China News Service, Shaoxing, January 23 (Reporter Xiang Jing) Lei Penglin, the owner of an umbrella factory in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, recently became popular on the short video platform because he met the "imaginative" needs of netizens for umbrellas, and was dubbed by netizens "The most obedient boss on the Internet."
A reporter recently visited Songxia Street, Shangyu District, where his umbrella factory is located, and found that there are more than 1,400 umbrella-making companies in the area, with an annual output value of more than 13 billion yuan. This "Chinese Umbrella City" with strong economic strength can no longer be hidden.
Songxia is located on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay and on the east bank of the Cao'e River. Starting from repairing and stretching umbrellas in the 1960s, after more than 40 years of development, it now has an annual output of 600 million umbrellas, making it the world's largest finished umbrella manufacturing base.
A view of the "Chinese Umbrella City".
Photo courtesy of Songxia
"There are three umbrellas in the world, and one is made in Songxia" is the most true portrayal of Songxia.
However, as a subdivision of the traditional textile industry, the umbrella industry has also encountered bottlenecks in transformation and upgrading, and is actively seeking new development paths.
"In recent years, we have guided umbrella industry companies to make efforts in the three aspects of 'digital empowerment', 'fashion leadership' and 'openness and improvement' to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the umbrella industry." According to the relevant person in charge of Songxia Street, the local development of "umbrella industry" "Business Brain" to provide intellectual support for industrial development, and at the same time build e-commerce service centers, cross-border e-commerce industrial parks, etc. to help companies maintain "quality control" and enter the "e-commerce circle."
Flashlight umbrellas, fan umbrellas, couple umbrellas... Amid the "calls" from netizens, Lei Penglin explored and produced a number of "imaginative" umbrellas and displayed them one by one on the short video platform, winning the hearts of netizens. of "pleasure".
For example, more than 70,000 "reflective laser umbrellas" were sold as soon as they were put on the shelves.
Lei Penglin is making an umbrella.
Photo courtesy Lei Penglin
It is true that Lei Penglin also encountered the troubles of upgrading the umbrella industry before she became popular.
As homogeneous competition intensified, Lei Penglin's factory's daily shipment volume dropped sharply from 4,000 to 1,000, and he had to start looking for a new way out.
Facing the trend of digitalization, he "entered" e-commerce live broadcasts to obtain customer needs online in a timely manner and achieve a balance between supply and demand.
"It is to be customer-oriented and produce products that people really need." Lei Penglin revealed the "secret of success" during the interview.
Including Lei Penglin, a large number of umbrella companies are testing e-commerce and seeking new paths.
According to reports, at present, the Songxia area has achieved full coverage of e-commerce service stations, more than 70% of private umbrella companies have adopted the e-commerce sales model, and 8 villages have been established as Zhejiang provincial e-commerce villages, with annual e-commerce sales exceeding 1.5 billion. Yuan.
Umbrella companies sell umbrellas live.
Photo courtesy of Songxia
Thanks to the foundation of the textile industry, local umbrella companies are also looking at new fields, actively expanding the outdoor camping equipment manufacturing and fashion packaging industry chains, and forming a new fashion industry cluster with the umbrella industry, camping equipment, and high-end packaging as the core.
At the same time, the "Umbrella Industry Engineer Collaborative Innovation Center" is used as a carrier to actively plan innovative chapters. For example, the Shangyu Umbrella Industry Chamber of Commerce regularly organizes symposiums to exchange and discuss the development situation, technological breakthroughs and marketing "strategies" of the umbrella industry.
"We give full play to the role of the Umbrella Industry Chamber of Commerce, actively coordinate enterprises, and work together to solve difficulties encountered in production." Lu Xinlong, president of the Shangyu Umbrella Industry Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview that today, the Songxia Umbrella Industry is focusing on development, improving quality, and The concept of strengthening the brand, especially when going out to participate in exhibitions, has formed "unified exhibition layout, unified itinerary, unified accommodation, unified clothing, and unified management". More and more "Songxia umbrellas" are sailing overseas with the help of various platforms, realizing the industry's transformation from "going it alone". From "fighting" to "huddling together to keep warm".
Umbrella Industry Engineer Collaborative Innovation Center.
Photo courtesy of Songxia
"Songxia has become the world's largest finished umbrella manufacturing base, producing one-third of the world's umbrellas and more than 65% of domestic e-commerce umbrellas every year, with an annual output value of over 13 billion yuan." The relevant person in charge of the Shangyu District Federation of Industry and Commerce said that the local We will continue to promote the optimization and improvement of the business environment of "China Umbrella City", actively build a "close" and "clear" new political and business relationship, respect entrepreneurs, care for entrepreneurs, encourage entrepreneurs, and promote the development and growth of the private economy of the umbrella industry.
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