In the outdoor fabric specialty zone on Dongsheng Road in Keqiao's China Textile City, a noteworthy dual-brand operation is emerging: Qiting and Haoli Textiles share the same supply chain yet occupy distinct niches—outdoor functional fabrics and high-end business menswear. This differentiated layout reflects a typical path for local merchants to shift from low-margin conventional fabrics to higher-value-added segments.
Background
Qiting started operations in 2013 and was officially registered in 2014, initially selling school uniform base fabrics at the East Market, building a stable client base through quality control. In 2018, as competition intensified and margins on conventional fabrics shrank, the company pivoted strategically: it entered functional outdoor fabrics and established Haoli Textiles to focus on high-end menswear, forming a dual-brand independent operating structure.
Li Xiongzhen, general manager of Haoli Textiles, revealed that Qiting was among the first batch of merchants to move into Phase I of the Dongsheng Road outdoor functional fabric zone. As the high-end business matured, they opened an independent Haoli outlet in Phase II. The Dongsheng Road area attracts quality brands, e-commerce sellers, and designers, who demand finer fabrics and offer better order conversion—an ideal platform for high-end fabric business.
Industry Impact
Haoli's product positioning is highly distinctive: it uses natural fibers such as wool, silk, and Lyocell, and colors are achieved through plant extraction rather than chemical dyeing, emphasizing environmental friendliness. High-grade materials and special processes justify a price range of 100-600 RMB per meter, avoiding low-end price wars and directly targeting premium menswear brands and designer orders.
Supporting this model is an integrated factory and a 15,000-square-meter shared warehouse. A dual track of stock and custom orders operates in parallel: stock items handle small urgent orders, while custom orders take 3-10 days depending on the category. With complete inventory, the fastest delivery can be achieved within one hour. This rapid response capability signals supply chain stability, crucial for high-end clients.
Another key factor is digitalization. Haoli participated in the digital fabric database of the AI Fabric mini-program, digitizing core fabrics such as waffle, health knit, double-sided plain, mesh, air layer, and pique. Designers often bring fabric swatches to find similar materials; previously, manual matching and color comparison were inefficient, and remote communication with overseas clients was time-consuming. Now, the system can instantly match identical or similar fabrics with higher accuracy, becoming an essential tool for serving demanding high-end customers.
The AI Fabric experience center supporting Dongsheng Road is about to enter trial operation, featuring smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation. It will integrate online and offline display of physical fabrics, garment samples, and virtual samples. This means fabric display is moving from static swatch cards to immersive interaction, potentially reshaping procurement decision processes.
The dual-brand supply chain synergy is also notable: the outdoor fabric production line is equipped with Italian imported brushing machines, enhancing capacity and bargaining power; export channels cover European and American markets, with all products meeting EU standard fluorine-free environmental requirements. Long-term domestic clients include Qiaodun (8-10 years), Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Xiaozhubanna, providing cross-referral resources that help Haoli penetrate high-end menswear customer channels.
After two years of strategic transformation, the dual-brand effect is evident. Li Xiongzhen revealed that overall performance improved significantly last year, and this year's order growth remains strong. From school uniform fabrics to light luxury menswear, Keqiao merchants are using differentiated positioning and digital tools to reconstruct their position in the value chain.