Open the e-commerce platform to search for "swimwear", and careful consumers will find that many products come from Xingcheng City under the jurisdiction of Huludao City, Liaoning Province.
Xingcheng is located on the coast of Bohai Sea and in the middle of Liaoxi Corridor. Although the population is less than 500000, Xingcheng annually produces about 170 million swimsuits (sets), and the products are exported to more than 140 countries and regions around the world.
From home sewing machine to intelligent workshop for efficient operation; From "basket stores" around the streets to sales networks all over the world... Why can Xingcheng, a coastal town in the northeast, become a "swimwear capital"?
One foot cloth "makes" ten billion industries
"This is our brand's new national charm series, with pearl and coral patterns on it. The tailoring is very classical, which is suitable for everyone's Spring Festival holidays and hot springs..." During the Spring Festival holiday, Xingcheng Yinghua Swimming Garment Co., Ltd. was brightly lit. Under the spotlight, the live broadcast rooms of Taobao, Tiaoyin and other e-commerce platforms started at the same time. The anchors were busy introducing the new swimwear that had just been launched to the audience, and online sales were booming.
The reporter recently visited several swimwear enterprises in Xingcheng City and found that the annual output value of the swimwear industry here has reached 15 billion yuan, and "one foot cloth" has become a "big business".
Entering Xingcheng Haocheng Garment Co., Ltd., the colorful swimwear is eye-catching. Tian Shu, the general manager, is tapping the computer keyboard. As orders are placed, swimwear pieces are sent to customers around the world via Amazon, Hisense and other cross-border e-commerce platforms. "At present, enterprises' export business accounts for more than 90%. In addition to traditional foreign trade channels, the booming cross-border e-commerce in recent years has brought us new business opportunities," said Tian Shu.
Although it is winter, the orders of swimwear enterprises have not decreased. In Xingcheng Zhuoyimei Garment Factory, workers are working overtime to make orders. Liu Zhuo, the general manager, said that there were more than 260 processing and cutting workers in the factory. The workers were generally paid by piece, and the monthly salary could reach 8000 to 10000 yuan.
"Many people don't know that winter is the peak season for swimwear production," said Zhang Dongyuan, president of Xingcheng Swimwear Industry Association. Due to the industrial characteristics of design and production in advance, summer, as the peak season for swimwear sales, is actually the off-season for industry production; In addition, in recent years, the winter cultural tourism in Northeast China has become increasingly popular, and the hot spring industry has been popular, which has also brought a new upsurge to the swimwear industry.
The swimwear industry has a strong ability to absorb employment and can effectively drive low-income people to increase their income. Today, in this small town with a population of less than 500000, one third of the population is engaged in swimwear related work. The industry at home makes the life of Xingcheng people better.
Statistics show that at present, there are more than 1300 swimwear enterprises in Xingcheng, with an annual output of about 170 million pieces (sets), accounting for more than 40% of the domestic market share and more than 25% of the international market share. In 2024, Xingcheng was rated as the champion cultivation county of industrial single item (swimsuit) in Liaoning Province in 2024.
Why do small swimwear sell globally
"I am the 'third generation of swimmers' in my family. From the first time my grandmother walked on a sewing machine to make swimwear at home, to my parents running a small workshop, and my aunt carrying a big bag to find customers in the wholesale market, the three generations of my family witnessed the growth of Xingcheng swimwear all the way," said Tian Shu.
Tian Shu's grandmother, Su Guizhen, who is nearly 90 years old, was the first swimsuit wearer in Xingcheng. In the 1980s, Xingcheng built a large number of leisure resorts and sanatoriums, and tourists from all over the country came to Xingcheng seaside for vacation.
The colorful swimsuits on their bodies make the local people not only feel new, but also smell business opportunities. As a result, some people bought several swimsuits and learned to make them when they came home. At that time, one swimsuit could earn 1 yuan. Some women could make about 30 swimsuits a day; Only 60 yuan can be earned after working in the factory for one month. This kind of income comparison has spread from one generation to another. The swimwear industry in Xingcheng has started from family workshops and has gradually become a prairie fire.
At the beginning of 2014, Chen Yunpeng, a rural boy, with only 1900 yuan, rented a small house of 10 square meters in Xingcheng, bought a second-hand computer, connected to the Internet, and opened an online shop to sell swimwear. "At the beginning of the online store, it was much more difficult than expected. I didn't know how to sell, and I didn't have the money to stock up. I had to help the local processing factory distribute the goods, and only sold one piece of clothing a week," he recalled.
In constant exploration, Chen Yunpeng ushered in a turning point: "I have strengthened independent research and development in my own clothing brand, and adopted a low saturation color system, which is different from the previous colorful swimwear. In 2019, this series of swimwear became a" best seller ", and thousands of swimwear can be sold in a day." Now, Chen Yunpeng has two factories and three swimwear brands.
From relying on the seaside resort industry to consume swimwear, to run their own factories to produce; From the beach hawking of private workshops to the global e-commerce sales of intelligent production enterprises... After more than 40 years, Xingcheng swimwear industry has achieved a "butterfly change" from scratch and from small to large.
At that time, some people had a prejudice against "swimsuit making", thinking that this small industry was insignificant compared with traditional pillar industries such as petroleum and chemical industry. However, relevant departments of Xingcheng found that the swimwear industry has a broad prospect after detailed investigation and survey, and decided to give priority to support as a new industry.
Xingcheng invited experts to "feel the pulse" of the industry: there are few sales channels, two private brands, three short upstream and downstream industrial chains, and the products are still at the middle and low end of the value chain.
The local government consciously guides enterprises to "mend their weak points": if there are not enough sales channels, they will help enterprises run the market, hold exhibitions and engage in e-commerce; If there are not enough independent brands, they will train and attract talents for enterprises; If the industrial chain is not long enough, help to set up supporting facilities
With the support of the government, enterprises have taken advantage of the trend and entered the high-end industry. In the exhibition area of Xingcheng Yinghua Swimming Garment Co., Ltd., a number of "Chinese style" swimsuits with exquisite design of cheongsam style attracted the attention of reporters. Wang Na, the chairman of the board, said that the company is committed to high-end product design, and swimwear has kept pace with international major brands in terms of fabric, design and manufacturing. At present, the enterprise has registered trademarks in many places around the world, and has become the representative of high-end transformation of Xingcheng swimwear industry.
Today, Xingcheng swimwear industry has acquired 7 overseas swimwear R&D enterprises, and its products are exported to more than 140 countries and regions, including Russia, the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia.
Transformation and upgrading "riding the wind and waves"
While the production is hot and the orders are full, Xingcheng people think calmly - how to break the problem when the swimwear industry has reached the new threshold of adjustment and transformation?
Of the more than 1300 swimwear enterprises in Xingcheng, how many are still satisfied with OEM, and how many "sit on the bench" adhere to the original and brand?
Challenges are opportunities, and the transition period is a critical period.
Declare the collective trademark of "Xingcheng Swimwear", accelerate the building of a full chain swimwear industry cluster, accelerate the construction of the printing and dyeing industrial park, introduce more upstream enterprises such as textile, dyeing and finishing, run a swimwear expo, and continue to expand the brand influence... Open this year's "Xingcheng People's Government Work Report", and make clear plans one by one, Tracing the future development direction of swimwear industry. Xingcheng is continuing to seize the development opportunity of swimwear industry and promote the development of county economy.
In the production workshop of Zhuoyimei Garment Factory, automatic cutting bed has replaced manual cutting. "Digital and intelligent transformation has improved production capacity, and enterprises dare to take large orders," said Liu Zhuo. At present, the intelligent transformation trend of Xingcheng swimwear industry is obvious, and advanced equipment such as automatic cloth laying machines, automatic cutting beds, automatic printing machines are widely used. Some enterprises have also realized the full life cycle management of swimwear.
Liaoning Textile and Clothing Association, Xingcheng Swimwear Association and Hangzhou Deep Thinking Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. also jointly founded Xingcheng Branch of Liaoning Textile and Clothing AI Design Institute. According to Wang Fei, general manager of Hangzhou Deep Thinking Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., through AI algorithm, the most popular options can be quickly selected from thousands of colors and patterns, thus greatly shortening the swimsuit design cycle and improving work efficiency. AI will help Xingcheng swimwear industry move towards a more intelligent and personalized direction.
In 2024, the TV play "Riding the Wind and Treading the Waves" with the background of Xingcheng swimwear entrepreneurs will be popular, and the popularity of Xingcheng swimwear industry will be further improved. Not only did many customers come here to place orders and discuss business, but also many foreign tourists came to visit the Xingcheng Swimming Expo.
It brings together 830 cloud exhibitors at home and abroad, more than 100 offline exhibitors, and has signed contracts with a turnover of 1 billion yuan... In July 2024, the Northeast Asia (Xingcheng) International Swimsuit Expo will be held in Xingcheng. Xingcheng Swimming Expo has been held for 14 years since 2011. "The Swimming Expo has improved the international popularity of swimwear and the city." Zhang Dongyuan said that in the list of brand values of Liaoning in 2024, the regional brand value of "Xingcheng swimwear" reached 9.699 billion yuan, an increase of 1.042 billion yuan over 2023.
"We need to accelerate the transition from the traditional swimwear industry to the modern industrial system, so that the integration of industry and city presents a new climate and pattern, and boost the county economy to achieve high-quality development." Wei Dongsheng, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of Xingcheng Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, said.
Post time: 2025-02-14 09:14