As outdoor sports shift from niche to mainstream, the supply-demand logic of functional fabrics is being rewritten. In the outdoor functional fabric zone at Dong Sheng Road Market, China Textile City, merchants are competing through differentiation. Among them, Yuxiang Yifeng & Lusen stands out by creating scarcity with exclusive fabrics, locking in profits via an integrated garment supply chain, and reducing marketing costs with digital tools.
Event Background
Yuxiang Yifeng, headquartered in Fujian, has operated in China Textile City for seven to eight years. This year, it officially moved into the outdoor functional fabric zone at Dong Sheng Road Market, focusing on differentiated functional knitted fabrics. The company owns complete knitting and dyeing facilities, with self-run factories for both fabrics and garments, enabling vertical supply. This asset-heavy approach is uncommon in the market, offering stronger delivery control but also higher capital occupation, demanding efficient inventory turnover.
Product department head Xie Tingfeng revealed that business covers both domestic and foreign trade, with overseas markets in Southeast Asia and Europe/America, mainly exporting basic quick-dry garments. Under such diversified operations, inventory control becomes a common industry challenge. The flexibility of self-owned factories—handling both large and small orders—serves as a key lever to balance orders and inventory.
Industry Impact
Fabric innovation is regarded as the company's foundation. This year's new nylon-spandex fabric features high-elasticity processing, soft touch, and a strong cotton feel without containing cotton, suitable for T-shirts and yoga wear. It is exclusively developed for the brand, unique in the market, and possesses clear scarcity. Another nylon-spandex fabric, co-developed with a Korean golf brand, features a distinct texture and excellent moisture-wicking performance, standing out in the golf fabric market. Additionally, Sorona fabric supplies outdoor lines of leading domestic brands, used in polo shirts and cycling wear, aligning with mainstream brands' preference for cotton-like and functional materials.
These cases reveal a trend: competition in functional fabrics is shifting from parameter comparison to scenario customization. Buyers no longer settle for generic quick-dry or UV protection; they demand fabrics deeply tied to specific sports scenarios. For small and medium fabric enterprises, following trends is no longer viable. Only by entering niche segments and co-developing with brands can they build moats. However, custom development requires significant upfront investment and long validation cycles, not suitable for all merchants.
Digital tools are transforming traditional fabric marketing. The AI Bu mini-program launched by the Textile City allows merchants to shoot a physical fabric and generate a promotional video demonstrating breathability in minutes, with various scene templates. Xie Tingfeng appreciates this instant-shoot feature, noting it eliminates complex editing, quickly produces marketing materials, and effectively lowers promotion costs. In addition, the AI Bu experience center integrates functions like fabric-to-video generation, intelligent fabric search, and virtual samples, providing new online display and client connection channels.
For small buyers lacking design teams, virtual samples significantly reduce communication costs and avoid repeated sampling. For merchants, digital tools break physical space limits, especially when overseas clients cannot visit the market, making short videos an efficient communication medium.