In the Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric district of Keqiao's China Textile City, a quiet experiment in upmarket transformation is underway. Haoli Textile, leveraging over a decade of supply chain experience from Qiting, has entered the high-end menswear segment with plant-dyed natural fiber fabrics, priced consistently between 100-600 yuan, distinctly separating itself from the mass fabric market. This path represents a typical example of Keqiao merchants shifting from scale-based competition to value-based competition.
Background
The brand's origins trace back to 2013 when Qiting established a showroom in the East Market, focusing on school uniform base fabrics, accumulating stable customers and supply chain resources through rigorous quality control. After official registration in 2014, business expanded steadily. However, by 2018, squeezed profit margins in conventional fabrics intensified competition, prompting a strategic transformation: on one hand, pivoting to functional outdoor fabrics; on the other, founding Haoli Textile to target high-end menswear, forming a dual-brand structure.
Qiting became one of the first tenants in Phase I of the Dongsheng Road outdoor functional fabric zone. As the high-end business matured, Haoli opened an independent booth in Phase II. General Manager Li Xiongzhen noted that Dongsheng Road attracts quality brands, e-commerce merchants, and designers who demand finer fabrics and yield better order conversion, making it an ideal platform for high-end business. This location strategy essentially leverages industrial clustering to reduce customer acquisition costs.
Industry Impact
Haoli's product logic is clear: using natural fibers such as wool, silk, and Lyocell, abandoning chemical dyeing in favor of plant-based extraction. This process choice not only meets environmental demands but also builds a differentiation barrier—plant dyeing poses higher requirements on colorfastness and batch consistency, explaining the 100-600 yuan pricing. For buyers, this means significantly enhanced fabric value rather than simple cost addition.
On the supply chain side, Haoli shares Qiting's 15,000-square-meter warehouse, adopting both stock and custom order models. Stock items handle small urgent orders, while custom orders take 3-10 days, with fastest delivery in one hour thanks to complete inventory. This rapid response capability is uncommon in high-end fabrics, implying that designers and brands can drastically shorten sampling and replenishment cycles, reducing inventory risk.
The introduction of digital tools further strengthens service capabilities. Haoli participated in building the AI Fabric mini-program, digitizing core fabrics like waffle knit, health knit, double-face jersey, mesh, air layer, and pique. The one-click matching function for identical or similar fabrics solves the inefficiency of manual sample flipping and color card comparison, especially valuable for remote overseas clients. The upcoming AI Fabric Experience Hall, equipped with smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visualization, and garment simulation, will integrate online-offline display, offering designers an immersive fabric search experience.
Synergy between the dual brands is evident. The outdoor fabric production line features Italian-imported napping equipment, boosting capacity and pricing power; overseas channels target European and American markets, with exports meeting EU fluorine-free environmental standards. Domestically, long-term cooperation with Qiaodun spans 8-10 years, along with clients like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, Macedonia, and Xiaozhubanna, facilitating cross-traffic for Haoli's high-end menswear channels. Overall performance improved significantly last year, and order growth expectations for this year remain optimistic.