Empirical Study of Bangkok Fashion City and Industrial Revitalization

泰国政府制定了一项计划，将曼谷变成一个“时尚之都”，并为此项目拨出18.2亿泰铢的特别预算。曼谷Ratchaprasong十字路口（约6.7万平方米）周边地区集中了Amarin广场、Erawan Sogo、Gaysorn广场、半岛广场等曼谷最大的商业设施。根据该计划，在暹罗探索中心20层开设了曼谷国际时尚学院（BIFA），作为时尚人力资源开发中心，并在中央世界大厦6层建立了时尚潮流中心。虽然泰国工业部正在制定11个时尚产业加强计划，以形成该计划，但该部门此前已于1998年6月制定了一项产业结构调整行动计划，努力在13个特别认可的行业进行结构调整和提高国际竞争力。时尚产业的三大支柱——纺织品和服装、鞋类和皮革、宝石和珠宝也被指定为特别认可的产业，并采取了恢复竞争力和促进产业灵活性的战略。这些可以被看作是对中国崛起的回应，中国的崛起给泰国仅依靠低技术含量产品的合同制造的持续发展前景蒙上了阴影。例如，在纺织和服装行业，一项从2000年1月开始将区域内关税从0%降至5%的AFTA协议导致泰国产品的市场份额被同一地区其他国家（如印度尼西亚和越南）制造的低成本产品所夺走。此外，一项世贸组织协议从2005年起强制纺织品行业实行自由竞争，这意味着泰国不能再依赖以出口配额为基础的配额市场。因此，曼谷时尚城计划也是一项产业措施，旨在加强时尚产业的三个部分的国际竞争力。本报告的第一章探讨了曼谷时尚城计划是什么。首先介绍了该计划的背景和历史。2002年1月，工业部下属的独立公司纺织工业发展研究所在北碧府举行了一次研讨会，讨论应采取哪些步骤使泰国成为地区时装工业的中心。正是在这次研讨会上，曼谷时尚城计划的框架被构想出来。2003年7月，曼谷时装城计划在国务会议上获得批准后，与企业签订了11个分项事业的合同。11个子项目分为“人文创造”、“商业创造”和“城市创造”3个类别。“1。《时尚人力资源开发规划》属于“人的创造”范畴；《世界时尚潮流收集计划》；《纺织服装产业竞争力提升计划》；《鞋革产业竞争力提升计划》、《鞋革产业竞争力提升计划》。“宝石珠宝产业竞争力提升计划”构成了创业类。最后，城市创造包含“6”。《展览计划》；《时尚潮流创造计划》；《国际服装设计竞赛方案》；目标市场培育计划”。“泰国设计师时尚成就收藏计划”、“11”。曼谷时尚城形象塑造计划。“本报告指出了这11个子项目的目标和挑战，并解释了目前如何解决这些问题。在审视了该计划的现状后，对迄今为止的进展做出了以下评估：泰国服装制造商协会主席Tienchai Mahasiri表示：“在短时间内打造时尚之都是不可能的；相反，它是一种需要随着时间稳步建立起来的东西。”正如这篇评论所表明的那样，目前还无法立即判断曼谷时尚城计划的成败。这取决于人类创造方面是如何发挥作用的，以及有创造力的设计师是如何出现的。因此，这不是一蹴而就的事情，而是需要经过一段时间的评估。曼谷时尚城的规划不仅仅是人类创造和城市创造；最重要的是商业创造。“事业创造”指的是加强服装、鞋履、珠宝等3大时尚产业核心领域的竞争力的计划。第2章涉及纺织和服装行业，概述了该行业的国际市场状况。泰国几乎所有的服装生产都委托给全球领先的公司或分包给国际公司。全球领先的公司将制造中心分散到全球各地，以不断努力降低成本；他们对泰国没有忠诚。因此，泰国纺织和服装业要想在这场游戏中继续生存下去，唯一的办法就是创造自己的设计，并与自己的品牌竞争。只有调查全球市场趋势，研究每个地区独特的文化特征和卖点，并根据市场需求制造和销售产品，国家才能做到这一点。这将要求服装行业改善其供应链，并实施在这个全球化时代运营所必需的其他结构性改革。工业部还必须通过其曼谷时尚城计划第三计划，努力改善服装行业的基础设施。第三章分析了我国宝石珠宝行业的现状，提出了提高宝石珠宝行业竞争力的对策。泰国宝石珠宝行业的出口主要包括珠宝（正品）出口美国市场，珠宝（正品）和钻石出口欧盟市场，珠宝（正品）和钻石以及其他珠宝项目出口以色列市场。宝石和珠宝有望成为反映生活方式和提升佩戴者精神的趋势。这表明未来对定制宝石和珠宝的需求可能会增加。然而，泰国的宝石和珠宝生产以国际分包制造和委托制造为中心，并不直接响应消费者的需求。为了敏感地应对每年变化的消费者需求，国家必须发展宝石和珠宝设计能力，并以自己的品牌打入消费市场。这就是泰国政府通过“曼谷时尚城”计划改善基础设施的原因。曼谷时尚城规划的子项目计划5和计划10旨在提高宝石和珠宝行业的竞争力。提高产业竞争力的计划中，特别强调人力资源的培养，从而提高设计能力和品牌发展。此举旨在发展泰国自己的设计能力和品牌，并将其直接交付给消费者，因为该国的宝石和珠宝行业很快将无法再依靠分包和委托制造来生存。但是，这些计划本身并不能培养足够的人力资源。看来这个国家需要在宝石和珠宝领域建立新的学院或部门，以及开设宝石设计学校等方面做出更持续的努力。第四章考察了鞋业和皮革业。2004年，泰国鞋业和皮革业的出口值约为700亿泰铢，其中皮革制品占70亿泰铢，鞋子和鞋类零件占340亿泰铢，漂白和压缩皮革制品占280亿泰铢。鞋业和皮革业发展项目的重点是提高这些产品的标准。特别是，这些项目旨在使该行业从为全球领先企业委托生产转向生产和销售自有品牌，或增强已经拥有自有品牌的制造商的品牌实力和业务结构。这些项目进一步旨在向原材料和零部件制造商传达对当前流行趋势的理解，使他们的制造方法更符合成品周围的趋势。这可能导致原材料进口的减少或替代。因此，鞋业和皮革行业竞争力提升计划的一个特点是，他们的目标是将泰国从国际分包中心转变为让泰国公司创造自己的设计和品牌，并让专家提出个人商业计划。与此相反，宝石、珠宝、纺织、服装等行业的竞争力提升项目则侧重于人力资源的培养、培训课程的编制、学员的教育等。这表明，专家提出的个人计划在每个工厂实施的方式，或者如何进行结构改革，可能是这些项目可行性的决定因素。最后，我翻译了与曼谷时尚城计划有关的材料，以及泰国发展研究所（TDRI）的三份报告，这些报告考虑了AFTA的影响。泰国工业联合会（FTI）通过TDRI委托进行了一项关于AFTA生效将如何影响泰国时装业的调查。TDRI将时尚产业分为1)纺织和服装业，2)宝石和珠宝业，以及3)皮革业。该研究所对制造业条件和国际竞争力进行了调查，并于1996年向外经贸部报告了调查结果。本报告包含所有三份报告的翻译。在“与曼谷时尚城构想相关的材料”中，还翻译并呈现了以下四篇文章：来自FTI期刊的一篇文章和采访，来自“Turakij Khawna”杂志的一篇特别文章，以及来自工业促进部的“ut撒哈拉akam Sam”杂志的一篇文章。这些文章揭示了泰国制造业对曼谷时尚城计划的期望，以及当时推动该计划的工业部长颂萨·泰素丁（Somsak Thepsutin）的问题意识。《Turakij Khawna》杂志的专题文章是在该计划还处于起步阶段时写的，而工业促进部的《utsahara akam Sam》杂志的文章是在该计划启动一年后写的。这两篇文章都讨论了该计划的11个子项目，并评估了它们的执行状况。我相信这些文章和采访文章会让读者掌握曼谷时尚城规划的基本内容。少

The Thai government has hammered out a plan to turn Bangkok into a "fashion city," allocating a special budget of 1.82 billion baht for the project. In the area around Bangkok's Ratchaprasong crossing (about 67,000 square meters) are concentrated the largest commercial facilities in the city, including Amarin Plaza, Erawan Sogo, Gaysorn Plaza, and Peninsula Plaza. Under the plan, the Bangkok International Fashion Academic (BIFA) was opened on the 20th floor of the Siam Discovery Center as a fashion human resources development center, and the Fashion Trend Center was constructed on the 6th floor of the Central World Tower.While the Thai Ministry of Industry is creating 11 fashion industry enhancement programs to give shape to the plan, the Ministry had previously formulated an industrial restructuring action plan in June 1998, making efforts toward restructuring and enhancements to international competitiveness in 13 specially-recognized industries. The three fashion industry pillars of … More textiles and apparel, shoes and leather, and gems and jewelry have also been designated as specially-recognized industries, with strategies to restore competitiveness and foster industry flexibility being adopted. These can be seen as a response to the rise of China, which casts a shadow over Thailand's prospects for continued development based solely on contract manufacture of low-tech products. For example, in the textile and apparel industry an AFTA agreement reducing intra-regional tariffs to from 0 to 5% beginning January 2000 is causing Thai products to lose market share to low-cost goods manufactured in other countries in the same regio, such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Furthermore, a WTO agreement enforced free competition in the textiles industry from 2005, meaning that Thailand could no longer depend on a quota market based on export quotas. Hence the Bangkok Fashion City plan is also an industrial measure aimed at strengthening international competitiveness in three segments of the fashion industry.The first chapter of this report looks into what the Bangkok Fashion City plan is. First the background and history of the plan are explained. In January 2002 the Textile Industry Development Institute, an independent corporation of the Ministry of Industry, held a seminar in Kanchanaburi Province on the subject of what steps would have to be taken to make Thailand into the epicenter of the regional fashion industry. It was at this seminar that the framework for the Bangkok Fashion City plan was conceived. After receiving approval at a Cabinet meeting in July 2003, the Bangkok Fashion City plan moved into contract tasks with businesses for the 11 sub-projects.The 11 sub-projects are divided into three categories: Human Creation, Business Creation, and City Creation. "1. Fashion Human Resources Development Plan" falls under the category of Human Creation, while "2. World Fashion Trend Collection Plan," "3. Textile and Apparel Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan," "4. Shoes and Leather Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan," and "5. Gems and Jewelry Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan" make up the Business Creation category. Finally, City Creation encompasses "6. Exhibition Plan," "7. Fashion Trend Creation Plan," "8. International Fashion Design Contest Plan," "9. Target Market Cultivation Plan," "10. Thai Designers' Fashion Achievements Collection Plan," and "11. Bangkok Fashion City Image Creation Plan."This report indicates the goals and challenges for these 11 sub-projects and explains how these matters are currently being addressed. Having looked at the current status of the plan, the following assessment has been made as to the progress so far: Tienchai Mahasiri, president of the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association states, "It is impossible to bring up a fashion capital in a short time period; rather it is something to be built up steadily over time." As this comment indicates, there can be no immediate judgment on the success or failure of the Bangkok Fashion City plan. It depends on how the Human Creation aspect plays out and how creatively-gifted designers emerge. Hence it is not something that can happen overnight, but rather something that will have to be assessed over time.The Bangkok Fashion City plan is not just about Human Creation and City Creation; most of all it concerns Business Creation. Business Creation refers to plans aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of three core segments of the fashion industry: textiles and apparel, shoes and leather, and gems and jewelry. Chapter 2 deals with the textiles and apparel industry, giving an overview of the international market conditions in this sector.Nearly all of Thailand's apparel manufacture is commissioned from leading global companies or subcontracted internationally. Leading global companies scatter manufacturing hubs across the globe in a constant effort to reduce costs; they have no loyalty to Thailand. Hence the only way for Thailand's textiles and apparel industry to stay in the game is to create its own designs and compete with its own brands. The country can only do that by surveying global market trends, researching the unique cultural characteristics and selling points of each area, and manufacturing and selling products in anticipation of market demands. This will require the apparel industry to improve its supply chain and implement other structural reforms necessary to operate in this age of globalization. The Ministry of Industry must also work on improving basic infrastructure for the apparel industry through Plan 3 of its Bangkok Fashion City Plan.In Chapter 3 we take up the current status of the gems and jewelry industry and plans for its competitive enhancement. The export of Thailand's gems and jewelry industry mainly comprises of jewelry (genuine) going to the United States market, jewelry (genuine) and diamonds going to the EU market, and jewelry (genuine) and diamonds as well as other jewelry items going to the Israeli markets. Gems and jewelry are expected to trend toward items that reflect the lifestyle and raise the spirits of their wearers. This points toward a likely increase in demand for custom-made gems and jewelry in the future. However, Thailand's gems and jewelry production centers on internationally sub-contracted manufacture and commissioned manufacture and does not respond directly to consumer demand. To sensitively respond to annually changing consumer demands it is important for the nation to develop gem and jewelry design capabilities and break into the consumer market with its own brands. This is why the Thai government is improving basic infrastructure through its Bangkok Fashion City plan.The sub-projects Plan 5 and Plan 10 of the Bangkok Fashion City plan aim to enhance the competitiveness of the gems and jewelry industry. The plans to enhance industry competitiveness place special emphasis on cultivating human resources with the idea that this will lead to greater design capabilities and brand development. This is an attempt to develop Thailand's own design capabilities and brands and deliver them directly to consumers, since the country's gems and jewelry industry will soon no longer be able to survive on sub-contracted and commissioned manufacturing. However, these plans will not foster sufficient human resources on their own. It seems the country will need to make more consistent efforts by establishing new colleges or departments in the fields of gems and jewelry as well as opening gem designer schools or the like.Chapter 4 examines the shoes and leather industry. The value of the Thai shoes and leather industry's exports in 2004 was about 70 billion baht, with leather articles accounting for 7 billion baht, shoes and shoe components accounting for 34 billion baht, and bleached and compressed leather articles accounting for 28 billion baht. The shoes and leather industry development projects focus on raising the standards of these products. In particular, the projects aim to move the industry out of commissioned manufacturing for leading global companies and into manufacture and sale of its own brands, or to enhance the brand power and business structure of manufacturers that already have their own brands in place. The projects further aim to transmit an understanding of the current fashion trends to manufactures of raw materials and components so that their manufacturing methods are more in line with the trends surrounding the finished products. This could lead to a reduction in or replacement of raw material imports.A feature of the shoes and leather industry competitiveness enhancement programs is hence their objective of moving Thailand away from being an international sub-contracting center toward having Thai companies create their own designs and brands and having specialists propose individual business plans. In contrast, the competitiveness enhancement programs for the gems and jewelry industry and the textiles and apparel industry focus on cultivating human resources, putting together a training curriculum, and attending to the education of trainees. This indicates that the manner in which the specialist-proposed individual plans are implemented at each factory-or how structural reforms are carried out-will likely be determining factor in the feasibility of these projects.Finally, I have translated materials relating to the Bangkok Fashion City plan and three reports from the Thai Development Research Institute (TDRI) that consider the impact of AFTA. The Federation of Thai Industry (FTI) commissioned a survey through the TDRI on how AFTA's coming into effect will impact the Thai fashion industry. The TDRI broke down the fashion industry into 1) the textiles and apparel industry, 2) the gems and jewelry industry, and 3) the leather industry. The institute surveyed the manufacturing conditions and international competitiveness and reported the findings to the FTI in 1996. This report contains translations of all three reports.In the "Materials Relating to the Conception of Bangkok Fashion City" the following four articles are also translated and presented: an essay and an interview from a journal of the FTI, a special essay from "Turakij Khawna" magazine, and an essay from the Department of Industrial Promotion's "Utsaharakam Sam" magazine. These articles shed light on the expectations placed on the Bangkok Fashion City plan by the Thai manufacturing industry as well as the problem consciousness of the Minister of Industry at the time, Mr. Somsak Thepsutin, who promoted the plan. The special essay from "Turakij Khawna" magazine was written when the plan was still in its infancy, while the essay from the Department of Industrial Promotion's "Utsaharakam Sam" magazine was written one year after the plan's inception. Both essays take up the plan's 11 sub-projects and assess their execution status. I believe these essays and the interview article will enable the reader to grasp the basic content of the Bangkok Fashion City plan. Less