While the Keqiao fabric market remains locked in a price war over a few cents per meter, a different path is emerging in the Dongsheng Road zone: selling fabrics at 100-600 yuan per meter, using plant dyes and natural fibers to serve the premium menswear segment, and compressing sample-matching time from half a day to minutes with digital tools. This is the differentiation playbook of Haoli Textile and Qiting, a microcosm of Keqiao's shift from volume to value.
Background
Haoli Textile's origins were modest. In 2013, Qiting started in the East Market, focusing on basic school uniform fabrics, building a client base through solid quality control. By 2018, margins on conventional fabrics were squeezed, prompting a strategic split: one track committed to functional outdoor fabrics, while a new brand, Haoli, targeted premium business menswear. Today, Qiting occupies a stall in Phase 1 of the Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric zone, while Haoli operates independently in Phase 2, serving distinct customer segments.
This dual-track approach is not merely opening another storefront; it requires a complete separation of supply chains, customer bases, and pricing logic. School uniform fabrics compete on stability and cost, while premium menswear demands material quality, craftsmanship, and eco-friendliness. Haoli uses only natural fibers like wool, silk, and lyocell, with colors derived from plant extracts instead of chemical dyes. This necessitates rebuilding the entire procurement and dyeing system—not just hanging a new sign.
Industry Impact
For buyers, this differentiation changes the comparison logic. Premium menswear designers and brand purchasers often bring fabric scraps to find similar materials; previously, manual searching and color card matching were inefficient and error-prone. Haoli has digitized core fabrics like waffle knit, health knit, double jersey, mesh, air layer, and pique into the AI Fabric mini-program, enabling one-click matching of identical or similar fabrics, and remote communication with overseas clients without repeated shipping. For orders with tight deadlines, in-stock goods can ship within an hour, while custom orders take 3-10 days, backed by 15,000 square meters of warehouse space and an integrated factory.
For Keqiao's local merchants, this signals that low-price volume strategies have limited room, but high-end positioning is not merely about being expensive. Haoli's pricing range of 100-600 yuan avoids low-end competition while leveraging outdoor functional lines and export channels (meeting EU standards for fluorine-free eco-friendliness) for mutual traffic. Domestic partnerships include Jodun for 8-10 years, plus clients like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Little Bannerman, providing a ready channel for premium menswear.
Digitalization is another variable. The AI Fabric experience center at Dongsheng Road is about to trial operations, featuring smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visualization, and garment simulation. For high-end clients, this immersive experience reduces decision costs; for merchants, online-offline integration expands display and customer acquisition channels. However, digital tools are only amplifiers; the core value remains the fabric's differentiation itself.