In Keqiao's China Textile City, the Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric district is becoming a testing ground for premium fabric merchants. The dual-brand strategy of Haoli Textile and Qiting uses plant dyeing and digital tools to carve out a survival space in the 100-600 RMB price band, avoiding the involution of the mass market. This path offers a replicable transformation model for textile merchants squeezed by costs and homogenization.
Background
The brand's start was modest. Qiting launched in 2013, registered in 2014, initially selling basic school uniform fabrics at the East Market, building customer trust through quality control. In 2018, as competition intensified and profits on conventional fabrics shrank, the brand pivoted: one line focused on functional outdoor fabrics, while a new brand, Haoli, targeted high-end business menswear, forming a dual-brand independent operation. This shift was essentially a leap from low-value-added to high-value-added categories, driven by a sober assessment of market saturation.
Haoli's differentiation hinges on materials and craftsmanship. It exclusively uses natural fibers like wool, silk, and lyocell, abandoning chemical dyeing in favor of plant-extracted coloring. This eco-positioning directly lifts pricing—fabric prices stay in the 100-600 RMB range, precisely serving high-end menswear brands and designer orders, avoiding price wars in low-end fabrics. For buyers, this means the fabric itself becomes a premium driver for garments, not a cost burden.
Industrial Impact
Supply chain efficiency is critical for premium fabrics to land. Haoli leverages its integrated factory, sharing 15,000 square meters of warehousing, with a dual model of stock and custom orders: stock handles small urgent orders, custom cycles are 3-10 days, and fastest dispatch is one hour. This speed is uncommon in the premium segment, requiring tight coordination of inventory, production scheduling, and logistics. For downstream apparel companies, rapid response means lower inventory risk and more flexible launch cycles.
Digitalization is another ace. Haoli participates in the AI Fabric mini-program, digitizing core fabrics like waffle, health knit, double jersey, mesh, air layer, and pique for one-click matching of similar fabrics. Previously, designers with sample swatches relied on manual comparison, inefficient for remote overseas clients. Now the system retrieves matches quickly, boosting accuracy. For high-end clients, digitalization saves time and reduces miscommunication costs.
The AI Fabric experience hall near Dongsheng Road is about to trial-run, featuring smart body scanning, 3D virtual try-on, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation, displaying physical fabrics and virtual samples online and offline. This signals a shift from physical sampling to digital twins, allowing buyers to preview garment effects remotely and reduce sampling trips. For Keqiao merchants, this is both a service upgrade and a channel expansion—designers and brand clients can assess fabric texture and fit more intuitively.
Dual-brand synergy amplifies scale effects. The outdoor fabric line uses Italian-imported napping equipment, boosting capacity and bargaining power; exports to Europe and the US meet OEKO-TEX and fluorine-free environmental standards. Domestically, long-term cooperation with Qiaodun spans 8-10 years, serving brands like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Xiaozhubanna, feeding clients to Haoli's high-end menswear channel. This shared supply chain and customer base lowers entry costs for the new brand and accelerates premium business growth.