In Keqiao's China Textile City, the survival rules for fabric merchants are being rewritten. As the mass market sinks into price wars, a cohort of merchants is breaking upward, rebuilding competitiveness through niche segmentation and digital tools. The dual-brand layout of Qiting and Haoli Textiles is a typical example—starting from school uniform fabrics, shifting to high-end menswear and light luxury, their path reflects deeper changes in the Keqiao industrial belt.
Background
The brand's trajectory began in 2013 when Qiting set up a storefront in the East Market, focusing on basic school uniform fabrics, building stable customers through solid quality control. In 2018, as profits from conventional fabrics came under pressure, the brand initiated a strategic transformation: on one hand, developing functional outdoor fabrics; on the other, founding Haoli Textiles to target high-end menswear, forming a dual-brand independent operation. This decision reflects the inevitable shift of Keqiao's fabric market from extensive to refined.
Haoli's differentiation is clear: the entire line uses natural fibers such as wool, silk, and lyocell, abandoning chemical dyeing in favor of plant-based extraction. Fabric prices range from 100 to 600 yuan, precisely targeting high-end menswear brands and designer orders. This means the brand proactively avoids low-end price competition, building barriers through the scarcity of materials and craftsmanship. For buyers, the value lies in environmental attributes and irreplaceable texture, not just price.
Industrial Impact
The supply chain advantage of dual-brand synergy deserves attention. Haoli shares 15,000 square meters of warehousing, adopting both stock and custom models: stock items can quickly handle small urgent orders, while custom orders are controlled within 3-10 days, with the fastest shipping at 1 hour. This rapid response capability is crucial for high-end designer clients, who often need frequent sampling and adjustments—something traditional suppliers struggle to meet.
Digitalization is another highlight. Haoli participates in building the AI Fabric mini-program, digitizing core fabrics like waffle, health, double-sided plain, mesh, air layer, and pique. The system's one-click matching function solves the pain point of clients bringing sample swatches. Previously, manual swatch searching and color card comparison were inefficient, and remote communication with foreign trade clients was time-consuming; now the system quickly retrieves matches, improving accuracy and saving labor. For foreign trade enterprises, this means lower remote communication costs and higher order conversion rates.
The AI Fabric Experience Hall, supporting the Dong Sheng Road outdoor fabric zone, is about to trial operation, featuring smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation. This online-offline integration extends fabric display from physical to virtual, offering immersive fabric-seeking experiences for designers and brand clients. For Keqiao merchants, it's not just a wider display channel but a service upgrade—from selling fabric to selling solutions.