In the Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric district of Keqiao China Textile City, a dual-brand operation is taking shape. Qiting and Haoli Textiles share a supply chain foundation but target two distinct tracks: outdoor functional and premium menswear. The latter, with unit prices ranging from 100 to 600 RMB and plant dyeing techniques, has carved a niche amid low-end price wars. This case reflects the deeper logic of Keqiao fabric merchants shifting from scale orientation to value orientation.
From School Uniforms to Light Luxury: A Time-Staggered Dual-Brand Strategy
Qiting's origin was modest. It started operations in 2013 and was officially registered in 2014, initially running a storefront in the East Market focusing on basic school uniform fabrics, building customer and supply chain trust through quality control. In 2018, as margins for conventional fabrics shrank, the brand made a pivotal split: it doubled down on functional outdoor fabrics while founding Haoli Textiles to target premium business menswear, creating an independent dual-brand operation. This time-staggered layout signals that Keqiao merchants have recognized the ceiling of single-category strategies and are proactively using brand matrices to cover different customer segments.
General manager Li Xiongzhen's remarks highlight the locational value: Dongsheng Road attracts quality brands, e-commerce sellers, and designers who demand finer fabrics, leading to better order conversion. For buyers, this means a significantly higher probability of finding high-match suppliers in the specialized district, rather than searching through a vast market.
Plant Dyeing and Digitization: The Twin Engines of Premiumization
Haoli's product strategy deliberately differentiates from the mass market. It uses natural fibers such as wool, silk, and Lyocell, abandoning chemical dyeing in favor of plant-extracted colors. This choice raises costs but also builds barriers—unit prices of 100-600 RMB precisely avoid low-end commoditization, appealing to menswear brands and designer orders. For factories, plant dyeing entails longer sampling cycles and higher technical thresholds, yet yields stronger customer loyalty.
Digital tools address the efficiency pain point of matching premium fabrics. Haoli has digitized core fabrics like waffle knit, health jersey, double-face plain knit, mesh, air layer, and pique into the AI Bu mini-program, enabling one-click matching of identical or similar fabrics. Previously, designers brought random swatches, and manual flipping and color card comparison were time-consuming; now the system quickly retrieves matches, significantly accelerating remote foreign trade coordination. For buyers, this shortens sampling time and reduces communication costs, especially for demanding high-end orders.
Supply Chain Synergy and Foreign Trade Dual Empowerment
Haoli's premium positioning does not forgo supply chain support. It shares a 15,000-square-meter warehouse and operates a dual model of ready stock and custom orders: stock handles small urgent orders, custom cycles range from 3 to 10 days, and with sufficient inventory, shipping can occur within one hour. Such responsiveness is uncommon in the premium fabric sector, implying factories must balance inventory and orders, but it builds customer trust and repeat purchases.
On the foreign trade front, its outdoor fabric production line is equipped with Italian imported napping machines, and exports meet EU-standard fluorine-free environmental requirements, deeply cultivating European and American markets. Domestically, it has collaborated with Qiaodun for 8-10 years, along with clients like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Xiaozhubanna. The dual brands share channels: Qiting's outdoor customers can be funneled to Haoli's premium menswear line, and vice versa. Li Xiongzhen reveals that after two years of strategic transformation, overall performance has improved significantly, and this year's order growth is expected to maintain momentum. This data point is empirical evidence of Keqiao merchants' leap from pure manufacturing to brand operation.
Practical Recommendations
For Buyers - When seeking premium menswear fabrics, prioritize the Dongsheng Road specialized district, focusing on differentiated selling points like plant dyeing and natural fibers rather than mere price comparison. - Leverage AI fabric search tools (e.g., AI Bu mini-program) to quickly match similar fabrics, drastically shortening sampling cycles, especially for small urgent orders. - When cooperating with integrated manufacturers, clarify delivery boundaries for stock vs. custom orders; lock in one-hour shipping commitments in contracts.
For Foreign Trade Enterprises - Borrow the dual-brand model: incubate a premium sub-brand alongside mature categories, using differentiation to avoid price wars, but ensure shared supply chain capabilities. - Prioritize digital archive building: input core fabrics into searchable systems to enhance remote customer service efficiency and reduce sample shipping costs. - Environmental standards are a gateway for exports: ensure products meet international requirements like EU fluorine-free, and use this as a selling point to penetrate European and American markets.
The upgrade story of Keqiao's fabric industry is evolving from single-product innovation to systematic brand operation. The Qiting and Haoli case demonstrates that when price wars become unsustainable, a combination of supply chain depth, digital tools, and eco-friendly processes may be a viable path for small and medium merchants to break through.