Shoes And Clothing Industry In Huidong County Is Becoming More And More Enchanting.

In May this year, reporters at a shoe factory on the beach of Huang Bu Town, Huidong, saw that the factory had not started since the Spring Festival, and the production line was cold and clear.

In 2009, Nike closed its only one in Taicang, Jiangsu, China.

Production plant.

In 2012, Adidas, the world's second largest sporting goods giant, announced that it would close its only own factory in Suzhou, China in October.

Nike has gone, Adidas has to go.

The global shoe giants have shut down in Chinese factories, reflecting the difficult situation of China's footwear industry.

As the cost of raw materials and labor has risen rapidly, the "made in China" dividend advantage has weakened.

For those shoes that once had the traditional dominant position in Huidong, these factors are now plaguing thousands of shoe companies.

The shoe industry in Huidong has met its crossroads and is particularly urgent.

"The streets in the old towns were brightly lit.

Workers work until 12, and then go to the market to buy vegetables, buy clothes and go shopping until 5 or 6 in the morning.

Now it's basically at 2, and the streets are quiet. "

Zhou Yongkun, mayor of Jilong Town, Huidong County

"From the beginning of shoes to the present, this year is the most difficult year. In 2007 and 2008, despite the crisis, it still felt that there was something to do.

At the beginning of last year, I felt as if I was getting worse and worse. "

In 1997, Chen Xin, the shoe factory owner, resigned from the post of civil service.

He opened the factory in Huidong county Huang Pu town beach road, the main OEM products are exported, there are currently more than 60 workers.

Standing on the seashore road, the shoe factory is crowded at a glance.

In Huang Po Town, the production base of the Chinese women's shoes production base in Huidong, there are now 3000 factories, including 56 on the upper scale (more than 20 million of the annual output value), 80% in the shoe factories, and 80% less in 10%., the vice mayor of Huang Bu Zhen, Fang Hong.

"We used to play women's singles shoes, equivalent to a single specialty.

I can't do it now. I'll do it now, and I'll do the same for men's shoes.

Because there is no business, if you do not, you will not give up the chance. "

In the interview, Chen Xinyu hurried to the ground and said, "it seems that you had to eat Thailand rice before and eat big fish and big meat."

Now it's wheat or rice. I'll eat it. I'll eat it first, or you'll never get over this ridge, or you'll starve to death. "

In the same place, Jilong, a brother town close to Huang Bu in Huidong, also started with shoemaking.

There are 1803 registered footwear enterprises in Jilong and 474 shoe materials enterprises.

In the more than 2000 shoe industry, nearly 70% of them are engaged in foreign trade, and domestic manufacturers are about 30%. Zhou Yongkun, mayor of Jilong town.

"The streets in the old towns were brightly lit.

Workers work until 12, and then go to the market to buy vegetables, buy clothes and go shopping until 5 or 6 in the morning.

Now it's basically at 2, and the streets are quiet. "

Zhou Yongkun said that there were few breakfast shops in town before, because shoes factories often need to work overtime and no one went to eat breakfast. "Now there are many breakfast shops, and this is no longer a city that never sleeps."

I watched my comrades fall down one after another, and they could not move without falling down.

Shoe factory owner Chen Xin

One rainy day in early May, reporters sat on Tung Chai's tricycle in Huang Bu street.

"This year's worst, some factories started in March, shoes factories do not do well, and our business is not good."

Dong master is a Henan native. He has been riding a tricycle for 10 years in Huang Bu.

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The reporter walked into a shoe factory at random. More than 20 workers were busy. The material had been cut out according to the cardboard style which was separated from the edition master. Next, we had to help the noodles. A worker knocked the noodles on the shoe last and knocked them on the nails.

After that, the workers fixed the sides on the shoe last, glued and pasted them, then pulled out the small nails. Finally, the sole was pasted to the surface and pressed by the top press.

This is the approximate process of making a pair of shoes.

A worker who is working now looks up at the reporter and said, "this year is not as good as last year. Our factory just started to do it in May. Sometimes it takes three days to rest for a day."

Where do these shoes go? "They do not know where they come from, nor do they know where the products are going."

The worker said, "if we do it, we will do it. If we don't do it, we will not do it."

When the financial crisis happened in 2008, there was a serious collapse in the shoe factories of Huang Bu Jilong.

"In 2008, there were more than 200, more than 100 in 2009, and 10 in 2011. This year (May), about four or five."

Zhou Yongkun, mayor of Jilong Town, made a rough count. He said that after the financial crisis, the pressure on the shoe companies left behind in the town was relatively stronger.

Fang Hongjun, vice mayor of Huang Bu Zhen, also said that Huidong footwear industry had experienced the two baptism of EU anti-dumping and the 2008 financial crisis. "The European debt crisis has been the third wave for us. After the two baptism, the remaining enterprises have stronger vitality."

Fang Hongjun said that at present only sporadic individual businesses are closed.

"This year is not to go bankrupt. This year is not open door dare not open the door.

It can still be carried in 2008, and it will not be able to carry on this year. Labor resources are rapidly decreasing and costs are rising rapidly.

Wang Yu, general manager of Huizhou Yue Dong shoe material market Co., Ltd., according to his understanding, did not open the door to 30% of the small businesses until around April.

Chen Xinze said, "other shoe factories are fighting with me as comrades in arms. I watched as my comrades fell down one after another. They could not move without falling down, and they were exhausted.

Market is really harmful to small factories, vicious competition.

Fang Hongjun, deputy mayor of Huang Bu Zhen, Huidong County

In Chen Xin's eyes, everyone is talking about changes in the foreign situation, but he thinks he has bigger problems.

"Prices are rising, but no matter how much they go up, they can't get the wages so fast, rising one year or five hundred or six hundred.

Now the workers say that I will not do it for two or three hundred days.

The boss takes orders and loses money if he doesn't do it.

The original 1.5 yuan and a pair of processing fees, now workers want 3 yuan, I said sooner or later will be killed. "

The rise of labor prices is a common problem faced by many shoe factories.

Fang Hongjun, deputy mayor of Huang Bu Zhen, said that because of the lack of standardization in the industry, some smaller processing enterprises have deliberately raised the wages and disrupted the market.

"The market is really harmful to small factories, vicious competition.

Small factory is to get orders, goods do temporary requests for a group of helpers, they do not necessarily have an order in two or three months, but the price goes up.

Fang Hongjun said that because of the big shortfall in labor force, everyone is fighting for labor and mutual price increases, forming a vicious competition, especially for large enterprises.

"When the factory was built, the workers were very obedient. They didn't cook him without food. The old generation retired, and the new generation was not so diligent. Their parents did not want him to pay enough money. He had little pressure to feed himself and their wages were not low."

Chen Xinyi sighed when he talked about the price of labor. "Some workers only pay attention to the present and make money. They can always raise their prices, so the boss can't go on. Where do they go then?"

If the profit margin is 20%, a pair of shoes earn less than 6 yuan, and the added value is very low.

Fang Hongjun, deputy mayor of Huang Bu Town, Huidong County, said.

No more lucrative profits

"Now is to break the wrist. Whoever loses first will lose."

In the past half of this year, Chen Xin reckoned that his own shoe factory could make a break even if it was good enough. "No loss of money is good. This year is investment and returns are basically invisible."

He said that now that wages have gone up, profits are falling, and the gross profit of a pair of shoes is only a few yuan.

In fact, in Huidong now, the added value of shoes can not be raised. It has always been a big problem.

The average export price of a pair of women's shoes in Huidong is less than $5, but when it is labeled with the top brands of foreign countries, the price will soon turn into hundreds of dollars, and many of them will be sold to Chinese consumers.

Camel (American Camel), AanaSui (Anna Sui), Fendi (Fendi) and other more than 60 well-known footwear brands both at home and abroad choose shoes factories in Huidong as manufacturers.

"Western development, Eastern processing" or "brand production outside the province" is the mode of production that Huidong footwear bosses are accustomed to.

Fang Hongjun said, in 2011, Huang Po produced 385 million pairs of shoes and the output value was more than 10 billion 300 million. "One pair of shoes left, left and right is only 26 yuan. The price of shoes will not go up. If the profit margin is 20%, a pair of shoes will not earn 6 yuan, and the added value is very low."

Fang Hongjun said frankly, "the most hard earned profit is the lowest."

In 2011, more than 2000 shoe manufacturers in Jilong town produced about 300 million pairs of shoes, with an output value of about 6 billion 300 million yuan and a pair of shoes with a profit of about 20 yuan.

Zhou Yongkun said, "when the shoe industry is good, the profits of a pair of shoes are more than 10 yuan and a pair, but now there is only about 2 yuan in profits."

He said good times, probably from 2002 to 2005.

"It was the best era at that time. It began to slump in 2006, and it began to get lower and lower in 2008."

"Because no one knows where the bottom of the financial crisis is, whether the crisis will continue to deepen.

No heated discussions were held this year.

At the beginning of this year, some people were less optimistic, and felt that the crisis might spread. "

Professor Jiang Lin, director of the Department of Finance and taxation of South of the Five Ridges College of Zhongshan University, said that last year, he was still on the sidelines. He was not prepared to deal with the challenges and prepare for the crisis. The company felt that this year was more difficult than last year. It is also very normal. "What will happen tomorrow? Maybe we will have to wait for tomorrow."

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How to break through the "two headed" puzzle?

"Why do we say that the shoe industry of Jilong is low end and the profit is less and less? We belong to the middle, and our neck and feet are led by people."

Zhou Yongkun said, Wenzhou mainly produces shoe materials, shoes material profits are very high, and Jilong Huang port from Wenzhou to buy goods, this aspect is tied up.

On the other hand, "we rely on production and processing, and our necks are sold, and we are being held up by foreign countries."

He said, "the head and feet are very high, the cost is very high, and they can not be sold out at our price. Both ends are pressed. This is a very painful matter.

Wang also recognizes the two ends of Huidong footwear industry. "Huidong shoes are abnormal development, no head and no tail, only the middle processing links.

The head is the raw material market, and all our raw materials are supplied by the market in Guangzhou and Wenzhou.

The tail is the wholesale of finished shoes. In the past, finished shoes were wrapped up by Wenzhou bosses, or sold to foreign trade companies, and he sold them.

He said, "it's hard to really make shoes, and you can earn 2 yuan if you sell shoes."

Every time I talk about the footwear industry in Huidong, the industry will not compare with Wenzhou.

Once upon a time, Wenzhou also sent a group to Huidong to study and visit. But nowadays, the women's shoes in Huidong are quite different from those of Wenzhou women's shoes.

According to the industry, in essence, the Wenzhou women's shoes represented by the giant one are not very different from those of Huidong women's shoes.

Wenzhou shoe companies are much more aware of brand creation and are willing to spend money.

In order to enhance the popularity of enterprises, some enterprises in Wenzhou invest millions of dollars or tens of millions of dollars in brand promotion every year, and widely build sales networks throughout the country, and push the brand to the market through various forms such as monopoly, chain affiliate and so on.

"When there is food, there is inertia and no food to eat.

It turned out that the boss here made 1 million of a year, and thought it was amazing. 2 million thought that when he was Li Jiacheng, 3 million might have to fight with Bill Gates. It turned out to be a small fortune. Now everyone knows that the market competition is very cruel, and it does not need to give a spare face.

Wang said that the idea of "small wealth and instant security" was once one of the reasons why the shoe industry in Huidong was considered to be on the March.

But progress is always changing.

"There has been no incident to promote, everyone is plain sailing, boiled frog in warm water.

There must be an opportunity for the financial turmoil to be linked to the European debt crisis. Now is the time for Huidong shoe industry to change.

Wang said, "just at such a time, we must be sober and have no way out."

Jiang Lin said, in fact, it is not only the problem of Huidong, but the whole export oriented manufacturing industry will encounter the same problem.

Huidong, as a manufacturing base for shoemaking, is particularly intense.

Future

In fact, in recent two or three years, the pformation of footwear industry in Huidong has begun to take steps.

In 2010, four shoe companies in Huidong merged to set up the first shoe industry group Guangdong Xiang Xiang shoe Limited by Share Ltd in the county, and launched the "fragrant love" brand.

At present, the shoe industry group has set up about 220 branches in the whole country. It has played an important role in promoting the upgrading of footwear industry in Huidong by speeding up the development of Huidong footwear industry.

In May this year, about 50 shoe-making enterprises joined the "shoe brand alliance", and entered the signing ceremony with the East Guangdong (International) shoe material market, the largest shoe material market in Guangdong Province.

"The establishment of the footwear market in Guangdong is to improve the whole shoe industry chain, and the market can introduce enterprises specializing in the production of shoe materials."

Wang Yu, one of the chief executives of the footwear market in Guangdong Province, said that the shoe brand alliance is linked by the development of resources to the sharing of public resources. The alliance guarantees the brand building, and the market ensures the promotion and normal operation of the alliance.

By the end of May, all 200 stores in the shoe material market had been packaged by the brand alliance.

"In the future, if it is possible to build a large wholesale market for finished shoes, the market can not be used in others' hands."

Wang looked forward to it.

Li Canhong, Secretary of the Huidong county Party committee recently interviewed by China News Agency, said: "the development of the footwear industry in Huidong is a dead end now."

Reporters learned that in 2009, Huidong County planned to build a theme industrial park with a total investment of 1 billion 800 million yuan and an area of 6000 mu for the production base of Chinese women's shoes. At present, the infrastructure construction of the park is underway.

Huidong has also allocated 550 mu of land in the Pearl River Delta industrial pfer park, guided the large and medium-sized shoe enterprises to enter the park, and the first more than 10 shoe-making projects have started construction.

Next, the county will take the Industrial Park as an important carrier to promote the pformation and upgrading of footwear industry, undertake and introduce famous brands at home and abroad, and promote the pformation and upgrading of local footwear industry.

Li Canhong introduced, will also organize a group, set up a group company to carry out R & D, design, build Huidong's own brand.

The reporter learned that at present, Huidong plans to accelerate the construction of the national verification center and reduce the intermediate procedures for export.

Jiang Lin also said that under the current situation, there is no obvious turning point in the external demand.

"Can we build up the industrial chain of domestic demand for footwear as soon as possible when the advantages of the footwear industry in Huidong have not disappeared completely? After all, we are experienced in shoe manufacturing, quality management and product design.

We should put more experience in brand building, brand management, marketing and so on.

He finally said, of course, this is not a short time.

Although the days are hard, Wang said that the more difficult it is, the more test it is for an enterprise. "No shoe factory" will die, the row will continue to develop and form a group like development. In the future, there will be an aircraft carrier like enterprise.

Can the same shoe factory appear? "Asked the reporter," he can reply. "

When walking in the streets of Huang Bu Town, when they are ready to leave, hundreds of signs remain quiet. Some of these signs may have been standing for ten or twenty years, perhaps the same as the history of the first shoe factory in Huidong in 1981.

However, they never made me remember one deeply.

Perhaps, when the "aircraft carrier shoe factory" was born in Huidong, the successful pformation of Huidong and the number of famous brands will enable many of the signers to arrive at Huidong for the first time to remember the order.

The reporter asked Chen Xin, "is it going to be difficult to continue?" he said, "the harder it is, the harder it will be to go ahead. It will be difficult for you to regress, and everyone will have difficulty. Just like wrestling your wrist, your opponent will also hurt you, and you will also feel pain. Whoever fails first will give up.

In the face of fierce competition, it is victory that sticks to the end.

He said, "let's rush to see if we can get a good result."