Puyuan fashion ancient town
Wuzhen in Tongxiang is divided into east and west gates, and the long bluestone alleys and waterfront doors and wooden windows engrave the initial impression of the ancient Jiangnan in the hearts of the viewers, and later become famous for the holding of the World Internet Summit, and are famous in China.
In comparison, the ancient town of Puyuan, which is only a 30-minute drive to the east, seems to be much more low-key, and most people's impression of Puyuan is still stuck in the symbol of the times as a "woolen sweater distribution center". Because in the past, this small town in the south of the Yangtze River, with an area of 60 square kilometers and only 0.056% of the total area of Zhejiang Province, occupied 70% of the country's woolen sweater market.
As everyone knows, today's Puyuan has long since faded away from the stereotype of "low value-added" and "OEM factory", but has embarked on its own transformation and upgrading road with the concept of "reuse of historical districts"...
The Trap of Pu Yuan
(Photo by Li Danlin, a corner of the ancient town)
Pu Yuan became famous very early.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Pu Yuan became famous all over the world with a "Pu silk" and enjoyed the reputation of "10,000 silks at sunrise and a giant town in Jiahe".
In modern times, the story of Pu Yuan and the woolen sweater dates back to 1976. At that time, Puyuan started from 3 hand-cranked flat knitting machines and produced the first woolen sweater, at first shouting and setting up stalls on the side of the road, and then in 1988, led by the government, 30 stores were built on Shuangyan Road, forming the prototype of Puyuan woolen sweater market.
In the next 10 years, Puyuan built 10 trading areas, becoming the country's largest woolen sweater distribution base, attracting more than 100,000 jobs, and gradually has now "700 million woolen sweaters are sold from Puyuan to more than 20 countries and regions every year, and 7 out of every 10 woolen sweaters in the country come from Puyuan".
Although it has long been the "world factory level" in terms of output and market share, like many traditional manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Delta, Puyuan's sweater industry has also faced development difficulties.
"Puyuan is close to the coastal area, the wage level and consumption level are continuing to rise, and the cost advantage is gradually not as good as before. In addition, the sales channels are becoming more and more finely divided, and it seems that we can only run on our own track. If brand awareness, R&D capabilities and corporate management are not improved, it will be very dangerous. Zhang Jialun, the manager of the Mink Shuai brand, is very sensitive to the perception of the market. Zhang Jialun, born in 1991, took over his parents' business after graduating from university (2014) and became one of the many "second generations" in Puyuan. The first problem he faced was competition from the same industry. At that time, Puyuan not only encountered the pressure of industrial development brought about by the rise in raw material prices, rising labor costs, and shortage of resource elements, but also faced the changes in the consumer market brought about by the rise of e-commerce, which had an impact on the original production and sales model.
"Weak brand awareness, insufficient design capabilities, and a single profit model are all bottlenecks for development." Zhang Jialun told reporters, "At that time, many people's impression of Puyuan was that it was OEM processing, selling old and cheap clothes. ”
Aware of this problem, Zhang Jialun did several things: gradually rectify and improve the company's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; Create a new brand and export new product research and development ideas; It also shifted the company's main business to regional brands, from the wholesale model to the order model, while continuing to maintain investment in raw materials and design.
The problem Zhang Jialun faces is a "common problem" in the whole town.
Pu Yuan was clearly aware of this. Since 2017, Puyuan has held Puyuan Fashion Week every year, mainly serving the internal exchanges and cooperation of the sweater industry. But the results are not obvious. Many operators find that the inherent impression of the Puyuan market has been formed, and it is difficult to find other needs, even if they strive to be original and branded, it is difficult to see results in a short period of time. For merchants, in the commercial chain that has been formed in the market, the logic of making money is often the main explosive product, and the style of clothes can be completed through observation, imitation and reference, and it is not important whether it is original or not, and selling more is the king.
The agglomeration effect of talents is also not obvious. In 2021, researchers randomly selected 100 designers from 50 enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households in Puyuan to conduct an academic survey, and found that only 18% had a bachelor's degree or above. "Although we can't measure a designer's ability in all aspects by academic qualifications, if you want to integrate into the global value chain, it is difficult for such a design atmosphere to be in line with international standards." The researcher said.
The breakout of Pu Yuan
(Photo by Li Danlin, Pu Chamber of Commerce)
China has never lacked ancient towns, what is lacking is the interpretation and expression of the connotation of ancient towns.
Based on the industrial foundation of woolen sweaters, Puyuan has set the transformation goal of the word "fashion". For them, the most convenient way is to create a new carrier that matches, and Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town is this breakthrough.
On March 1, 2023, Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town has been gathering momentum for a long time, and finally "went out of the mountain" and officially opened its doors to welcome guests. In accordance with the principle of "repairing the old as the old and accessing the truth", the scenic spot uses its original site and original appearance of the old houses in the streets and alleys to reproduce the prosperity of the famous weaving town in the south of the Yangtze River. Like Wuzhen, the planner and designer of the development of the tourist attraction in Puyuan Ancient Town is also Chen Xianghong. His grandmother is from Wuzhen, and his grandmother is from Puyuan, and she spent a long time in Puyuan in her childhood. The design and construction of these two ancient towns have incorporated Chen Xianghong's hometown memory and life imprint. This has also contributed to the construction concept of Puyuan Ancient Town - part of it is the repair of old buildings, and the other part is the restoration of Puyuan history from the historical and cultural aspects. "But Puyuan is not the second Wuzhen, but a new concept and new positioning of the ancient water town." In the view of Bao Long, executive vice president of Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town Scenic Area, Puyuan can be regarded as a "new species" in all ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River. "From the very beginning of development, we established the core concept of fashion, which is the first part of long-termism. Set the theme direction of the content of the future scenic spot, and the format, content, activities and other aspects are all around the theme of fashion. In April 2023, Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town hosted the first Puyuan Fashion Week, with the theme of "Knitting is Fashion". When the modern and technologically charged sweater fashion appears on the winding water town gardens and the simple and elegant bluestone slabs, Puyuan seems to be the fashion town that has been fashionable for thousands of years, but it is obviously more modern and artistic. At the end of 2023, an annual ceremony will be held in Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town, where almost "half of the entertainment industry" of artists gathered, making the ancient town completely famous. It is reported that on the day of the ceremony, it was difficult to find a ticket in the ancient town. Tickets for official channels are sold out, the number of taxis from Tongxiang high-speed rail station to the town has increased dozens of times compared to normal days, and there are long queues of shops in the scenic spot...... After gaining popularity, more attempts were carried out naturally. For example, more young designers are willing to come to work in Puyuan. Guzhen provides exclusive support policies for young designers, and plans a series of growth facilities such as schools, apartments and stages for the exhibition of works. At the same time, Guzhen also relies on the influence of cultural tourism to attract more attention and cooperation of mainstream fashion, and these cross-border cooperation introduces senior designers in the industry, the latest trend concepts, and the most trendy pop culture, which not only provides a better communication platform, but also inspires original design and creation. At present, there are not only silk and hat jewelry clothing stores, but also trendy buyers, most of which are designer models, which are very different from the woolen sweater market. Not long ago, from April 24th to 28th, the week-long Puyuan Fashion Week once again handed over its own fashion "answer sheet" to the world - more than 70 "exhibitions, meetings, shows, and trades" including theme shows, trend exhibitions, and knitting workshop experiences were presented in the streets and alleys of the ancient town. The traffic brought by is also considerable, data shows that during the fashion week, more than 50,000 people went to the ancient town to check in. Nowadays, walking in the streets and alleys of the ancient town, you can also see various knitting-themed exhibitions. Handmade dolls recycled from discarded clothes and creative weaving devices convey the artist's creative concept in the streets and alleys. In the exhibition "Digital Weaving Chronology", knitting and digital art are organically integrated. Each knitted piece is a carrier of information, waiting for the viewer to taste it