Cover news trainee reporters Yang Lan and Yang Ruiwen Some pictures are from the Internet
In recent months, Caoxian County has been on the Internet hot searches many times. Regarding this small border town, netizens exclaimed, "I would rather have a bed in Caoxian County than a house in Shanghai." The magic of Caoxian County is that, as an ordinary third-tier town, it became an instant hit due to the right time, location, and people. Many people jokingly call Caoxian County a place that "punches north and kicks Guangzhou and Shenzhen".
As Caoxian County, which accounts for three-thirds of the world's Hanfu market, will this huge wave of traffic push its Hanfu industry to a higher level?
What kind of "traffic dividend" can the explosion in Caoxian County bring to local dealers and Hanfu manufacturers?
On May 26, the cover news reporter talked with Wang Xiaocan, director of the Advanced Customization Research Center of the School of Continuing Education of the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and vice president of the Apparel Talent Professional Committee of the China Talent Research Association, as well as three companies located in Taobao Village in Cao County. Hanfu merchants and manufacturers explore the current situation and root causes of Hanfu production in Cao County.
Performance costumes and Hanfu processing in Caoxian County
Businessmen: The Hanfu industry has accumulated internal strength for many years
Currently Sales volume has little to do with the popularity
After experiencing the popularity, Caoxian has become the focus of netizens across the country. Various media outlets have reported on Caoxian County’s “secret of getting out of the circle”, shaping Caoxian County into a new first-tier e-commerce metropolis that is about to be born in the future, and the entire network has been flooded with “Caohua” jokes...
What is the current situation of businesses in Caoxian County under the huge traffic and attention? The cover news reporter contacted local clothing merchants in Caoxian County by phone: Mr. Xu, the owner of Caoxian Han Gongchun Clothing Co., Ltd., Mr. Zhou, the owner of Caoxian Hanyuan Ancient Style Clothing Co., Ltd., and He Hong, the owner of Caoxian Hanyuan Clothing Co., Ltd.
As a merchant who has been operating a clothing business in Caoxian County for seven years, Mr. Xu’s company mainly engages in wholesale and retail, and has its own Taobao store. The explosion in Caoxian County has not affected his business. It had such a huge impact that he even said "I have never heard of Caoxian Terrier". According to Mr. Xu’s understanding, the sales volume of Hanfu at other merchants in Cao County isLike his company, there has not been much change. The Hanfu industry in Caoxian County has not received any positive stimulus this year. Although more and more Hanfu merchants have settled in Caoxian County, most of them are from other places, which has little to do with the recent traffic. This number has been growing regularly for many years.
When talking about sales, Mr. Xu said that as a medium-sized businessman in Caoxian County, his annual profit from Hanfu can reach 6 to 7 million when business is good, and in the off-season (spring) During the summer, sales will be significantly reduced.
He Hong, located in Yulinji Village, Ancailou Town, Cao County, founded his Hanfu company "Cao County Han Element Clothing Co., Ltd." in 2017. "I have never heard of the phrase 'Cao County is on fire', and the explosion in Caoxian County has not had a big impact on me. At present, the company's development situation can only be said to be average, and sales are still declining." And many merchants in Taobao Village now Similarly, He Hong is also making his own designer originals, and the craft style includes printing and embroidery.
Mr. Zhou has been working in the field of Hanfu for about four years. He runs a Hanfu processing factory in Caoxian County with about 30 people and an area of more than 600 square meters. Unlike retailers, Mr. Zhou's sales this year are up 30% compared to last year. "The rapid growth of the Hanfu industry in Caoxian County is due to the internal strength accumulated over many years. Taobao Village began to make photo studio costumes in the 1980s. Hanfu appeared in the past few years. Now there are thousands of Hanfu merchants here."
Regarding netizens’ comments about Caoxian Hanfu being “low-quality and low-priced” and “only copying original brands”, Mr. Zhou responded that as the clothing industry in Caoxian County becomes bigger and bigger, more and more local Hanfu brands are emerging.
"The future Hanfu of Caoxian will be adjusted and upgraded according to market demand. Although clothing and e-commerce have become the two major features of Caoxian, the tradition of Caoxian - the craftsmanship of making coffins and shrouds is still being It has been passed down very well."
What is the reason for the explosion in Caoxian County?
The devil’s shouting and the county magistrate’s live broadcast
Recently, it can be seen everywhere on social media The "Cao County stalker" ranged from "I would rather have a bed in Caoxian than a house in Shanghai" to "China cannot live without Caoxian." Public information shows that the topic "What is Caoxian?" once reached the top of the hot search, with more than 470 million views. This puzzled netizens.
Where did “Cao County Terrier” come from? How did Caoxian County become the "center of the universe"? How did this small county, which was not so well-known before, seize the Chinese Hanfu market with Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Chengdu in just one year after the Hanfu industry exploded, with a momentum comparable to the "three-thirds of the world" during the Three Kingdoms period?
The recent popularity of Caoxian County stems from the magical shouting of the host Dashuo "Shandong Heze Caoxian County 666 My Baby". His strong local accent and ups and downs of intonation make this The short video immediately went viral. Caoxian County began to be known to more people.
Shoutmai anchor Dashuo
It is reported that before getting involved in Hanfu, Caoxian County was the largest performance costume processing base in China. Daji Town, located in the southeast of Cao County, is a major town for performance costume production in Cao County. The performance costume production industry has a long history in Caoxian County, and it was in 2010 that it really brought substantial profits. As a major town in the production of performance costumes in Cao County, villagers in Daji Town have begun to contact e-commerce since 2010.
Among them, Dinglou Village was the first village to start clothing production. It was once known as the "No. 1 Taobao Village in Shandong". Most of the children's performance clothing sold online comes from here. According to public data, as of June 2019, there were 15 Taobao towns and 124 Taobao villages in Cao County.
"I am Liang Huimin, the county magistrate of Cao County, and I endorse the specialty products of my hometown! Cao County is the largest Hanfu production base in China, and Cao County Hanfu is famous throughout the country!" With the help of a wave of traffic, in March 2020 On the evening of March 19, Caoxian County Party Committee Deputy Secretary and County Magistrate Liang Huimin personally wore Hanfu to "go into battle"... According to statistics, the live broadcast attracted more than 1.6 million people to watch, and more than 3,000 Hanfu were sold within half an hour. Overnight, netizens across the country saw the "energy" of Caoxian's Hanfu industry.
Nowadays, Caoxian County is home to hundreds of Hanfu processing companies. Data from the Cao County E-commerce Service Center shows that local Hanfu products sold through e-commerce channels account for 1/3 of the national Hanfu online sales; Cao County is also the second largest Taobao village cluster in the country - the "Cosmic Center" Cao County It was formed step by step.
City pictures of Caoxian County
Upgrading from "Hanfu business" to "Hanfu industry"
Cao County The explosion in Caoxian County may be an opportunity for its transformation
Is the explosion in Caoxian County inevitable or accidental? How long can its Hanfu production and sales model of small profits but quick turnover last? Will a merchant's sales be positively affected by the focus on online traffic? With these questions, the reporter asked Wang Xiaocan from the School of Continuing Education of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology for answers.
Wang Xiaocan responded that the "active promotion + precise positioning" of public relations promotion is one of the important reasons for Caoxian County to break out of the circle. It is actually no accident that Caoxian’s production and sales model has become popular on the Internet. Some of them, such as the county magistrate's live broadcast, are actually Cao County consciously doing public relations promotion to promote their regional brand. The content it promotes is mainly industry-based, which is an area that netizens did not understand before, which just aroused everyone's interest.
Wang Xiaocan
Why did Cao County form a model of small profits but quick turnover? In fact, according to the original market demand in Caoxian County, whether it is Hanfu or shrouds, the pricing is not very expensive. The business model born under such huge market demand has, over time, been upgraded to become a suit factory, or to provide matching costumes for movies and TV series, etc. In this context, the production and sales model of small profits but quick turnover was born.
Wang Xiaocan believes that Caoxian’s small-profit-quick-turnover approach adapts to the market’s needs at a certain stage, and during this period, there will be a large increase in development. In the future, this relatively low-end industry, that is, some industries with very low prices, not high enough value, and not high enough profits, will always exist because of their specific consumer groups.
Caoxian Hanfu sold at low prices on a shopping website
This phenomenon can be explained by "consumption grading". Some online platforms adopt the method of small profits but quick turnover Route, the items sold above are very cheap, and they may be targeted at consumers in fourth- and fifth-tier cities. In addition, there are many market demands that cannot be met by this production and marketing route. For example, there are also consumers who buy expensive Hanfu categories because of their "pursuit of spiritual and cultural needs." But no matter what method is used, the "Hanfu craze" is a very good thing, which can strengthen Chinese people's understanding and identification of Chinese culture.
Unlike the production and sales model of Hanfu in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and other places, are the categories of Hanfu products in Caoxian County rich enough? Can they meet the current market demand? This is something to think about.
Shopping APP Caoxian Hanfu search results
Wang Xiaocan put forward her point of view. The explosion in Caoxian County failed to bring a particularly large positive impact to merchants. The reason is probably that , Hanfu in Caoxian County is currently just a "business", but it has not yet formed an industry. Without good industrial planning, it will be difficult to form linkages in the industrial chain. Merchants may think that they "just made a piece of clothing or a product." Although they sell a lot of goods, they have not thought about what added value the Hanfu products they produce can bring to them in addition to sales.
But the explosion of Caoxian County may also have its own important significance. Wang Xiaocan said: "If we take this opportunity to upgrade the entire Hanfu industry, perhaps in the future, Caoxian County will occupy an important place in the entire clothing field. According to Local industrial planning and industry understanding determine how far Caoxian County can go in the future. ”
