While most fabric merchants struggle for a few cents of profit per meter, a dual-brand duo in Keqiao's Dongsheng Road has pushed unit prices into the 100-600 RMB range—three to five times that of conventional fabrics. This is not a simple product upgrade but a systematic reconstruction involving time, positioning, and digital capability.
Background
The story began in 2013, when the Qiting brand started in Keqiao's East Market, focusing on school uniform base fabrics, building a solid customer base through strict quality control. In 2018, as profits in conventional fabrics shrank, the company pivoted: it developed outdoor functional fabrics and launched Haoli Textile, targeting premium menswear fabrics. Today, Qiting operates in Phase I of the Dongsheng Road outdoor functional fabric zone, while Haoli has a standalone booth in Phase II, sharing a 15,000-square-meter warehouse and an integrated factory, forming a clear dual-brand matrix.
This layout is no accident. The Dongsheng Road area attracts numerous brand owners, e-commerce merchants, and designers who demand finer fabrics and offer higher conversion rates. For Haoli, it is an ideal testing ground. General manager Li Xiongzhen notes that high-quality customers not only bring orders but also push product excellence.
Industry Impact
Haoli's product logic is simple: it uses natural fibers like wool, silk, and lyocell, with colors derived from plant extracts instead of chemical dyes. This positioning directly addresses the dual demand for eco-friendliness and texture in premium menswear and light luxury. More importantly, it avoids the price war in low-end fabrics—while peers compete on cost, Haoli competes on craftsmanship and story.
Supply chain efficiency is another moat. A dual model of stock and custom orders runs in parallel: stock supports small-batch urgent orders, custom cycles take 3-10 days, and with ample inventory, the fastest dispatch is within one hour. This agility is critical for designer brands seeking quick response. Meanwhile, the outdoor line uses Italian napping machines, exports meet EU fluorine-free environmental standards, and overseas channels target Europe and the US. Domestically, Haoli has collaborated with Qiaodun for over eight years, plus customers like Xiaobeibei and Little Swan, enabling cross-referral between the two brands.
Digital tools amplify this advantage. Haoli has digitized core fabrics—waffle, health jersey, air layer, etc.—into the AI Bu mini-program. For designers, finding similar fabrics from swatches used to be a nightmare; now the system matches instantly, and remote communication with overseas clients is far more efficient. Li emphasizes that digitalization is not a gimmick but essential infrastructure for serving high-end clients.
Notably, the AI Bu experience hall in Dongsheng Road is about to trial, featuring smart body measurement, 3D virtual try-on, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation. This extends fabric display from physical to virtual, linking online and offline, offering immersive fabric searching for designers and brand buyers. For buyers, it reduces sampling time; for merchants, it opens new display channels.
After two years of transformation, the synergies are evident. Last year's performance improved significantly, and this year's order growth remains promising. This case offers a lesson for fabric merchants in Keqiao and beyond: high-end upgrading is not blind price hikes but a composite capability built on supply chain depth, craft barriers, and digital tools.