The bar for brand value competition is rising rapidly. The 2026 'China's 500 Most Valuable Brands' report shows total brand value reached 45.29 trillion RMB, up 7.76% year-on-year, with the entry threshold climbing to 5.089 billion RMB. The number of top-tier brands exceeding 100 billion RMB expanded to 146. Against this backdrop of rising brand equity, the textile and apparel industry's performance is particularly noteworthy: over 30 brands made the list, demonstrating the sector's departure from the low-cost OEM stereotype.
Industry Brand Matrix Takes Shape
The list covers the entire textile and apparel supply chain, from raw materials to finished garments and home textiles. Eight brands—including Erdos, Hengli, Weiqiao, Bosideng, Jinba, Qipai, Anta, and Yueda—joined the 100-billion club, forming the industry's first tier. Notably, these brands represent diverse segments such as cashmere, chemical fibers, cotton textiles, down jackets, menswear, and sportswear, indicating that branding is a consensus across the entire industry, not limited to specific categories.
Beyond the top tier, the list also includes upstream material brands like Rongsheng Petrochemical, Tongkun, and Sanfangxiang, as well as home textile brands like Shuixing, Mengjie, and Beijirong. This suggests that brand value assessment now penetrates multiple links of the industrial chain, not just end-consumer products. For buyers and factories, a stronger upstream brand often implies greater bargaining power and supply chain stability.
AI Influence: A New Battlefield for Brand Competition
The biggest change in this year's list is the first-time inclusion of the AI Influence Index by World Brand Lab. This shift is no coincidence. As AI search and smart assistants become key consumer decision-making gateways, a brand's visibility in the algorithmic ecosystem directly translates into commercial value. The report notes that higher AI influence means greater discourse power and communication reach within the AI ecosystem, surpassing traditional search engine optimization.
For the textile and apparel industry, this signals a fundamental shift in branding logic. Previously, brands relied on advertising, store image, and consumer word-of-mouth. Now, whether a brand is recommended by AI or prioritized in smart Q&A systems is becoming a new competitive dimension. Brands that invested early in digitalization and intelligence, such as Anta and Bosideng, have already gained an edge.
From OEM to Brand: Four Driving Forces
The collective performance of the textile and apparel industry is driven by four forces. First, technological innovation: companies like Hengli and Weiqiao have invested in R&D for chemical fibers and cotton textiles, directly enhancing product value. Second, cultural empowerment: brands like Jinba and Qipai have built differentiated recognition among younger consumers by integrating traditional Chinese cultural elements. Third, green and low-carbon practices: consumer demand for sustainable fashion is pushing brands to upgrade from raw material sourcing to production processes. Fourth, global operations: overseas expansion by brands like Anta and Bosideng has opened up broader growth space for brand value.
These four forces are not isolated but interwoven. For example, technological innovation provides solutions for green initiatives, while cultural empowerment offers content for global operations. For small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry, these four dimensions are also valuable references—even if they cannot cover all aspects, focusing on one or two directions can help build brand barriers in niche markets.