ThevillageofYigaoinZhiliTown,HuzhouCity,eastChina鈥檚ZhejiangProvince,duringtheFourthGuchengCulturalTourismFestivalonJanuary13COURTESYPHOTO鈥楾hispulloverismadefrom100-percentpurecotton.Itisstretchyandcomfortableforkids,andisalsothelateststylethisautumn,鈥漵aidPuXinquan,ManagingDirectoroftheKingBoy&KingGirlClothesCo.,whileintroducingayellowchildren鈥檚hoodietoacustomeronAugust22atoneofhisstoresinZhili,asmalltownineastChina鈥檚ZhejiangProvince.
Likemanyothersuccessfulbusinesspeopleinthetown,Pudidnotreceivemuchofaneducationandstartedworkingatanearlyage.Heheldmanydifferentposts,atonetimeacarpenter,atanotherapurchasingandsalesclerkatacementplant.Duringthe1990s,manypeoplearoundhimbegantomakeafortuneinthechildren鈥檚wearindustry.Pu,seeingthehugebusinesspotential,tooktheplunge.
鈥淚n1996,Ibought2mu(1,333squaremeters)oflandandsixsewingmachinestobuildasmallworkshop,andstartedmycareer,鈥漃utoldBeijingReview.Atfirst,hissmallfactorywasonlycapableoforiginalmanufacturingforclothescompaniesinShanghai.鈥淲ecouldonlymakemeagerprofitsintheearlydays,butwedidgainsomevaluableindustryknowledge.Afterpracticingforafewyears,Ibegantodreamofhavingmyowncompanyandbrand,鈥漃usaid.
Aftertwodecadesofdevelopment,Pu鈥檚dreamcametrueatlast.HisfamilyworkshopgrewintotheKingBoy&KingGirlClothesCo.,whichregisteredsalesofaround270millionyuan($40million)in2017.
Pu鈥檚storyreflectstheleapfrogprogressofhishometown,Zhili,whichevolvedfromasmall,poorvillageintoaprosperoustownwithoneofthemostthrivingprivateeconomiesinChinaoverthefourdecadessincetheintroductionofthereformandopening-uppolicyin1978.
Children鈥檚wearcapital
Zhili,asmalltownlocatedinHuzhou,haslongbeenknownasthecenterofChina鈥檚children鈥檚wearindustry.Therearearound13,000companiesproducing1.3billionpiecesofclothinginthetowneveryyear,whichequatestomorethan50percentofChina鈥檚children鈥檚clothing.In2017,Zhili鈥檚totalGDPreached20.3billionyuan($3billion).
Yetinthe1970sitwasarundownvillagewherethelocalpeoplestruggledtoekeoutabasicexistence.鈥淎tthattime,Zhiliwasknownasabackwaterduetorapidpopulationgrowthandlimitedarableland,鈥漵aidWuZhiyong,SecretaryoftheCommunistPartyofChinaWuxingDistrictCommitteeinHuzhou.
Zhiliremainedthiswayuntiltheimplementationofreformandopeningupin1978.PeopleinthetownquicklyrespondedtothenewopportunitiespresentedbythefreemarketbypromotingembroideredproductssuchaspillowcasesacrossChina,atraditionallocalindustrythathadwitheredduringtheplannedeconomyera.
Inthemid-1980s,thosewithasharpbusinessmindswitchedtochildren鈥檚wear,anindustryinwhichtheprofitsweremuchbigger.鈥淓veryhouseholdcouldbecomeasmallfamilyworkshopaslongasithadasewingmachine,鈥漌unoted.Thechildren鈥檚wearindustryboomedinZhilithroughoutthe1990sfollowingDengXiaoping鈥檚speechesonhistourofthesouthin1992,inwhichhecalledforlocalgovernmentstotakemoremeasurestodeepeneconomicreform.
However,developmentinthisperiodwasintensiveandhaphazard.Inmanysmallworkshopsworkerslived,workedandstoredmaterialsinthesamebuilding.鈥淭hefirstfloorwasusedastheshop,thesecondandthirdfloorsasdormitoriesandwarehouses,whichbroughthugesafetyrisks,鈥漇hengGe,DeputyMayorofZhilitoldBeijingReview.
Disastereventuallystruck.In2006,twofiresbrokeoutresultinginthedeathsof23people.鈥淚twasapainfullessonforourtown.Fromthatpointon,thegovernmentimplementedstricterrulesrequiringfactoriestoseparatelivingandmanufacturing,鈥漇hengnoted.TheZhiliGovernmenttookimmediateactionafterthefireandestablishedvariousindustrialproductionparks,suchastheQiLongIndustrialandInnovationPark,whichnotonlyeffectivelyseparatedworker鈥檚livingandmanufacturingspaces,butalsoprovidedroomforsmallfactoriestoexpandinsizeandcapacity.
Afterfourdecadesofdevelopment,Zhilihasestablishedacompleteindustrychainofchildren鈥檚wearfromdesignandmanufacture,tostorage,logisticsandretail.鈥淭heconcentrationofrelatedindustriesinZhiliearneditfameasthecapitalofChina鈥檚children鈥檚wearsector,alabelofimmeasurablevaluetothetown鈥檚futuredevelopment,鈥漵aidSheng.
Zhili鈥檚developmenthasalsoprovidedopportunitiesforpeoplefromotherpartsofthecountry.Thetown鈥檚reputationhasattracted350,000peoplefromacrossChina.ForCaoMiaohongandhiswife,whocomefromeastChina鈥檚AnhuiProvince,Zhilihasbecometheirsecondhome.鈥淢ywifeandIworkassewingmachineoperatorsatachildren鈥檚wearfactorywherewecanearn160,000yuan($23,000)ayearwithathree-monthholiday,鈥滳aosaid.TheinfluxofpeoplehasinturnprovidedrichhumanresourcesforthefurtherdevelopmentoftheindustryinZhili.TechniciansuseopticalmicroscopestoobservematerialsintheworkshopoftheTonyElectronicCo.inZhiliin2017XINHUA
StudentsfromZhiliExperimentalPrimarySchoollearnemergencytechniquesatascienceandculturecenteronAugust31,2017XINHUABrandbuilding
Despiteitssuccess,Zhili鈥檚entrepreneursarenotabouttorestontheirlaurels.Inrecentyears,children鈥檚wearbusinesseshavebeenstrivingtoupgradethemselvesbynurturingmorefamousbrandsandexpandingsalesviae-commerce.
Accordingtoresearchprovidedbythelocalgovernment,over80percentoftheprofitfromoneitemofchildren鈥檚clothingisgeneratedbydesignandmarketingprocesses.In2013,thelocalgovernmentinvested20millionyuan($3million)intheconstructionofChina鈥檚firstdesigncenterforchildren鈥檚wear,whichisequippedwithsupportingfacilitiessuchasanindependentstudio,catwalkanddesignsalons.
鈥淢anysmallfactoriesusedtoimitatethestylesofotherbrandsastheyhadnoprofessionaldesignteams,amongwhichQirui&Dezewasaprimeexample.Butimitationmeantthatthesecompanieslackedclearpositioningandstyle,鈥漎eFangping,OperationManageratthedesigncenter,toldBeijingReview.
Aftertheestablishmentofthecenter,morethan20designteamswith240residentdesignersmovedin.鈥淥urcentercooperateswithdifferentcompanieswithvariousbusinessmodels.Smallcompaniescometobuytemplatesdirectly.Forcompanieswiththeirowndesigncapacity,theycooperatewithustodevelopmultipleseries,鈥漎esaid.
Througheffortstoimprovetheirdesigncapability,manycompanieshavesucceededinbuildingdistinguishablebrands.TheclothesofQirui&Dezearenowdefinedbycottonandlinenmaterialsinpastoralstyle,accordingtoYe.
TheZhiliGovernmentisalsoplanningvariousmeasurestohelpcompaniesenhancetheircomprehensivestrengthandcompetitiveness.ItissettoestablishaChinaChildren鈥檚WearCollegeincooperationwithHangzhouVocationalandTechnicalCollege,aimingtocultivatetalentfortheZhilichildren鈥檚wearindustry.
Besidesimprovingdesigncapacity,companiesarealsomakingeffortstoupgradetheirmarketingmethods.Withtheriseofe-commerce,businessesareaimingtoexpandtheirsalesthroughtheInternet.Withapopulationofover3,000,Dahe,avillageundertheadministrativecontrolofZhiliTownship,hasmorethan700e-commercecompanies.Thirty-yearoldRenKunpeng,fromcentralChina鈥檚HenanProvince,openedanonlinechildren鈥檚wearstorecalledMuLefromthevillage,throughwhichhenowsells4,000itemseveryday.鈥淚canearn1millionyuan($140,000)ayearandmanypeoplefrommyhometownhavebegunaskingmeaboutthepossibilityofcomingoverherenextyear.鈥漅ensaid.
E-commercehasalsoprovidedcompaniesinZhiliwithaccesstoforeignmarkets.MaWeizhong,ManagingDirectorofB.YCRKidCo.,wasamongthefirsttotakeadvantageofcrossbordere-commercetosellchildren鈥檚clothingtoforeignmarkets.Today,thecompanyhasanestablishede-commercedepartmentanditsowne-commerceplatform.Itsproductsareexportedtomorethan10countriesandregions,withsalesexceeding$1,500perday.
Inordertoconserveresourcesandfocusondesignandsales,moreandmorecompaniesinZhiliareoutsourcingtheirmanufacturing.In2017,450millionpiecesofchildren鈥檚wearwereprocessedoutsidethetown,accountingfor34.6percentofitstotaloutput.Thisstrategyhascontributedtothedevelopmentofother,moreeconomicallyunderdeveloped,areasoutsidetheprovince,accordingtoSheng.
PuXinquan,ManagingDirectoroftheKingBoy&KingGirlClothesCo.,introducesachildren鈥檚hoodietoacustomeronAugust22inZhiliWENQINGEntrepreneurialspirit
ThetaleofmostentrepreneursinZhiliisoneofragstoriches,andtheycontinuetodisplaythehardworkingspiritoftheirrootsastheystrivetokeepapaceofrapiddevelopmentinscienceandtechnology.Many,havingmademajorprogressintheirbusinessventures,alsoparticipateincharityworkinanattempttogivebacktosociety.
For62-year-oldShenXinfangandhissonShenXiaoyu,2017wasanextraordinaryyear.Theirbusiness,theTonyElectronicCo.(TonyTech),waslistedontheShanghaiStockExchange.ThepredecessortothistechnologycompanywasawoolensweaterfactoryfoundedbyShenandhissonin2001.
鈥淚firstcametoknowaboutultra-fineelectronicwirein2005duringabusinesstriptoSouthKorea.AftersomeresearchIfeltthattheindustry鈥檚prospectswerepromising,soIdecidedtotestthewater,鈥漷heyoungerShen,nowGeneralManagerofTonyTech,toldBeijingReview.
鈥淲hethertokeeponwithourwoolensweaterfactory,whichwasalreadyproducinghugeprofits,ormoveintoanewindustrywithzeroexperiencewasacriticalchoice,鈥漵aidShenXinfang,whonowholdsthepositionofthecompany鈥檚CEO.
Drivenbytheirentrepreneurialspirit,theyfinallytooktheplungeandestablishedTonyTechin2008.TodayTonyTechhasbecomeoneoftheleadingcompaniesinChinaproducingultra-fineelectronicwire,andhasbuiltpartnershipswithApple,Siemensandothermajorinternationalcompaniesastheircoresupplier.
鈥淓ntrepreneursshouldnotonlythinkaboutmakingprofit.Wemustalsogivebacktosociety,鈥漵aidPanAxiang,CEOofAxiangGroup.Anilliterateformerfarmer,Pan鈥檚successstoryisinspiring.Althoughhecannotreadorwrite,hewatchespoliticalandeconomicnewsbroadcastsontelevisioneverydaytogainabetterunderstandingofnationalpolicies,ahabitwhichhashelpedhimfindmanynewbusinessopportunities.
Inthelate1990s,answeringthegovernment鈥檚calltodevelopthetelecommunicationindustry,Panactedquicklyandbuiltasmallcablefactory,whichwentontobecomethebasisofhisbusinessconglomerate.
CarefullymarryingnationalpolicywiththeneedsofthemarkethasbeenthekeytoPan鈥檚success.Today,hisAxiangGrouphasexpandedtoincludebusinessventuresinaluminumalloy,linenandtextiles,andequipmentmanufacturing,withsalesof3billionyuan($400million)in2017.
IncreasingintandemwithPan鈥檚businesssuccessarehisphilanthropicprojects,andhehasdonated80millionyuan($11million)tocharityinrecentyears.鈥淲eentrepreneurshavebenefitedalotfromsociety,andwemustgiveback,鈥漢esaid.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoulton
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