The Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric zone in Keqiao's China Textile City is emerging as a microcosm of the industry's upgrade. Merchants here are increasingly seeking differentiation to break into high-end markets. The dual-brand operation of Haoli Textiles and Qiting is a representative case—starting from school uniform fabrics and now targeting plant-dyed high-end menswear, their transformation path reflects the broader shift from scale competition to value competition in the Keqiao cluster.
The Logic Behind Dual Brands
Qiting began operations in 2013 and was officially registered in 2014, starting with a storefront in the East Market, focusing on basic school uniform fabrics. This phase built quality control capabilities and customer resources, laying the groundwork for later transformation. In 2018, as margins on conventional fabrics shrank, the company made two key moves: entering functional outdoor fabrics and establishing Haoli Textiles to focus on high-end business menswear. This dual-brand independent operation essentially separates 'volume' and 'quality' businesses to avoid internal resource misallocation.
Notably, Haoli opened an independent booth in Phase II, complementing Qiting's presence in Phase I of Dongsheng Road. The area attracts brand owners, e-commerce merchants, and fashion designers who demand finer fabrics and offer higher conversion rates. For high-end fabric business, such clientele means shorter decision chains and higher premium potential. While sharing warehousing and supply chain resources, the two brands serve distinct target customers—a 'separate but not scattered' layout that reduces trial costs and amplifies synergies.
Plant Dyeing and Digitalization: Two Pillars of High-End Strategy
Haoli's product strategy is clear: use pure natural fibers like wool, silk, and Lyocell, with colors derived from natural plant extracts, avoiding traditional chemical dyeing. This process choice directly elevates pricing—fabric unit prices range from 100 to 600 RMB, precisely targeting high-end menswear brands and designer fashion orders. Amid intensifying price wars in low-end fabrics, plant dyeing offers environmental attributes and scarcity, creating an effective barrier against homogenized competition.
But high-end positioning requires more than materials and craftsmanship; service efficiency drives customer stickiness. Leveraging its integrated factory, Haoli shares a 15,000-square-meter warehouse, adopting a dual model of spot goods and custom orders: spot inventory handles small urgent orders, while custom orders are controlled within 3-10 days, with fastest shipping in one hour. This responsiveness significantly reduces trial costs for high-end designers and brand buyers who often bring fabric swatches seeking similar alternatives.
Digital tools play a crucial role. The company participates in the AI Bu mini-program's digital fabric database, archiving core fabrics like waffle, health knit, double-sided plain knit, mesh, air layer, and pique. The system's one-click matching feature replaces manual swatch comparisons, especially effective for remote overseas client communication. This is not just efficiency—it standardizes non-standard services. High-end clients have strict requirements on hand feel and structure; digital retrieval can more accurately identify fabrics meeting expectations, reducing communication errors.
Digital Experience Hall and Supply Chain Synergy
The AI Bu experience hall, soon to trial operation in the Dongsheng Road zone, features smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation. This offline venue extends fabric display from physical to virtual-physical integration, allowing designers and brand clients to intuitively experience fabric texture and garment effects before quickly matching via online digital archives. For merchants, the hall broadens customer acquisition channels and enhances professional image.
Supply chain synergy is equally noteworthy. The outdoor fabric line uses Italian imported napping equipment, expanding capacity and improving bargaining power and production speed. Export channels target European and American markets, with fabrics meeting EU standard fluorine-free environmental requirements. Domestically, long-term cooperation with Qiaodun (8-10 years) and brands like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Xiaozhubanna provides cross-referral opportunities. These resources flow bidirectionally between the two brands—mature outdoor fabric channels open doors for Haoli's high-end menswear fabrics, while premium branding feeds back into overall supply chain profitability.
Two years after strategic transformation, the company reports significant performance improvement last year, with optimistic order growth this year. The lesson for Keqiao merchants: upgrading isn't just about raising prices, but building a complete value delivery system through category focus, process differentiation, digital tools, and supply chain collaboration. For peers still struggling in price wars, this offers a reference route for breakthrough.