The brand value of China's textile and apparel industry is undergoing a qualitative transformation. According to the latest 2026 China's 500 Most Valuable Brands report, the total value of listed brands reached 45.29 trillion yuan, up 7.76% year-on-year, with the entry threshold rising to 5.089 billion yuan. Over 30 brands from the textile and apparel sector were listed, covering the entire chain from raw material manufacturing to garment production, sportswear, and home textiles. The overall asset quality of industry brands continues to rise, with the number of billion-level brands expanding to 146, among which textile and apparel brands hold significant positions.
Brand Landscape: Billion-Level Brands Form the Industry's Backbone
Among the listed textile and apparel brands, eight including Ordos, Hengli, Weiqiao, Bosideng, Jinba, Qipai, Anta, and Yueda have reached billion-level value, forming the core support for the industry's brand value. These brands represent different segments such as cashmere, chemical fiber, cotton spinning, down jackets, menswear, and sportswear, reflecting the diversified and specialized brand development path of China's textile and apparel industry. Notably, raw material manufacturing brands like Hengli and Weiqiao stand alongside consumer brands like Anta and Bosideng in the billion-level club, indicating that brand value is no longer limited to the consumer end; upstream enterprises' brand operations have also gained market recognition.
From a category perspective, the listed brands cover raw material manufacturing (Hengli, Weiqiao, Rongsheng Petrochemical, Tongkun), garment production (Hailan Home, Yalu, Peacebird), sportswear (Anta, Li-Ning, 361°, Xtep), home textiles (Shuixing, Mengjie, Beijirong), as well as underwear and accessories. This full-chain branding trend signals that China's textile and apparel industry is moving away from the low-cost OEM label toward a higher-quality, higher-value brand-driven development model.
Evaluation System Change: AI Influence as a New Dimension of Brand Competition
The most noteworthy change in this year's ranking is the inclusion of the AI Influence Index for the first time. This is not a technical gimmick but a profound adjustment to the logic of brand management. Professor Xu Jing from Peking University's Guanghua School of Management pointed out that in the digital intelligence era, a brand is no longer a static knowledge structure in consumers' minds but a complex system maintained by consumers, platforms, algorithms, content, communities, and organizational capabilities. The core question for brand management has shifted from how to enhance brand equity to how the brand can continue to serve as an intermediary for trust, meaning, and emotion.
Ding Haisen, CEO of the World Manager Group and World Brand Lab, further emphasized that future brand competition will not only be about capturing consumers' mindshare but also about leaving an indelible mark on AI's algorithmic map. Higher AI influence means the brand has greater discourse power, online visibility, and technical presence in the AI ecosystem, and has successfully crossed the barriers of traditional search engines. For textile and apparel brands, this means the way of brand communication is fundamentally changing: consumer decision-making chains are shortened by AI, and AI has become the de facto traffic gatekeeper. Brands need to rethink how to engage with algorithms and maintain visibility and influence in AI recommendations.
Industry Impact: Four Drives Reshape Competitive Logic
The branding transformation of the textile and apparel industry has formed a clear path driven by four factors: technological innovation, cultural empowerment, green and low-carbon initiatives, and globalization. The ranking data shows that these four drives are not isolated but intertwine and interact. Sportswear brands like Anta and Li-Ning have achieved value leaps through continuous technological innovation (e.g., shoe upper materials, cushioning technology) and cultural empowerment (e.g., guochao design, cross-border collaborations). Cashmere brands like Ordos have maintained high-end positioning through green initiatives and global operations.
This transformation has profound impacts on the industry chain. For upstream raw material manufacturers, branding means shifting from pure price competition to technological barriers and quality premiums. For midstream fabric and garment manufacturers, branding requires higher supply chain coordination and rapid response mechanisms. For downstream retail and brand operators, brand competition in the AI era demands stronger data capabilities and content creation skills. Brand value is no longer just the result of marketing investment but the outcome of collaborative innovation across the entire industry chain.