below shows, although this category only makes up 3.9% of the total leather consumer goods, it has been rising year-on-year by 25% in the first eight months of 21, the highest growth rate among all other categories of leather consumer goods. Growth of leather consumer goods exports by product categories % Growth 7 % Growth 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 16 23 25 3 2 1 1 Year -1-1 -2 Footwear 1999 2 Jan-Aug 21 Other leather clothing accessories Handbags, Trunks, Suitcases Apparel Gloves, Mittens, Mitts -2 Hong Kong Trade Development Council Exporting markets While Hong Kong leather goods manufacturers export most of their products overseas, almost all of the exports are re-exported from the PRC. The Directors believe that this is attributable to the situation that many Hong Kong manufacturers have relocated their manufacturing bases to the PRC. According to statistics in the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, re-exports of leather goods amounted to approximately 99.6% of the total exports of leather consumer goods from Hong Kong among which approximately 96.3% were originated from the PRC during the period from January to August 21. Total exports and re-exports from the PRC grew by 12% and 13% respectively in 2. The top three exporting countries of leather consumer goods from Hong Kong are US, Japan and Canada for year 2 with US being Hong Kong s leading export destination for leather consumer goods. For the first eight months of 21, US contributed around 64% of the total export value. The three exporting markets experienced strong growth of 13%, 27% and 16%, respectively in 2. The chart below shows the top ten exporting countries of leather consumer goods from Hong Kong during the period from January to August 21. 32
Top exporting countries of leather consumer goods from Hong Kong (January August 21) % of total exports 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Other countries Singapore South Korea France Australia Germany Netherlands United Kingdom Canada Japan US Hong Kong Trade Development Council Demand from the US In addition, the US market demand for leather belts made from the PRC is also huge. According to US Census Bureau, the PRC was also the largest importer of belts in the US market, accounting for approximately 52.9% of the total value of leather belts imported by the US in 21. The Japanese leather goods market As Japan has been the largest market of the Group, the Directors believe that the demand for leather goods in Japan is essential for the Group s profitability. Recent trends in the leather goods market in Japan show that the growth prospect of the market is promising. 33
Resurgence in leather goods imports According to JETRO, leather goods, which once had a distinctive luxury image in Japan, have already become an entrenched symbol of fashions among young adults today and this market is growing considerably. Although the market suffered from a slump in mid 199s as a result of the economic downturn, 1999 witnessed a dramatic increase in popularity among young adults of casual leatherwear imported from the PRC. In fact, imports of leather goods by Japan had surged by approximately 3 times in 1999 and the momentum carried forward to 2 during which the leather goods imports doubled in volume with a total value amounted to Y=36. billion. Leather goods imports fell by 24.3% on a volume basis in 21 from the year before, to 4.8 million garments (339,418 dozen units). However, the slide in unit prices came to a halt, and on a value basis imports actually rose by 5.1%, to Y=37.9 billion. Japan s leather goods imports ( million) (dozen) 4, 5, 3, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 21 Value Volume Japan Exports and Imports/JETRO 34
Imports by place of origin The leading exporters of leather goods to Japan are the PRC and South Korea, with import share of 66.3% and 17.6% respectively. Imports from the PRC have risen spectacularly as its volume has grown by 1 times in just two years (1998 2). A substantial portion of the imports from the PRC consist of the socalled development imports (manufactured overseas to a Japanese company s specifications and imported the finished products into Japan). Imports from the PRC sank by 23.3% in 21 to 224,884 dozen units, but other exporters endured even more precipitous declines, so the PRC s import share on a volume basis actually increased. And since average unit prices increased, the PRC s import share recorded a solid gain on a value basis. The charts below show the leading exporters of leather goods to Japan: PRINCIPAL EXPORTERS OF LEATHER GOODS TO JAPAN Trends in import volume by leading exporters (dozen units) 35, 3, 25, 2, China 15, 1, 5, South Korea 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 21 (year) Japan Exports and Imports/JETRO Share of leather goods imports in Japan in 21 (value basis) Pakistan (3.%) U.S.A. (3.%) Others (12.%) Italy (14.%) China (49.9%) South Korea (18.1%) Japan Exports and Imports/JETRO 35
The growing popularity of imports of leather goods by Japan, especially those from the PRC, is a result of lower production costs in the PRC. In fact, the PRC has begun to attract more attention as a location for Japanese-directed offshore production due to its strong price competitiveness and considerable technical assistance from Japan. The PRC has succeeded in increasing its exports of leather goods to the Japanese market. Growing share of imports From 1986 through 1989, the market of imported leather goods in Japan skyrocketed and had risen to approximately 9% in 1989. As shown in the chart below, although the import market of the domestic leather goods sank in 1997, the soaring imports from 1999 onwards have boosted imports market share to 87.5% in 2. Share of imported leather goods in the Japanese market % of import 1 9 8 7 6 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Census of Manufactures, Japan Exports and Imports/JETRO 36
The growing PRC leather goods market Overview The PRC is the largest leather goods producer in the world and its leather goods exports rank the second among its global partners. Despite the recent recession in the global economy, the PRC was not only sheltered from the global recession due to its strong RMB policy but it had also managed to maintain positive growth for 21. According to China Leather Industry Association, the PRC s exports of leather and leather goods in 21, amounted to approximately US$12.48 billion, representing approximately a growth of 6.1% when compared with 2. Footwear components and other accessories recorded a growth of approximately 9.3% for the same period. In fact, the value of the PRC s total leather goods exports in 2 already accounted for 32% of the world s total leather goods trade and the sector has experienced a growth of 28% for the first six months of 21. The chart below shows the top ten exporting countries of the PRC s leather goods with Hong Kong ranking the top: Top ten exporting places/countries of the PRC s leather goods (21) % of total exports 6 5 4 3 2 1 Hong Kong Italy South Korea Spain Taiwan Thailand Indonesia Place/Country The US Vietnam World Leather According to China Light Industry, the PRC has become the global center for leather processing and leather goods manufacturing. Manufacturing activities of leather products in the PRC are mainly focused in the southeastern coastal area. The Directors believe that the Group s manufacturing facilities in Guangdong Province will benefit from its proximity to abundant supply of leather and low cost of labour. 37
Growing demand The Directors believe that there is substantial growth potential in the PRC market due to the following reasons:. Rising income level As shown below, over the past decade, the general urban income level in the PRC has increased by more than 3.3 times. The Directors believe that the gradual improvement in the standard of living in the PRC will be beneficial to the demand for leather goods. Total saving deposits and per capita annual income in the PRC from 1991 to 1999 6, Per capita Annual Income (RMB) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Per capita annual income rural Per capita annual income urban Sources: China Statistical Yearbook 2 According to China Leather Industry Association, the consumption for leather goods has increased substantially over the years. Per capita leather consumption has grown from.13 sq.m. to.19 sq.m. from 1991 to 1996. As an indication of leather goods consumption, the per capita consumption of leather footwear grows at an annual rate of approximately.1 pair per capita. It is also forecasted that the demand for the leather footwear market will expand from 13 million pairs to 1.6 billion pairs in 15 years from 21.. Lowering tariffs The PRC s accession to the WTO will bring further opportunities to its leather and leather products industry. Recently, the PRC has adopted a tariff cut policy for imported leather and leather products, including the lowering of the import tax on leather imported for processing from 5% to a range of 5% to 2%. 38
Future prospects Continue to shift manufacturing bases to the PRC Meanwhile, Hong Kong s leather consumer goods manufacturers benefit greatly from the low production costs in the PRC which enable them to remain competitive with overseas counterparts. In addition to the competitive labour costs, a broad spectrum of raw materials, parts and fitting (like hides and buckles) are supplied by nearby sources in the PRC. Indeed, some Hong Kong and mainland manufacturers are vertically integrated, which further enhances quality control and flexibility in production and creates synergy. Some manufacturers have invested heavily in advanced automated machinery and operation systems to streamline the whole production process. China s accession to the WTO leading to lowering of tariffs on raw materials While trade measures for leather consumer goods are quite prohibitive world-wide, the Directors believe that the lowering of tariffs on imported raw skins to the PRC will lead to lower production costs and will raise competitiveness of leather goods manufacturers in the PRC as well as that of Hong Kong manufacturers who relocate their facilities to the PRC. The tariff rates of clothing accessories charged by the US, European Union and Japan from Hong Kong are as follows: US EU Japan Clothing accessories % to 14.% 5.% to 9.% 1.% to 16.5% Trade Development council of Hong Kong Fashion element in leather goods Increasingly, leather consumer goods are viewed as fashion accessories. Young consumers look for leather items with versatile and trendy designs. In addition, the trend of casualisation and female consumers preference for leather goods have been the major drive for the record sales of leather goods in the US. 39