[Well-off China] "Taobao Village" in Shandong: Young people return home to become e-commerce "trends"
[Explanation] "The senior and deputy department levels are not as good as a female Taobao worker in our village." This is a popular "quiet" in Sunzhuang Village, Cao County, Heze, Shandong. Located in Sunzhuang Village in southwestern Shandong Province, more than 560 of more than 760 households have Taobao shops. The village has attracted more than 200 young entrepreneurs returning home, including 30 college graduates.
[Explanation] Mulberry silk, pearl chiffon, Huayao... On August 17, the reporter saw in a cloth shop in Sunzhuang Village that colorful fabrics were neatly hung on the walls around the shop. The owner of the shop is Hu Chunqing, who is a PhD in materials science from Dalian University of Technology. In addition to operating this physical store, Hu Chunqing also owns 3 Taobao stores, 5 Tmall stores, 1 Douyin store and other online stores. The store mainly deals with clothing products such as Hanfu and performance clothes. Hu Chunqing told reporters that returning to the village to be a Taobao shopkeeper with a high degree of education had become a "big thing" in the village.
[Concurrent] Hu Chunqing, a villager in Sunzhuang Village, Cao County, Heze
When I just returned to my hometown, you think that when you come back to do this with such a high degree of education, your relatives and friends will also say that you have been studying for so many years and you are in vain. At that time, these people in our circle, farmers, those who had never gone to school, middle school, and high school, were all these people. Under great pressure, in the initial stage, I didn't dare to tell others what I did and what education background.
[Explanation] The reason why Hu Chunqing embarked on the road of returning home to start a business was influenced by his wife Meng Xiaoxia. When returning home to visit relatives and friends in 2014, Hu Chunqing and his wife Meng Xiaoxia learned that their hometown was vigorously developing rural e-commerce, and they had the idea of doing e-commerce. His wife, Meng Xiaoxia, returned to her hometown to start her own business. She majored in fine arts when she was in college and was good at fashion design. The Hanfu and performance costumes in her online store were all designed by Meng Xiaoxia. In 2017, with the encouragement of his wife, Hu Chunqing abandoned the aura of high education, withstood the pressure, and became an e-commerce "chaser" with his wife. Since then, the two have used what they have learned to give full play to their respective strengths. Hu Chunqing is responsible for marketing and Meng Xiaoxia is responsible for design. They are at the forefront of the village in terms of copyright awareness and accurate judgment of market trends.
[Concurrent] Hu Chunqing, a villager in Sunzhuang Village, Cao County, Heze
All the products in our family are designed by (my daughter-in-law) himself, and the originality is relatively high. And our two business methods are also the same, that is, to put all products of one style, one category of products into a store, and the data of the crowd is more accurate, because he chooses this style of clothes when you come to our store. People, the two of us started out as a style shop.
[Explanation] After the unremitting efforts of the husband and wife, their clothing sales exceeded 9 million yuan in 2019. In Sunzhuang Village, there are many returning entrepreneurs like Hu Chunqing and Meng Xiaoxia, and Sun Zhiguo is one of them. Sun Zhiguo, who went to Brazil to do a small commodity business in 2008, learned of the booming e-commerce in his hometown and resolutely returned to his hometown. Relying on the wealth and experience accumulated in Brazil, in 2016, Sun Zhiguo opened a 500-square-meter performance clothing processing factory in Sunzhuang Village, mainly engaged in offline performance clothing processing. At present, the factory ships 1,000-1,500 pieces per day, and the turnover in 2019 will reach 5 million yuan. Sun Zhiguo is not satisfied with the current status of the factory's main performance clothing processing. He next plans to establish his own clothing brand and expand the Brazilian market.
[Concurrent] Sun Zhiguo, a villager in Sunzhuang Village, Cao County, Heze
I just want to be my own brand and my own industry, because I came back from Brazil, and I also want to take this thing abroad. First of all, consider Brazil. Because I have been in Brazil for 8 years, I know a little bit about the people’s demand for costumes, including samba, and there is a carnival there every year. In fact, this There is a great demand for costumes.
[Explanation] It is understood that since 2014, Sunzhuang Village has been awarded the title of "China Taobao Village" by Alibaba Group for 6 consecutive years. In 2019, the village’s Taobao performance costume sales exceeded 200 million yuan.
Yang Fei reports from Heze, Shandong
Editor in charge: [Li Yuxin]