Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware sells well overseas with its long strip floor drains: the first foreign trade order came from Alibaba International Station

The floor drain that everyone is most familiar with can be sold at several times its price in overseas markets through Alibaba International Station by changing its shape. Ningbo's independent bathroom brand "Haizi" has recently become popular overseas.

Zhou Ciping, founder of Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., said: " A traditional floor drain usually costs only a few dozen yuan, while a long strip floor drain can be sold for more than 200 yuan, with higher profits." The success of the long strip floor drain has enabled Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware to win a good battle in its overseas expansion with its own brand.

It is worth mentioning that the first order for Haizi Sanitary Ware's long strip floor drain was received from Alibaba International Station. Not only that, Haizi Sanitary Ware also received a large order from North America on Alibaba International Station , with a single order selling 80,000 sets . Now Haizi Sanitary Ware can sell 700,000 sets of floor drains to the global market every year .

Photo: Zhou Ciping (right), founder of Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., inspecting the site

Although Haizi Sanitary Ware does not offer high prices in the low-end market, it still sells so well, which shows that it has chosen the right way to go overseas.

"Innovation + private brand is the only way out." Zhou Ciping introduced that since he started Haizi Sanitary Ware in 2009, he has made up his mind not to just follow the old path of OEM and private labeling, but to independently develop sanitary ware products and sell his own brand to the world.

In 2009, the long strip floor drain was introduced to the market, and foreign buyers had rarely seen this type of product. But the mystery behind this shape change quickly conquered the overseas market.

It turns out that in traditional bathroom design, floor drains are usually designed to be round or square, but this shape of floor drains is not fast enough and can be easily blocked by foreign objects such as hair, so it is often necessary to make a water barrier on the bathroom floor. Although this water barrier can block water, it can also "block people", especially the elderly with limited mobility, bringing the risk of falling.

For elderly people in wheelchairs, it is very inconvenient to enter and exit the bathroom because of the water retaining bar attached to the round floor drain.

Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware's original long strip floor drain design can be embedded in floor tiles and wall edges, which makes water drainage faster and less prone to clogging. This eliminates the need for a water retaining bar, reduces the height difference of the bathroom, and creates an effect of barrier-free access, making it more friendly to the elderly.

This "age-friendly" design is very suitable for the European and American markets where aging issues are prominent.

Figure: Long strip floor drain produced by Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware

Of course, after the successful development of new products, the second challenge is how to open up overseas markets?

Zhou Ciping had already made plans in this regard. He was in charge of foreign trade before starting his own business. Based on his previous work experience, he chose to open a foreign trade brand store on Alibaba International Station and put the long strip floor drain in the online store to test the waters.

Unexpectedly, this new product received rave reviews. In addition to its aging-friendly design, the long strip floor drain is also more beautiful, can be cut and combined at will without destroying the original structure of the bathroom floor tiles, and is easier to integrate with the home space. Therefore, the long strip floor drain has become a hot-selling product in the European and American markets.

Due to the good results, in April this year, Haizi Sanitary Ware increased its investment on Alibaba International Station and upgraded to Verified Pro, becoming an industry leader. It hopes to attract higher net worth buyers through global branding.

Zhou Ciping plans to promote all new bathroom products developed overseas on the Verified Pro store on the international site in the future, so as to win large B-end orders for the company. In his opinion, the support plan for the industry leader members of Alibaba International Station can better showcase the brand strength of the company, thereby matching more high-end customers and high-quality business opportunities, and can help them develop some powerful overseas distributors.

Figure: Ningbo Haizi Sanitary Ware store on Alibaba International Station

In addition to the existing European and American markets, Haizi Sanitary Ware also hopes to use the international site to seize market share in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

During years of market competition, Zhou Ciping has always believed that if a company only pursues the number of orders and takes the route of "small profits but quick turnover" , it will easily be replaced by its peers.

"The profit margin of bathroom products is very thin. For OEM products, a factory with ten or so people can produce them, as can a factory with three or five people. Our factory with more than 100 people cannot compete with small factories in terms of cost for the same order, because our management costs are higher, and there are also huge R&D costs." Zhou Ciping said, "So after all these years, I don't pursue the number of orders too much, but we focus on brand quality."

Ningbo

Haizi Bathroom

Alibaba International Station