Two live-streamers market clothing online.

Born in the late 1980s, Xixinzhuang Village, Suning County, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, resident Cui Shulong began growing vegetables, working for other people, and engaging in small business as a teenager. He eventually opened a garment factory when he was 17 and ran it for a period of time, but sales began to decline as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis and continued to slump.

Things began to change one day when e-commerce was starting to boom in China, however. A friend was wearing an eye-catching T-shirt, and Cui discovered that he bought it on the Taobao online shopping platform for RMB20. Knowing that it cost as little as RMB5 to RMB6 to produce a T-shirt in a factory, the entrepreneur did some research and discovered that top Taobao clothing stores were already selling hundreds of thousands of articles of clothing a year, which compelled him to immediately start his own e-commerce journey.

Cui launched his first Taobao store in 2014 after conducting further research and has engaged in e-commerce ever since. He has devoted himself to ensuring that he offers good-quality products and has continued to learn new skills related to areas such as operations, photography and live commerce. The enterprising man has developed a reputation for his sincerity, round-the-clock availability and ability to answer customers’ inquiries quickly, and other positive characteristics.

Cui has been creating unique websites, launching brands and developing them carefully, selling new categories of products, improving the quality of his offerings, highlighting the advantages of his goods, and engaging in livestreaming since the onset of its popularity. The brand recognition and strong market competitiveness that he has achieved have enabled him to stand out in the fiercely competitive online clothing industry. The Xixinzhuang native employs more than 200 staff members in areas such as operations, finance, warehousing, production, sales, logistics and shipping, and customer service; runs a total of 10 stores on Taobao and the business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail platform that was spun off from Taobao in 2011 known as Tmall; and owns 4 garment factories as of 2021. Cui has also established long-term cooperative relationships with more than 30 manufacturers related to aspects such as garment production, trademarks, and printing and 3 distributors and thus owns or has access to a complete industrial chain. With over RMB100 million of annual sales, Suning’s e-commerce leader supports the employment of more than 400 people at some of the companies he has agreements with, some of whom work at more than a dozen manufacturers who had difficulty with sales but have been able to turn their situations around and expand production while cooperating with him.

The robust and complete garment industry that exists in Wanli and other parts of Suning has made Cui’s success and the overall e-commerce development that has occurred in the area in recent years possible. With 40 years of history, the township’s traditional garment industry is enriching and advantageous. A comprehensive facility involving aspects such as processing, production, e-commerce, warehousing, and logistics known as the Wanli Knitwear Exhibition and Sales Centre was built on 50 mu of land with RMB114 million of investment as well and was put into operation in 2018, and more than 200 merchants have a presence at the site as of early 2021. Approximately 60% of Wanli’s villagers are involved in the clothing industry, more than 1,000 garment enterprises exist in the township, and 200 million pieces of clothing are being produced in its borders every year. The township commands 70% and 40%, respectively, of domestic printed T-shirt and thermal underwear market share at present, while around 40% of the items sold on Taobao’s top 10 T-shirt stores are produced throughout Suning.

In the past, garments produced by Wanli’s villagers had to be sent to places like the Dahongmen Wholesale Market in Beijing and the Nansantiao Wholesale Market in Shijiazhuang – Hebei’s capital – where they could then be distributed to other regions. Some merchants also travelled to various parts of China in person in search of new markets. These types of sales models were time consuming, incurred high transportation costs, and resulted in a limited number of customers being reached, however.

The development that e-commerce and express delivery services have experienced in China in recent years enables products to be marketed and sold online to consumers all over the country and for orders to be shipped quickly, which has resulted in Suning’s garment sales increasing a great deal in addition to other items produced in other areas.

Wanli is among the first townships in China to extend delivery services into its villages. A large distribution centre was also built in Suning, which shortened delivery times for products produced in Wanli by at least one day. The improvement in logistics efficiency and reduction of delivery costs that have occurred have promoted development of the township’s garment industry and corresponding e-commerce efforts.

Wanli’s garment merchants currently run more than 1,200 stores on various e-commerce platforms, receive a total of more than 16 million orders a year for RMB3 billion of annual turnover, and support the employment of more than 8,000 people.

In recent years, the township has continued to attract more investment and has been pursuing various projects, which is helping its garment industry consolidate its position and become larger and stronger. Construction of a site dedicated to making further improvements to the county’s textile industry chain and the quality of its products through new embroidery and heat transfer printing technology, R&D, design, processing and production, brand building, operations, and other aspects involving leading enterprises such as Hong Kong Hongxin Group Co. Ltd. and Beijing Fuli Dyeing and Finishing Group and the world-renowned L’alpina sportswear brand known as the Gangning Knitwear Science and Technology Industrial Park was approved in 2019 for example. Wanli also helps arrange for merchants to participate in various clothing summits, forums, and training events in order to help them improve their vision, keep pace with the times, and become more knowledgeable about e-commerce and to promote the development of its industries.

For more information, please contact WFP China COE (wfpcn.coe@wfp.org)