A county-level city in central China saw its apparel e-commerce transaction volume hit 70 billion yuan in a single year, ranking first in women's clothing sales in Hubei Province. Tianmen is leveraging its flexible supply chain, AI technology, and cross-border livestreaming to race toward a 100-billion-yuan industrial cluster.
Industrial Foundation: Flexible Supply Chain and Returnee Dividend
Tianmen's rise is no accident. Public data shows the city has built 37 textile and apparel industrial parks, hosting 43,000 market entities and 13,000 e-commerce stores. In 2025, apparel e-commerce transactions exceeded 70 billion yuan, with women's clothing dominating the provincial market.
The core enabler is the 'small order, fast turnaround' capability—orders as low as 50-100 pieces per style, with hot-selling items delivered in 48 hours. This flexibility gives Tianmen a competitive edge in fast-paced e-commerce. Additionally, Tianmen boasts one of the lowest express delivery costs in Hubei, directly enhancing price competitiveness.
Another key factor is the 'returning geese' effect: nearly 100,000 migrant workers have returned to start businesses or find jobs, bringing mature skills, experience, and supply chain resources. These returnees are not just labor; they carry factory know-how and e-commerce acumen from coastal regions, providing a human capital foundation for industrial upgrading.
Branding and Digitalization: Walking on Two Legs
In 2023, the regional public brand 'Tianmen Yishang' was officially launched. Over the next two years, a brand usage management method was issued, 13 enterprises became first-licensed users, a brand pavilion opened, and a management system covering 194 standards was rolled out. The supply chain information platform certified over 1,200 entities. In December 2025, the brand won the gold medal in the 'My Favorite Hubei Brand' TV competition.
Alongside branding, digital transformation is reshaping production and operations. Take local leader Laiyiyao, a dress company relocated from Guangzhou. Its daily orders surged from 3,000 to 100,000, with annual sales reaching 1.4 billion yuan in 2025. The key change is AI application: previously, shooting a set of product images took ten days to half a month; now, AI generates over ten sets in half an hour. Customer service, which once required 60-80 staff, is now handled by six to seven people using AI agents. For small and medium businesses, this means lower operational barriers and significantly reduced marginal costs.
Cross-Border Livestreaming: A Direct Channel Overseas
Another growth driver is cross-border livestreaming. Since launching women's apparel business in Thailand in November 2025, Tianmen has shipped over 200,000 units by end of May 2026, running 20 livestream rooms with a stable daily order volume of 3,000-4,000. 85% of goods are sourced locally, with monthly sales of 160,000 garments.
The model uses a 'dual-track' system: the Tianmen headquarters handles product selection, traffic investment, and operations, while the Thai team handles livestreaming and after-sales. The real value lies in data feedback—real-time consumer reactions guide factories to adjust styles and patterns, boosting partner factory profits by 15%-20%. The team plans to expand Thai livestream rooms to 50-80 this year, and enter Vietnam and Indonesia next year.
For Tianmen, cross-border livestreaming bypasses traditional middlemen, directly reaching end consumers. As local practitioners put it: 'Tianmen apparel lacks neither capacity nor quality—only a direct channel to overseas consumers. That's what we are building.'