Why Did The Number Of Merchants In "China'S Fur City" Increase By 200% Year On Year

After the "Shangdu" in Mengzhou, the reporter visited shuangpo, China.

This is a return visit three years later. In the past three years, the number of employees in the secondary industry (sheepskin processing) in Sangpo village has been greatly reduced, while that in the tertiary industry (commercial services) has increased dramatically. This is also a return visit under the epidemic situation. Compared with last year, Sangpo village's foreign trade business, especially the export business, fell sharply, while the domestic demand market soared.

Three years later, under the epidemic situation, what happened in this other window of rural economic observation?

Before "double 11", villages in Northern Henan with bright lights

It was already 10 o'clock at night, and the lights were still bright in Sangpo village, Mengzhou, Henan Province. Commercial Avenue, Mingda pedestrian street, Huifeng pedestrian street, Huaxin pedestrian street Commercial streets of various names are closely arranged around the center of the village. In the shop, the business is busy packing and tallying; outside the shop, express tricycles shuttle back and forth. It's a busy scene that lasts until the middle of the night.

After entering the peak selling season in October every year, for the villagers and merchants of Sangpo village, the new day usually starts from 1:00 p.m. "In the morning, I didn't hear you call me in the morning." This is the village u show life shop owner Ding Bo to see Henan Business Daily reporter said the first words.

The morning and afternoon of Sangpo village are totally two worlds.

In the morning, Sangpo village looks like most of the rural areas in Northern Henan Province. There are few people on the street, and they are familiar with the coldness in winter. However, there are more cars and street cleaners on both sides of the street than in other villages. "There are more than 20 cleaners, but they are still far from enough," said Lu Fenghai, the village secretary The cleaners complained to him repeatedly that "it's too much to do.".

That's because, every afternoon, countless consumers, wholesalers and agents from all over Henan Province and even all over the country will rush in like a tide. "There are a lot more customers this year than last year." Lu Fenghai said.

Under the epidemic situation, the number of shops in the village increased by 200%

Because of the sheepskin and snow boots business, this village, located 8 kilometers east of Mengzhou City, Jiaozuo, Henan Province, is famous all over the country.

It is said that as early as the Ming Dynasty, Sangpo's fur had been exported overseas. The vicissitudes of the world have experienced ups and downs. After the reform and opening up, in the early 1990s, the people of Sangpo began to depend on fur again. The farmers engaged in fur processing accounted for nearly 80% of the total population of the village. Fur industry has gradually become the pillar industry of Sangpo village. Three years ago, in 2017, when a reporter from Henan business daily interviewed in Sangpo village, the staff of the Propaganda Department of Mengzhou municipal Party committee introduced that this village digested 80% of the sheep skin imported from Australia.

However, fur processing not only costs water, but also pollutes the wastewater. The severe ecological situation forces Sangpo to seek a new direction of industrial transfer. Since July 2018, 135 fur processing plants have been closed in Sangpo village in two months, and only 12 factories have been left.

After the factories were shut down, part of the vacant land was planned as an industrial park and sewage pretreatment plant was built, while the other part was gradually built into commercial pedestrian streets with various names, which became the distribution center of merchants. This directly led to a surge in the number of shops and merchants.

Lu Fenghai said that there were less than 500 physical merchants last year, and more than 1500 this year. Some merchants said that it may have exceeded 1700. It seems that the owner of Kango has already introduced 51750 stores.

More than a thousand new shops were built by local people on the ruins of fur processing factories. The other part of the increase came from foreign merchants such as Guangzhou and Northeast China. The reason for attracting people to open a shop is very simple. First, after closing the processing plant, they have to find new business; second, because the business last year was so good.

According to the introduction of Lufeng village last year, the scale of operation was 1.6 billion yuan.

The "cake" of customers is bigger, but there are more "cakes" to eat

Behind the bright trading scene, it is unavoidable that the foreign trade business of Sangpo has declined seriously under the epidemic situation: the import volume dropped by nearly two thirds, and the export business was almost interrupted. Last year, the processing of 15 million sheepskins in the village may decrease significantly.

However, because of the same epidemic situation, the purchasing agents who could not go abroad also gave opportunities for the growth of Sangpo's domestic trade market.

At this time last year, purchasing agents may be busy in Japan and South Korea. This year, because of the epidemic situation, purchasing agents turned to the domestic market before the "double 11". Sangpo is one of their targets.

A large number of purchasing agents poured in, from snow boots to cashmere scarves, gloves, warm pants, down coats, car cushions There's perfume and even handbags. However, the growth rate of tourists did not catch up with the growth rate of shops. "The absolute number of guests is larger than last year, but on average, the density is smaller, and the number of guests is not enough." Both Ding Bo and Ding Qiancheng have such feelings.

At this time, there were only four thousand orders per day in the same period of this year. Ding Qiancheng said that the daily turnover last year was 40000 yuan, but this year it was halved.

"The wool pants with the price below 100 yuan in our store are most popular with consumers. It's hard to sell if the price is high Under the epidemic situation, consumption degradation is also the reality that merchants have to face.

There are only about 10 merchants with independent brands

While merchants compete for customers, express companies are also competing for merchants. Shunfeng, Jingdong, Zhongtong and many other express enterprises have gathered here. In the battle for merchants, SF is still the first choice for most merchants because of its visible quantity advantage. Henan Business Daily reporter noticed that the Shunfeng express truck in the market, "three steps, one post, five steps, one whistle", in a commercial street with only more than 20 businesses, there are actually four Shunfeng express vehicles serving as a team. In the shop, the packing bags used by merchants are mostly Shunfeng.

"With so many express companies, SF only costs two yuan, but using SF will make consumers feel that the goods in the package are" very valuable. "

Facing the domestic market, some merchants begin to realize the importance of brand. However, after "creating" a brand, it is not easy to "establish" it? According to the person in charge of a sheepskin factory in Sangpo village, there are only about 10 merchants who have established their own brands.

"I also have my own brand, but no one bought it." A shopkeeper sighed. It's hard to sell self-made brands, so I can't bear to give up the existing model. It's very much like the name of an online shop in Sangpo village - "addiction".

Yang Tao, the boss of aoliya, said that most merchants in Sangpo are facing the problem of single product structure, but the existing factory equipment, technicians and materials are not enough to support them to innovate products.

Extending the industrial chain, Sangpo people are exploring a new way

"This year should be the pinnacle." Ding Qiancheng refers to the number of buyers.

It can be said that Sangpo's merchants and the influx of purchasing agents are, to some extent, grasshoppers tied to a rope. After the epidemic situation is under control and the import and export channels and overseas purchasing agents are restored, the merchants will have fewer customers.

However, the Sangpo people have started ahead of time and are accelerating the transformation with a sense of urgency. Lu Fenghai introduced that, on the one hand, it is necessary to dismantle factories to control pollution, take the road of environmental protection development, and build industrial parks with high standards; on the other hand, it is to lengthen the industrial chain and increase the added value of products; on the other hand, it is to create a "memory town".

Looking back on the past, due to the change of the tide of the times, the people of Sangpo have experienced and broken through the barrier more than once.

After the Asian financial crisis, the orders of shoe factories in Wenzhou and other places decreased, and no one wanted sheepskin. The people of Sangpo picked up their old crafts, made shoes, made clothes and produced them for sale. Later, when the Haining leather professional market that Sangpo village once relied on declined, Sangpo people found e-commerce and micro business again. In every stage of history, sonny can always find a way out.

In the future, Sangpo village will extend its industrial chain, and will take a new path in the development of the whole industrial chain of food, housing, transportation, tourism, shopping and entertainment.