The fireworks, which have been silent for ten years, are back exponentially this year
"A few years ago, everyone would say that it was a sunset industry, but now I have confidence again. ”
Text / Ba Jiuling
At night, Dayao Town, Liuyang City, Hunan Province, always has a festive atmosphere, and the sound of all kinds of fireworks in the distance and near is almost non-stop all year round.
This is the unique welfare of the "hometown of Chinese firecrackers": more than 50% of the country's fireworks (fireworks, firecrackers) are produced in Liuyang, with Dayao Town and Jingang Town as the core, and 300,000 people, 20% of Liuyang's population depend on them for survival.
Hundreds of enterprises have tested and proofed fireworks, more than a million people have a medium and heavy hobby, and the city's large-scale performance program of "watching fireworks on weekends" - they continue to enrich and liven up this sky, creating a unique scenery that is unique in the world.
At the end of December last year, the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held that the current "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law", "Regulations on the Safety Management of Fireworks and Firecrackers" and other laws and regulations did not provide for a complete ban on the sale and discharge of fireworks that meet quality standards. This is seen by the outside world as a further relaxation of the "national ban on fireworks and firecrackers".
At the same time, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the department in charge of fireworks and firecrackers, issued a statement: to avoid a "one-size-fits-all" comprehensive (region-wide, full-time) ban on fireworks and firecrackers, so as to meet the people's demand for folk culture and yearning for a better life.
Comprehensive news and information can be seen that major prefecture-level cities such as Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Luohe, Pingdingshan, Nanyang, Shangqiu in Henan, Kunming in Yunnan, Yinchuan, Ningxia, Shaoxing in Zhejiang, Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province, etc., have announced the time and place of this year's Spring Festival "restrictions", which can be regarded as a continuation of the obvious relaxation of the ban on sales and combustion in many places across the country at the beginning of 2023.
The Guangzhou Spring Festival fireworks display returned after 12 years, and many counties and districts in Zhengzhou opened applications for fireworks and firecrackers business licenses.
To this end, the minibus made a special trip to Liuyang, hoping to witness the possible "great changes" in the industry, and the following is a little observation of the minibus.
"The next five years will be a golden age"
"Seven big, three small!"
Li Kang, the eldest brother of a prefecture-level city in Henan, and his partner drove nearly 1,000 kilometers to a firecracker factory in a village in Jingang Town, Liuyang City, to pick up the goods. That's the largest amount his car can hold. Disc-shaped firecrackers in firecracker factories are very common, with different diameters and unfolded lengths, with the largest diameter reaching 1.6 meters.
The sale of fireworks is still completely banned, and he has nowhere to buy them, so he took this approach. He was also a wholesaler for the firecracker factory.
In fact, the sale of fireworks is strictly regulated. When foreign tourists arrive in Liuyang, they can only take away one or two boxes of fireworks at most. However, the gradually clear situation strengthened his courage.
"At this time last year, the goods in the entire Liuyang market were swept away, and the goods that had been stored for more than ten years were pulled away. Some of the fireworks bombs are not bright, and there is nothing when they are put on, just a sound. He smiled at the minibus.
Liuyang 2023 fireworks display
Phenomena similar to those described by Li Kang have been quite common in the past year. In the voice of a typical practitioner: "A few years ago, everyone would say that this was a sunset industry, but now they have confidence again." ”
Specifically, in terms of production capacity, a number of heads of leading enterprises said that this year's production capacity (referring to after the Spring Festival in 2023 and before the Spring Festival in 2024) has doubled compared with previous years.
This is corroborated by the fact that the total output value of Liuyang fireworks will be 30.15 billion yuan in 2022 and 50 billion yuan in 2023.
Behind the 50 billion yuan, there are two changes.
One is the outbreak of small fireworks. Gatling, jellyfish, big windmills and other small fireworks categories mainly for young people have become popular Internet celebrities, taking Gatling as an example, the ex-factory price has risen from more than a dozen yuan to fifty or sixty yuan, so that many factories engaged in the production of firecrackers and factories mainly engaged in foreign trade have transformed into the domestic small fireworks market, although it is not easy.
The second is the popularization of the distribution network. For example, the number of fireworks retail stores in Dayao Town alone has increased from 0 to 16, which can be used as a microcosm of the "liberalization" of sales policies and the influx of entrepreneurs.
Therefore, the person in charge of a leading enterprise said that now is the best period for the industry. As for the future, the next five years will be a golden age. This is the judgment of the sales leader of another leading company, which is the most optimistic.
Another person in charge of the company told the minibus that there was already capital in Shenzhen approaching him. "Many people (referring to capital) dare not enter this industry, because they don't understand, because they don't understand, because they have misunderstandings, and they feel that fireworks are heavy assets, dangerous, and unstable policies. The implication is that these are no longer problems.
Such a market situation has changed the traditional "annual production and quarterly sales" to "annual production and annual sales". In the past, the time from spring to autumn was mainly the production and stocking time of the enterprise, and the production capacity plan was mainly combined with last year's sales estimate, and shipments began in October, and the peak sales season was winter.
Liuyang's largest firecracker trade city Source: Taken by minibus
In the past year, the situation was: "The peak time was in May and June, and all the wholesalers came here to order. Yang Yang, a sales director of Yinyang, the head small fireworks company in Dayao Town, said to the minibus.
"From the beginning of the year to October 1st, there were a lot of people who bought the goods. On the contrary, in the second half of the year, it was a little 'tired'. Another former head of the fireworks factory said.
Therefore, the following voices are more common: "As usual, the days before the Chinese New Year are the busiest times. But now it's not so busy. "All were helping out in the warehouse this time last year. ”
The basic situation behind this is that most of the warehouses of wholesalers and retailers across the country are already full.
It is worth mentioning that the minibus bought a Gatling in a store in a village in a town in Liuyang (the other party has a few goods, not a regular outlet), the price is 35 yuan, and the boss revealed that the highest selling price is 75 yuan. The lowest selling price in other channels in the market is about 28 yuan.
The long wait: the huge profits on the sales side and the self-help of the factory
In the past year, the liveliness of Liuyang's fireworks industry has come at the cost of long-term loneliness.
Since 2012, the entire fireworks industry has gone downhill, and from 2015 to 2019, the industry has shown a long-term downturn and is at the bottom of the cycle.
"Since 2015, it has entered a ban cycle, and 2019 is a peak period, Henan Province, a province with a large population, has announced a ban on the whole province, and later Shanxi has also banned ...... whole province," Ye Changzheng, general manager of Liuyang Jinsheng Red Eagle Fireworks, told the minibus.
"From the end of 2019 to the Spring Festival of 20, fireworks were unsalable, and in 2020, many customers came and said that more than half of last year's fireworks were not sold, and they would not be purchased this year. 2020 was the bleakest year, and 2021 only slowly recovered. ”
"It can be said that most of the factories in the past few years, are basically guaranteed capital, sales are not good, and the financing cost is very large, because in the Chinese New Year, customers have to deposit money, their own production and inventory, that more than ten percent of the profit, just where to press, you can't see the money, and even have to take the money out of the pocket. Brother Yun, the former head of the Liuyang fireworks factory and a well-known fireworks short video blogger, summed up to the minibus.
According to the views of many industry insiders, on the production side, the general net profit of Liuyang firecracker factory is 15%-18%, and the situation is different at the downstream wholesale and retail ends, and there may still be more than 50% of the windfall profits.
Fireworks and firecrackers belong to flammable and explosive dangerous goods, the state implements a franchise license, upstream manufacturers can only sell products to sales companies with wholesale licenses, and based on the conventions of regional protection and management, such wholesale companies often have only one in a region, and outlets with retail licenses in the region can only purchase goods from this wholesale company. For example, the fireworks business in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan District is in the hands of a wholesaler.
Therefore, even if the industry is sluggish, the demand in a region is still considerable. "If you buy goods from me for 100 yuan, and you want to sell them for 150, then you will sell them for 150. If you want to sell 160, sell 160. A business leader said.
Due to the requirement that there can be no residential buildings and commercial stores near retail outlets, and there are strict regulations on the area of warehouses and stores, a retail outlet in a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province even rented a two-story commercial building located at the junction of industrial and residential areas, just to do 100 square meters of fireworks retail business.
Gatling Source: Photographed by minibus
In the long-term cramped industry environment, Liuyang fireworks enterprises can only save themselves, and have formed a variety of ways to survive.
For example, diversify market risks and focus on the mid-to-high-end market of more stable firecracker categories. Relatively speaking, firecrackers are a category with more stable demand. However, the risks on the market side should not be underestimated.
A well-known enterprise in Liuyang called Yixue Firecracker Factory revealed to the minibus that its Henan market once accounted for 50% of its total sales, and the ban on sales and burning in Henan Province once caused it to lose a lot, and now its share in various provinces is relatively even, and the main high-end market, quality for market stability. The factory price of its largest single item is up to 2,000 yuan.
"The general direction is shrinking, but the subdivision is different for each enterprise, we are growing steadily every year, about 20%, that is, the growth is slowing down. Zhang Longchu, chairman of the Yixue Firecracker Factory, told the minibus.
For example, focusing on the relatively stable foreign trade market and large-scale fireworks market, the typical representative is the Liuyang Jinsheng fireworks group, which focuses on the large-scale fireworks and combined fireworks market and accounts for 70% of the total output.
Perhaps the most obvious results are the innovation and promotion of small fireworks categories. It is recognized that Yinyang, a leading enterprise in Dayao Town, proposed the concept of "urban fireworks" in 2019, emphasizing that product development should be based on urban leisure scenes, achieving high safety and reducing pollution, emphasizing appearance and social attributes. Nowadays, the small fireworks category in which the concept of "urban fireworks" is located is the most popular product category of Liuyang fireworks, and Internet celebrities such as Gatling and jellyfish belong to this category.
Confession fireworks Source: Taken by minibus
The minibus visits its showroom, where there are a thousand small products, and there are specially created gift bags for travel, camping, confession and other scenes. It is understood that there is 30% elimination and renewal every year.
Don't waste every crisis: the national ban unexpectedly strengthens Liuyang's position
If we look at the development trend of Liuyang's fireworks industry in recent years, it is likely to observe a trend of decline. For example, around 2000, the GDP of Liuyang's fireworks industry accounted for 60%-70%, but now it is less than 20%, and the number of enterprises has also decreased from 2,000 to about 300.
However, regional development is closely related to national development, and in addition to being constrained by the latter, it can also be counterproductive. This is the wonder of business.
Due to the long-term existence of the national ban on sales and combustion policy, the vast majority of provinces in the country have cracked down on the fireworks and firecracker industry as a backward industry and eliminated it as a backward production capacity.
Official data shows that in the 10 years from 2006 to 2015, nearly 4,000 fireworks production enterprises across the country were shut down. 16 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have completely withdrawn from the production of fireworks and firecrackers. The provinces, cities and counties that withdrew from the production of fireworks accounted for 51.6%, 72.4% and 89.8% of the national total, respectively.
In 2019, Shangli County and Wanzai County in Jiangxi Province, two of the four major fireworks factories in the country, were also restricted by the local government's planning: by the end of 2021, the production enterprises will be significantly reduced.
As a characteristic industry of Liuyang, the fireworks industry has a deep historical origin, a unique whole industry chain, a full range of advantages, and a high degree of dependence on the local people's livelihood and other factors, it has been protected and guided by the local government's consistent policy, although the proportion of GDP and the number of enterprises are decreasing, but the remaining hundreds of enterprises in the production capacity, production efficiency, environmental protection of raw materials, enterprise production standardization, and constantly improve the level, in fact, the main tone of the policy is still: mergers and acquisitions, bigger and stronger.
In previous years, Liuyang New Year's fireworks show
"The [enterprises] that we stay have to pay a lot of money, for example, the cost of rectification is very large. The government will continue to put forward new standards and requirements while constantly regulating and controlling. A business leader said.
In the view of Ye Changzheng, general manager of Liuyang Jinsheng Red Eagle Fireworks, "the current policy, in principle, is not to increase the number of factories, which means that excess production capacity will become a better development momentum, such as premium, product innovation, or force us to use intelligent and mechanized means to improve efficiency."
"There is monitoring in every place in our factory, and before the end of work, the monitoring (of the relevant departments) will warn that if you don't get off work, the power will go out. Another employee of a large fireworks group said. At the same time, there are fewer and fewer safety accidents in the factory.
The result of the obvious differentiation of local policies reflected above is that the production capacity continues to gather in Liuyang, which ensures the long-term continuity of the high production capacity of Liuyang fireworks and continuously improves the core competitiveness of Liuyang fireworks, and paves the way for the outbreak of the industry this year.
Of course, there is another "lead" in the middle that has to be mentioned.
In 2015, Wang Zi, a veteran employee of a fireworks factory in Jingang Town, single-handedly became the first blogger in Liuyang to make short videos of fireworks. "I thought the fireworks were sluggish at that time, and I wanted to do something to make the fireworks go viral. He said. His wife didn't understand him at the time, and felt that she didn't do the work with an annual salary of 60,000 or 70,000 yuan in the firecracker factory, and did something that "couldn't see the money".
In 2016, Brother Yun also joined the ranks of short video bloggers. "We did it for three or four years and didn't have any income at all. ”
Today, the two of them are the most well-known fireworks short video bloggers in Liuyang, and once formed a team. For example, Prince Zaiji, Kuai, and Video have a total of 6 million fans, and he is the largest fireworks short video blogger in Liuyang and has become a frequent visitor to mainstream media. Nowadays, Liuyang's firecracker companies generally have a relied on short video promotion department. It can be said that in the four major production areas of fireworks and firecrackers, the development of Liuyang fireworks enterprises in the field of short video is unique and far ahead.
To a large extent, short video platforms have become the source of Internet celebrity fireworks, such as Gatling and jellyfish, all of which are popular with short videos. Gatling is an old foreign trade product for more than ten years, and the traditional way of playing is to insert it in the dirt for fireworks, but young people spontaneously innovate their gameplay, that is, treat it as a hand-held firework, which produces a stronger impact and pleasure, and detonates the whole network through short video dissemination.
As for the source of this kind of play, "everyone's unanimous statement is that there is a group of people in the Northeast who started to play like this first." Brother Yun said.
The short video of fireworks also takes on the function of "fireworks education" for the younger generation. "At the beginning, a lot of people were influenced by some public opinion and said things like polluting the environment in the comment area, but now it's much better. ”
The prince also said: "Some young people with children show my video to the children, and after watching the video, they will not be noisy." I feel quite proud, too. ”
In addition, short video can also be used as a core starting point for directly facing C-end users, keenly grasping market trends and promoting new products. "In the past, there was no such rapid means of communication, so we had to go everywhere and talk to people (wholesalers, retailers) about the product. An industry veteran salesman said.
A sample of the vitality of the county economy: the relay of the old, middle and young generations
It should be pointed out that behind the strong fireworks industry, the resource endowment of this county-level city has obvious "defects":
It is built on a narrow river valley plain surrounded by mountains on all sides, and has a layer of "isolation" color; the main urban area is about 30 kilometers away from Dayao Town, Jingang Town, and other areas, and each area is blocked by mountain ranges, the transportation is inconvenient, and the population is relatively scattered; there is no train to the outside world, which is quite rare in the whole country. The main city is 50 kilometers away from Changsha Huanghua Airport and 70 kilometers away from Changsha South Railway Station.
"If there are no fireworks, it is poor here. The prince said to the minibus.
Source: Photographed by minibus
The cultivation of fireworks industry in Liuyang also has no obvious basic advantages, the situation that the minibus understands is that in addition to the historical origin of the invention of fireworks and firecrackers was born here, mainly Liuyang with a little oily soil suitable for making fireworks raw materials, so that Anhui, Inner Mongolia and other places of fireworks enterprises have come to Liuyang to transport soil.
At the end of the 90s of the last century, as the local government took it as a "leading industry" and increased support, the county's family-style workshops flocked to become the core thrust of the development of Liuyang's fireworks industry. In the 20 years from 1992 to 2012, the output value of Liuyang's fireworks industry has increased by 70 times.
The ever-growing fireworks industry has also cultivated generations of young people, and even primary and junior high school students here have a good "place to stay" after graduation.
After graduating from high school in 86, Wang Zi entered the town's firecracker factory and worked for eight years. Although he needs to "wear a mask all day and the medicine is dusty", he can earn 60,000 or 70,000 yuan a year, so he got married at the age of 22 and now has two sons.
From children to grandmothers, they can all engage in this industry to a certain extent. "Fireworks are divided into drug-free processes and drug-free processes, and drug-free processes can be done at home. ”
"Firecracker families" are not uncommon. For example, Yang Yang, the sales person mentioned above, said: "My dad used to work in a small family workshop, and he was still in a technical position two years ago, my mother is now in her fifties and is still in the production department of the factory, and my younger brother belongs to the security department." ”
Brother Yun said with emotion: "We have also been to many places across the country (setting off fireworks), and some places are left-behind families, and only the elderly and children are still at home. "It is the norm for a family of four or five to eat together all year round.
Take the above-mentioned Yixue firecracker factory as an example, the factory is located in a mountainous rural area, covering an area of five or six hundred acres, with basketball courts, rest pavilions and other facilities, nearly 400 employees, belonging to the upper middle scale, most of the workers in the production department (the production link belongs to the semi-mechanized level, still needs a large number of workers), the workers are mainly from the surrounding villages, and the monthly salary generally ranges from 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan.
To a large extent, Liuyang demonstrates a noteworthy sample of the vitality of the county economy: regardless of the age, young or old, regardless of academic qualifications, as long as the old, middle and young take root for a long time and continue to relay, they can continue to consolidate the talent and industrial foundation, as well as endogenous innovation.
In a word: do your best, you can be fearless of changes in the external environment.
In the middle of last year, the prince and Brother Yun parted ways, the prince insisted on the position of the propagandist of Liuyang fireworks, not involved in the sales process, his next plan is to "share fireworks around the world", and after the year, he plans to follow the foreign trade company to the United States for a turn. And Brother Yun's retail store in Dayao Town has just been renovated and will open for business in the near future.
Going to the world and taking root in the hometown are actually the same way, and behind them are actually full of love and perseverance for the land they are in.
Leaving Liuyang to Changsha to take the high-speed rail, taking a long-distance online car-hailing, the driver brought a box of small fireworks, two Gatling and a bunch of small products, which was a gift he gave to his relatives in Changsha, and it should also be his pride as a Liuyang person.
本篇作者 |林波 | 李狒狒| 责任编辑 |徐涛
主编 |何梦飞| 图源 |VCG