Wenzhou Shoe Making Enterprises: Heroes Everywhere

Huang is still suffering.

He was very worried that the metal lighters industry he had worked for for 25 years would disappear in the hands of his generation.

Huang Fajing is vice president of Wenzhou smoking apparatus Association and chairman of Wenzhou RI Feng lighter Co., Ltd.

5 years ago, in order to resist the CR technical barriers to trade in Europe, Huang FA Jing first came out and was confident, so he won the 2003 CCTV economic figures.

Metal lighter is the symbol industry of Wenzhou, the birthplace of China's private economy. It has occupied 80% of the global metal lighters market.

Nowadays, under the situation of high cost, the industry is under great pressure. Data from relevant parties show that in 2007, more than 20% of lighters in Wenzhou did not have sales records.

Faced with such a situation, Huang Fajing had nothing to do with it.

"I am very puzzled, and my heart is very uncomfortable," Huang Fajing sighed, saying that there are fewer than 100 enterprises in Wenzhou lighters and less than 1/20 in the heyday.

Most importantly, the confidence of the entire Wenzhou lighters industry is losing, and there is little confidence to maintain.

Moreover, under the superposition effect of all kinds of high cost rising, the lighters industry is not the only "disaster area".

Shoes, clothing, locks, glasses, low voltage electrical appliances and other light industry are not spared.

According to the survey of Wenzhou SME Development Association, about 20% of the more than 30 SMEs in Wenzhou are in stoppage or semi shutdown.

20 years ago, a small lighter made many Wenzhou people dream of becoming rich.

In the prosperous era of the 80s of last century, there were as many as more than 2000 lighters in Wenzhou.

At that time, every household lighters business life was very prosperous.

Subsequently, due to competitive elimination, the number of lighters enterprises in Wenzhou decreased to more than 1000 in 2003, and dropped to about 600 in 2006.

At this point, Wenzhou has not yet completely stepped out of the "price war" quagmire, nor has reached a certain height in brand and innovation.

Since 2007, bad news has been continuous - metal raw material prices, appreciation of the renminbi, rising labor costs, the EU CR technology threshold and so on.

Since 2003, the cost of lighters has increased by more than 15% at least, and the original profit has not been 15%.

Huang Fajing said that since 2007, fewer than 100 lighters enterprises in Wenzhou are expected to drop to thirty or forty next year.

Mr. Zhan also felt pressure similar to Huang.

He is the director of a lighter enterprise in Wenzhou.

Since May this year, Yiwu's small commodity market has entered a slack season, and its orders have decreased by 2/3.

In order to maintain normal operation, enterprises will increase the number of layoffs and reduce the size of enterprises to solve their losses.

Since last year, the lighters have been laying off workers, leaving only 60 workers at most, leaving only more than 20 today.

The original 8 managers, up to now only 2.

At the same time, the scale of the rental plant is also shrinking, from the original more than 1000 square meters to less than 500 square meters.

If the cost is going to rise, it will not take long for the company to go bankrupt, Mr. Zhan said.

But in Huang's view, Mr. Zhan's business has been thankful to survive.

In fact, many small and medium enterprises such as shoe leather, clothing, glasses, razors and so on, including lighters, are facing the fate of closing down in Wenzhou.

Wenzhou shoe leather industry association data show that in 2003, a certain number of shoe enterprises in Wenzhou had more than 5000 enterprises, and now it has been reduced to more than 2600.

The Association report pointed out that with the rise of various pressures, there will be a further aggravation of the enterprises that switch production and failure.

Qi Yinong, executive deputy general manager of Wenzhou giant group, said that shoe enterprises are decreasing at a rate of 20% per year. According to this calculation, the shoe leather enterprises of "China Shoes Capital" and Wenzhou 90% will be disappearing within 5 years.

Wenzhou is not a special case in China.

In the Pearl River Delta, the problem seems to be very serious.

According to the statistical report of Asian footwear industry association in November last year, there were five thousand or six thousand shoe factories in Guangdong, and more than 1000 large and medium-sized shoe factories had been closed. Of them, four hundred or five hundred small and medium-sized shoe factories failed in more than 3000 shoe factories in Huidong in two or three months.

"It's good to be alive," Huang said.

Huang Fajing has been working in the lighters industry for 25 years. He is the first founder of the lighters industry. This year is the most difficult year he has ever seen.

In his view, raw material prices, appreciation of the renminbi, etc., after a period of time, through the efforts of enterprises, can slowly digest, but the most critical, or the most dangerous signal is, the whole lighter industry has not even maintained a bit of confidence.

A boss of a Wenzhou backbone lighter company, because of the sluggish business of lighters, started operating with the lighters several years ago, and began to develop into the real estate industry.

Today, he simply rents out his factory premises, which costs millions of dollars a year.

"Enterprises generally reflect that it is more difficult to do," said He Guoliang, Secretary General of the shoe and Leather Association of Ouhai District, Wenzhou. Most enterprises are waiting to see that they will only maintain normal production order and wait for the coming year.

Nowadays, most shoe enterprises in Ouhai only receive foreign trade orders, and the time usually does not exceed 3 months.

"I am not reconciled to this brand and disappear in the hands of our generation, so I must try every means to carry it out."

Huang Fajing said.

But how long can those lighters still live?

There is no answer at present.

Huang Fajing's RI Fung lighters is one of the largest lighters in Wenzhou.

Like other small and medium-sized enterprises, the company has been suffering from high costs in recent years. But unlike small and medium-sized enterprises, the company's business is relatively stable after technological innovation and market expansion.

At present, the sun Fong lighter company is producing a lot of difficult and demanding lighter lighters.

At the same time, improving the selling price of products is also one of the main measures for enterprises to maintain their survival.

According to Wenzhou customs statistics, the unit price of lighters increased by 35.6% in the first quarter of this year.

Last year, the Wenzhou City Star fireworks Co., Ltd., which had been named with ZIPPO, launched their multiple series of STAR products. The product design and style obviously highlighted Chinese characteristics, and the retail price also increased to about 100 yuan.

Before buying products in the market or network, STAR usually costs less than 20 yuan.

Another big cigarette lighter in Wenzhou, Zhejiang tiger lighter Co., has successfully entered Mexico, Columbia and some other South American markets above 2500 meters above sea level.

It is understood that last year, the big tiger company developed a plateau lighter, successfully achieved plateau windbreak fire, it is this new product to tiger tiger lighters bring new business opportunities, expand the market space.

Huang Fajing said that large enterprises may be slightly more stable in business, but if SMEs fail one after another, they will face too few enterprises in the region, which will not result in the scale effect of the industry, which will eventually lead to the weakening of the competitiveness of large enterprises.