In Keqiao's China Textile City, the Dongsheng Road outdoor fabric district is witnessing a notable stratification: while the mass fabric market struggles with price competition, orders for premium custom fabrics are steadily growing. Haoli Textile's plant-dyed wool and silk fabrics, priced at 100-600 yuan, complement its sister brand Qiting's outdoor functional fabrics, reflecting a deeper shift from scale-oriented to value-oriented strategies among local merchants.
Transformation Path
Qiting's origins were modest. Launched in 2013 and registered in 2014, it started with school uniform base fabrics in the East Market, building a customer base through quality control. In 2018, as profits on conventional fabrics compressed, the company pivoted strategically. Instead of competing on price, it split into two tracks: Qiting focused on functional outdoor fabrics, while new brand Haoli targeted premium menswear. This decision was driven by market saturation in school uniform fabrics and rising demand for differentiated materials in luxury menswear, especially from designer brands favoring natural, eco-friendly fibers.
The phased layout in Dongsheng Road's Phase I and II provided physical synergy. Qiting, as an early Phase I tenant, gained experience with high-end clients; Haoli later opened an independent showroom in Phase II, sharing the same customer base. General Manager Li Xiongzhen noted that the concentration of brands, e-commerce sellers, and designers in Dongsheng Road leads to higher order conversion—a classic clustering effect where high-end demand and supply reinforce each other.
Craft and Digitalization
Haoli's product strategy is clear: all fabrics use natural fibers like wool, silk, and lyocell, colored via plant extraction instead of chemical dyes. This choice raises prices but builds a competitive moat. In premium menswear, clients value eco-friendliness and material rarity, with lower price sensitivity, making the 100-600 yuan range a quality filter.
Notably, the supply chain is designed for flexibility. Haoli shares 15,000 square meters of warehousing with Qiting, offering both stock and custom modes: stock supports small urgent orders, custom orders take 3-10 days, with fastest delivery in one hour. This responsiveness is rare in high-end fabrics, where plant dyeing usually means longer lead times. It's enabled by an integrated factory and digital inventory management.
Digital tools amplify service efficiency. Haoli participates in the AI Cloth mini-program, digitizing core fabrics like waffle, health, and air layer. When designers bring sample swatches, the system matches similar fabrics instantly, replacing manual searching and color card comparison. This is especially valuable for remote overseas clients, reducing communication costs. The upcoming AI Cloth experience hall, with smart body scanning and 3D virtual try-on, will merge offline experience with online data—critical for custom scenarios.
Synergy and Industry Implications
The dual-brand approach leverages shared resources. Qiting's outdoor fabric line uses Italian napping machines, expanding capacity and bargaining power; export channels cover Europe and America, meeting EU non-fluorine environmental standards. Long-term domestic clients include Qiaodun (8-10 years), Xiaobeibei, and others, providing leads for Haoli's premium menswear customers. After two years, overall performance has improved significantly, with order growth supporting this year's expectations.
The lesson for Keqiao and the broader textile cluster: when mass-market competition intensifies, differentiation requires systematic restructuring across materials, processes, channels, and services. Haoli's plant-dye positioning, dual-brand governance, and digital tools offer a replicable upgrade framework. For small fabric merchants facing margin pressure, rather than competing on price, they could follow Haoli's path: choose a niche high-end segment, build moats with supply chain efficiency and digital services.