After overseas customer orders were blocked, the second generation of fabric factories went on Tmall and became popular with black technology denim

A pair of high-tech facial mask pants suddenly became popular on the Internet, and the manufacturer Beijiang Zhilian Textile Co., Ltd. also surfaced.

As a super fabric factory with an annual production capacity of 100 million meters of denim, when the overseas market was hit hard during the epidemic, the "second-generation factory owner" Gu Xiang seized the opportunity of Tmall to connect the factory with the brands on the platform. He not only quickly trained himself into an expert in e-commerce operations, but also accelerated the research and development of domestic black-tech fabrics. In just one year, he launched moisturizing mask pants, heat-generating self-entertainment pants, ice-free sun-protection clothing, and pet companion pants ... One by one, the imaginative black-tech denim refreshed the public's perception of domestic fabrics and became increasingly popular on Tmall, setting a record of selling more than 10,000 pairs of jeans in 40 seconds.

Foreign trade is blocked, domestic sales are booming, and more than 10 black technology super fabrics are launched this year

Gu Xiang, who is now in his early 40s, is a true "second-generation factory owner". In the 1990s , his father established a denim factory in a joint venture with others to accept foreign trade orders. At that time, Gu Xiang, who was still studying computer science, was already able to take fabrics to negotiate orders and make money. After graduation, he naturally took charge of the operation of Beijiang Zhilian Denim Enterprise. In the face of a large number of demanding orders, he upgraded the factory step by step to achieve an annual output of 100 million meters of denim.

In the company's business system, overseas orders account for 70 %. However, with the development of the global epidemic in the past year, the demand in the foreign market has fluctuated drastically, which has also made the company constantly reflect on its business logic and how to turn crisis into opportunity. The company's director Zhong Zhangwei laughed and said: "I think about what to do in Starbucks every day. I drink more coffee in a year than in the past ten years combined."

It is also in this anxiety that the fabric factory, which could have stayed away from the Internet, has become closer and closer to Tmall. From the beginning of 2020 to the present, this factory has gone from behind the scenes to the front stage. Through the big data feedback of the Tmall platform, it has stood together with a group of clothing brands and launched dozens of technological fabrics, playing with temperature regulation and moisturizing technology, launching cool jeans, sun-proof denim pants, and mask jeans. Basically, "they are sold out as soon as they are launched", and orders are in short supply. Among them, a pair of self-heating jeans sold out tens of thousands of pieces in 40 seconds in the Taobao live broadcast room.

On March 23 , after Tmall released a new fashion sun protection category, Beijiang Zhilian immediately launched its newly developed cool sun protection denim clothing online, attracting the attention of many brands and consumers .

[Photo: The factory produces a high-tech denim video for clothing manufacturers]

The world's leading fabric technology   Once unable to be brought to market

Guangdong is the place for textiles in China. Not only are there thousands of factories here, but there is also the world's largest textile and clothing market, the Zhongda Cloth Business District. In the Light Textile City, every button, thread, and material for clothing can be found here quickly. However, Gu Xiang clearly remembers more than a decade ago: "We went to participate in the top international denim exhibition, but we couldn't even get in."

Since taking over the factory, Gu Xiang has been closely following the trend and doing research and development. Now, Gu Xiang has completed his studies and reached the stage of independent innovation. He confidently told reporters: "It can be said that the technological level of these fabric factories in China can be ranked among the top in the world, or even the first."

However, it is very difficult for factories to bring these innovative fabrics to the market. A few years ago, Beijiang Zhilian began to try to design and produce with some well-known clothing companies. However, it was found that the products were often squeezed out of some offline stores.

Gu Xiang analyzed that the core problem is that consumers don't understand what's good about this clothing at all, so we must find a place to test the style faster and better convey the selling points, so as to achieve the first round of hits. Factories should not only export technology and products, but also shoulder more responsibilities on the marketing side and create new supplies.

[Photo: Gu Xiang (center) and employees monitor the development and production of new products in the factory]

Using Tmall consumer trends to guide production, factories become "all-rounders" in production and sales

Around the beginning of 2020 , Tmall launched the Super Fabric Project, which brought together apparel brands and excellent fabric manufacturers to study big data to feedback consumption trends and launch new products on demand. Gu Xiang felt that "his mind was opened up all of a sudden". On Tmall, he could not only communicate with a large number of brands, but also accurately identify their needs and complete product testing at a low cost.

"On Tmall, we can accomplish in two months what would take half a year. " Beijiang Zhilian has held three consecutive roadshows to showcase fabrics to major apparel brands, and has reached cooperation with about 50 brands. In early 2020 , after the first cooperative product was launched on Tmall, the apparel brand excitedly called Beijiang Zhilian, saying that they had never encountered such a situation where a product was sold out during pre-sale.

Gu Xiang was deeply encouraged, and the demand from clothing merchants kept coming back. The company's innovation "courage" became bigger and bigger. From aviation suit materials to collagen applications, black technology fabrics were constantly tested on Tmall. Before this summer, a Macalle ice cream denim series made with Beijiang Zhilian's latest fabrics was ready, and even product descriptions, e-commerce copywriting, and video materials were delivered together. Beijiang Zhilian has become a "factory + advertising " company. In the words of the Macalle brand manager, "Beijiang not only helps with 'birth' but also manages 'nurturing'."

"In the past, you didn't know if you could sell such a new product, but today on digital platforms, you can tell how much a good product will sell, which really brings great opportunities to the industry." Gu Xiang said that in order to more accurately perceive consumer demand and to provide more precise services to online clothing merchants, when the company started to explore online, Gu Xiang stayed in the office alone until midnight to study Tmall stores for a month. He said: "There will always be people who want to do such things, and even if they fail, it can become an experience for the industry."