What is the profit margin on a piece of school uniform fabric? While conventional fabrics are caught in price wars, a dual-brand operation in Keqiao's Dongsheng Road has pushed unit prices to 100-600 yuan, relying on plant dyeing and digitalization.
From School Uniforms to Light Luxury: A Proactive Lane Change
Qiting, launched in 2013 and registered in 2014, started in the East Market with basic school uniform fabrics, building stable customers and a mature supply chain through strict quality control. But in 2018, as competition intensified and margins on conventional fabrics shrank, the brand pivoted decisively: developing functional outdoor fabrics on one side, and founding Haoli Textile to target premium menswear on the other, forming a dual-brand independent operation. The industry backdrop was clear—homogenization in the mass fabric market, while demand for differentiated fabrics in premium menswear and light luxury was rising.
Today, Qiting occupies the first phase of the Dongsheng Road outdoor functional fabric zone, while Haoli has a separate booth in the second phase, each serving a distinct track. For buyers, this means access to a full range from outdoor functional to premium menswear fabrics in one location, eliminating the need for fragmented sourcing.
Plant Dyeing + Natural Fibers: The Technical Fulcrum of Premiumization
Haoli uses pure natural fibers like wool, silk, and Lyocell, and instead of chemical dyes, colors are extracted from natural plants. The logic is clear: eco-friendliness aligns with the sustainability demands of high-end brands and designers, while the technical barrier naturally deters low-end imitators. The 100-600 yuan price range precisely avoids price wars, targeting customers who demand strict standards on pattern and texture.
However, colorfastness and batch consistency are industry pain points for plant dyeing. Haoli maintains this process thanks to an integrated mill. Sharing 15,000 square meters of warehousing, it offers quick response for small urgent orders, with custom order cycles of 3-10 days and fastest delivery within one hour—this supply chain flexibility is exactly what premium orders require.
Digital Tools: From Manual Matching to Instant Search
Premium fabric sourcing often involves matching swatches; previously, manual color card comparison was inefficient, and remote communication with overseas clients was time-consuming. Haoli participated in the digitalization of the AI Cloth mini-program, entering core fabrics like waffle, health knit, double-faced plain, mesh, air layer, and pique into the system, enabling one-click matching of identical or similar fabrics. For designers and brand buyers, this compresses sample search time from hours to minutes, and remote communication can visually present fabric texture.
More notably, the AI Cloth experience hall in Dongsheng Road is about to start trial operation, featuring smart body measurement, 3D virtual fitting, fabric visual creation, and garment simulation. Combining offline physical inspection with online virtual display, this O2O model will expand fabric presentation channels, especially for attracting designers and brand clients from other regions.
Dual-Brand Synergy: Multiplying Effects of Supply Chain and Channels
Haoli operates independently but shares Qiting's mature industry chain: the outdoor fabric line is equipped with Italian imported brushing machines, enhancing capacity and bargaining power; export channels cover Europe and America, meeting EU standards for fluorine-free environmental protection; domestic long-term cooperation with Qiaodun spans 8-10 years, plus clients like Xiaobeibei, Yingqi, and Little Bana. These resources flow bidirectionally, providing a ready pathway for Haoli to penetrate premium menswear channels.
Two years into the strategic transformation, the synergy is evident: last year's overall performance improved significantly, and this year's order growth remains strong. This suggests that Keqiao merchants' upgrade path is not limited to building a brand from scratch; internal incubation plus shared resources can equally achieve premiumization.