News

Video Available NOW Dean's Distinguished Industry Lecture Series | Management of Fashion Business under the "New Normal"

The first lecture of the Dean’s Distinguished Industry Lecture Series was given on 23 November by a well respected ally and supporter of ITC, Ms Shirley Chan, BBS, JP, Vice Chairman of YGM Trading Ltd.; Chairlady of the Advisory Committee on Textile and Clothing Industries of PolyU; and PolyU Council member. Her session, "Management of Fashion Business under the New Normal” attracted an attendance of nearly 150 staff, students and alumni. In response to the social distance restrictions, the talk was organised in a hybrid live format in the ITC 4D Theatre and streamed on Zoom and the ITC Youtube channel.    In his opening remarks, Prof. Jintu Fan, Chair Professor and Head of ITC said, " We are so fortunate to have Ms Shirley Chan as our first speaker of the Dean’s Distinguished Industry Lecture Series to share her invaluable insights with PolyU staff, students and alumni, enabling us to broaden our horizons and keep abreast of the latest developments in the industry." The pandemic has brought about many challenges in all aspects of life. Daily and social activities have been suspended and cities are shut down. Ms Chan suggested that several phenomena have emerged in the "new normal", including e-learning, virtual exhibitions, virtual fashion shows and digital workplaces. "In the fashion industry, sales dropped dramatically and retail stores closed all over the world from January to July 2020. The highest decline was in March. There have been no signs of things picking up because there are no tourists and locals are working from home, and therefore dressing down.” said Ms Chan. Nevertheless, Ms Chan reminds us that challenges can also present new opportunities at the same time. "On the bright side, e-commerce sales have increased significantly…In Hong Kong, projected online sales increased by 13.4% in 2020. In China, online sales increased by 22% in the first quarter of 2020, and 34% in the second quarter." To support the continued growth of e-commerce, various portals and apps have been developed. New concepts such as video shopping is now popular in China. Ms Chan however feels that brick and mortar stores can evolve: “Still, physical stores play a role but need to be re-invented. The fashion journey remains a multiple channel that consists of online and offline platforms. Thus, online-to-offline (O2O) shopping, customer relationship management (CRM), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) have become more crucial in the fashion industry.” All these trends help to nurture sales leads, enhance personalization, and increase efficiency of business processes and engagement. Companies are striving to stay ahead of their competitors and better market their products in the industry. In 2019, the GDP of the China Greater Bay Area was USD 1.6 trillion. McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2023, the top GDP growth will be found in the China Greater Bay Area. Ms Chan suggested that Hong Kong can take advantage of the growth: “This is the opportunity from the Belt and Road for us. Hong Kong can strengthen its “super-connector” role in textile and clothing by facilitating sustainable trade and development, providing cumulative knowledge in different aspects, acting as a distributing hub by exporting apparel products produced from the Belt and Road countries, and setting up factories in the Belt and Road countries.” Ms Chan advised the attendees to "Look beyond Hong Kong. Grasp the opportunities." Ms Chan concluded that Hong Kong has long been a major hub for global fashion. "We have the cumulative knowledge, a variety of favourable policies and funds introduced by the government, well-established education institutions, as well as fashion incubation in Mainland China." She reminded the students and alumni to venture beyond Hong Kong for more exciting opportunities.

Dr Di Fan in Vogue Business again

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to eliminate a range of tariffs on imports and include provisions on intellectual property, telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce and professional services among 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Dr Di Fan, Assistant Professor of ITC, was interviewed by Vogue Business on the implications for the fashion and textile industries. Dr Fan stated that, “The lowering of non-tariff barriers, such as custom clearance, is expected to reduce the time products spend in transit, making garments from RCEP members competitive from a time-to-market perspective too." "The shorter days of supply can bring tremendous advantages to the fashion firms in the region. If a fast fashion brand needs 14 days to put a design on the shelf, a saving of four days in custom clearance can boost the speed to the market by around 30 per cent.” He added. China is the largest textiles exporter, the reduced tariff will increase the price competitiveness of Chinese textile products in the region, alleviating the raise of labor cost pressure for Chinese textile producers. "The agreement will also accelerate the shift of lower value production from China to ASEAN countries, which aligns with Chinese government efforts to pivot to higher value-added manufacturing sectors. It will also allow the country to boost domestic consumption through leveraging overseas production capacity." Dr Fan explained. For the full story, please visit https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/what-rcep-means-for-fashion

Prof. Fan @ International Textile and Apparel Association Leadership Meeting

Prof JT Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, was invited to attend the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Leadership Meeting on 16 November 2020. This is a leadership sharing meeting for all the department heads and leaders of fashion and textiles programmes affiliated to ITAA. About the International Textile and Apparel Association   The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) is a professional, educational association composed of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education. It promotes the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge and is a primary resource for its members in strengthening leadership and service to society.

CALL FOR ENTRY | Young Designer-entrepreneurs Wanted!

ITC STORE is now inviting new designers to join our entrepreneur incubation project! All undergraduate and postgraduate students from all disciplines at PolyU are welcome to submit their application for our panel's review and consideration! If you need a platform to showcase your talent in fashion and accessory design, please do not hesitate to seize this valuable opportunity and join us now! Link to download the Application Form: Click to Download Please send your application form together with the design concept board and product shots to itcstore@polyu.edu.hk by 31 January 2021. Should you have any enquiries, please contact us at itcstore@polyu.edu.hk or Dr Magnum Lam (Research Assistant Professor) at magnumml.lam@polyu.edu.hk.

Richemont group shares knowledge with ITC students

Dr Chloe Ki, Assistant Professor of ITC, coordinated a sharing session called Virtual Fashion Expert Sharing with the Chloé Marketing & Communication Team from the Richemont Group, a Swiss luxury goods holding company. Ms Yijia Dai, Assistant Communications Manager of Chloé, shared “How to communicate to the luxury customers in the post-pandemic era”. The session gave our ITC students the opportunity to learn about the latest luxury fashion marketing communication strategies that are important to future retail elites in the post-pandemic era.  

Dr Di Fan and Dr Chris Lo receive prestigious 2020 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award

Dr Di Fan and Dr Chris Lo are the recipients of the 2020 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award, which is awarded by the Journal of Operations Management (JOM), a flagship journal in operations management. The editor-in-chief of JOM first submits the list of nominees. Then all of the departmental editors, who are world-renowned scholars from top business schools, vote for the award recipients. The findings of their study, Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly, are featured in international media outlets, including the Guardian (International Edition), Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), and Yahoo! UK & Ireland. The article was a Wiley top downloaded paper (2018-2019) and a featured article in JOM. Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly examines how financial performance affects corporate social responsibility and explores how human aspirations play a role in this relationship. It is found that anxieties lead poor performing firms to cut corners in employee safety and environmental protection, whereas hubris leads profitable corporate giants to ignore using resources to abide with laws. The findings imply that both underperforming and overperforming firms tend to tolerate unethical behaviours, while firms closer to the norm behave better.  Drs Lo and Fan explain, “Our research aims to advance understanding of the underlying reasons of corporate irresponsibility. Since human emotions are behind such behaviours, we call for more scientific research on the corporate business decision making process to inhibit these cognitive biases. Regulators, creditors and investors can play a key role in promoting sustainable practices, with extra attention on both ends. Sustainability is the most critical issue for today’s fashion industry. All in all, we are very grateful for this opportunity to feature ITC research work beyond the fashion industry and being recognized in the global business and management research communities.”  The Journal of Operations Management is the most prestigious journal in the field of operations management. It is listed among the 24 leading journals of the UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management database and the 50 journals used in The Financial Times research rank. It is also ranked top on the Australian ABDC journal quality list (A*), the UK ABS journal list (4*), and Chinese Academy of Sciences JCR ranking (Q1). Read more about the work of Drs Lo and Fan in the Journal of Operations Management: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joom.1032 Wiengarten, F, Fan, D*, Pagell, M, Lo, CKY. Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly. J Oper Manag. 2019; 65: 490– 516.

ITC hosts online seminar on WealthTech

Ever wondered about the promises and pitfalls of online solutions that aim to enhance your wealth-management process? Over 130 individuals which included ITC research and MA students and alumni members were interested in this topic and participated in an ITC organised online seminar on WealthTech (WT) to understand its impact on consumer welfare and the financial markets. Prof. Haitian Lu, Director of the Chinese Mainland Affairs Office and Professor of Law and Finance of the Faculty of Business, PolyU, presented his latest research on WT in “The Promises and Pitfalls of WealthTech: Evidence from Online Marketplace Lending” on 17 October. For decades, the wealth management industry has retained its status quo, charging high fees to provide advice to a small group of high-net-worth clients. The rise of WT, or use of digital solutions, has changed this landscape. WT promises to "democratize financial services" by serving the underserved market segments with affordable, accessible, instant, and seamless wealth management services. Critics, on the other hand, argue that people design, model and market WT algorithms, so it would be naïve to assume that all WTs are well-designed with competency and integrity.

Visit of school principals

A group of school principals, career mistress and panel heads visited ITC on 6 November 2020 to understand our BA programme and learning facilities.

Yishu Yan wins Silver Prize at 2020 YINGER PRIZE

Congratulations to ITC PhD student Yishu Yan. Yishu, who is studying under the supervision of Prof. Kinor Jiang and Dr Jinyun Zhou, won Silver Prize at the 2020 YINGER PRIZE Global Womenswear Emerging Talent Contest. The contest attracted the participation of more than 600 designers from many different countries, including France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Lebanon, Japan, South Korea, and China. On 28 October 2020, 30 finalists from the graduate and the individual categories showcased their works and competed for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Prizes at the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Centre in China. Yishu’s collection reflects her PhD research on the creation of a new form of fashion knitwear that combines stretchable 3D fabrics and adaptable forms through digital knitting. Yishu’s design research integrates technical study and creative practices. No cutting is used in the production process and the inclusive design demonstrates sustainability from a new perspective, which also accords with the theme of this competition. The contest was organized by the China Fashion Association, Shenzhen Garment Industry Association and Yinger Fashion Group. It was the kick-off event for 2020 Fashion Shenzhen. The panel of judges consisted of renowned academics and designers, including: Li Dangqi, Former Chairman of the China Fashion Designers Association and Professor of Tsinghua University; Wu Hong, Chairman of the Costume Art Committee of the China Artists Association and Professor of Shenzhen University; Wang Yutao, renowned Chinese fashion designer; Xu Lifeng, international fashion blogger and producer; LIEN, Chief Editor of LADYMAX; Cheng Chen, Director of the Womenswear Department of JD Group; Leng Yun, fashion business consultant; Yan Weixin, Director of The Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning; Serge Carreira, Head of Emerging Brands Initiative of the French Haute Couture and Fashion Federation; Roger Tredre, Course Leader of Fashion Communication at Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London; and Ennio Capasa, renowned Italian fashion designer.

Visit of The Hong Kong General Chamber of Textiles (香港紡織商會)

The chairman of The Hong Kong General Chamber of Textiles (香港紡織商會), Dr Raymond Chu, visited ITC on 16 October 2020, with his broad members Mr Janson Chu, Ms Connie Chan and members Ms Vicky Sung, Ms CM Leung and Ms SM Kwan. The delegation received a warm welcome from Prof. Jintu Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, Dr Tracy Mok, Associate Head of ITC and other colleagues.