In Qatar, the host of this World Cup, the official store of World Cup merchandise has opened for business. Among the best-selling products, products made in China are indispensable.
Entering November, the atmosphere of the World Cup in Qatar has become increasingly intense. World Cup-related slogans and flags can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of Doha, the capital. In many large shopping malls and shopping malls, official stores for World Cup merchandise have opened their doors one after another.
In a large shopping mall in Doha, the Qatar World Cup merchandise store is located in the passage between two rows of shops. It is a temporary store that will be closed after the World Cup. Currently, many large shopping malls in Qatar have such product stores.
The area of a specialty store is only about 20 square meters, and the products sold include footballs and jerseys officially authorized by FIFA 2022 World Cup. Consumers who come to shop include both local people in Qatar and many foreign tourists. The price is also relatively close to the people. Each football is priced at 79 Qatari riyals, which is approximately RMB 160. Most jerseys are priced at around RMB 350. The clerk said that the daily customer flow has been more than thousands recently, and the average daily sales are around 30,000 Qatari riyals, which is about 60,000 yuan. Sales are expected to rise further after the World Cup begins.
According to the clerk, most of the jerseys, hats, backpacks, etc. sold in this store from various countries are produced in China. Since sales far exceeded expectations, the store recently placed additional orders with officially authorized Chinese suppliers.
Jafar Khan, clerk at Qatar World Cup merchandise store: About 60% of the products in our store are made in China, especially jerseys and backpacks. The quality of Chinese products is very good and customers like them very much.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Yiwu Sports Goods Association estimates that from the flags of the top 32 of the Qatar World Cup to the cheering horns and whistles, from footballs to jerseys and scarves, to the ornaments and pillows of the Hercules Cup, Yiwu manufacturing accounts for almost the entire World Cup surroundings. 70% of the commodity market share.
World Cup commemorative football produced by a company in Yiwu
The “Yiwu·China Small Commodity Index” information system monitoring shows that the impact of the World Cup lasted throughout September, and the popularity of the sporting goods industry continued to expand. The prosperity index of ball supplies, football leg guards, sports protective supplies and other industries this month rose by 19.18 points month-on-month respectively. 68.64 points, 144.11 points.
In the past few days, Dazhong.com·Poster News visited Yiwu International Trade City on the spot and found that due to the epidemic and other factors, although Yiwu International Trade City was slightly deserted and not crowded, there were many merchants relying on old customers accumulated over the years. Order negotiations were completed through online channels. As the president of the Yiwu Sports and Fitness Products Industry Association said, the current business in Yiwu International Trade City is actually “invisible”. Customers do not need to go to the site to discuss business online.
Relying on old customers, one company exported more than 2 million Qatar World Cup jerseys
In the past three months, Yiwu Danas Import and Export Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Danas Company”) has shipped more than 2 million Qatar World Cup jerseys to foreign countries. The price of the jerseys ranges from more than ten yuan to more than 20 yuan. No wait.
A week ago, Danas had just completed its foreign trade orders for the World Cup. “The production cycle of each order is more than 20 days, and it takes more than 30 days to ship it abroad by sea, so there will be no new foreign trade orders now.” Wen Congjian, general manager of Danas Company, told reporters that in March this year, after After the Lunar New Year, the company started stocking jerseys. Customer inquiries for orders are concentrated from March to May, and orders are mainly placed from July to September.
“My customer base is mainly in South American countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. The football atmosphere in South America is very fanatical.” Wen Congjian has been engaged in jersey sales for 15 years and has accumulated many foreign customers. Danas Company has opened two stalls in Yiwu International Trade City. There have been few new customers coming to negotiate business this year. These foreign trade orders are mainly brought by old customers. “Basically, I can order directly using WeChat or phone.”
In order to cope with this new situation, Wen Congjian, a graduate of Yiwu Industrial and Commercial Vocational and Technical College majoring in Applied English, often introduces his products in English, records them in videos, and sends them to foreign customers.
Screenshot of a video of Wen Congjian introducing his own products in English
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Automatic equipment prints color on football skins
Wu Xiaoming said that this year’s World Cup started in November, and due to the impact of the epidemic, international situation and other factors, authorized football orders came later than in previous years. Orders were not received until May, half a year before the start of the game. Under normal circumstances, June to September is the off-season for football sales. This year, due to the World Cup, it was “extremely busy.”
Equipment for wrapping yarn around the liner
Wu Xiaoming said that in more than three months, Okay Sports has produced nearly 300,000 authorized footballs, all of which were shipped before September 15. These footballs are mainly sent to the Middle East and South America.
Football produced in Wu Xiaoming’s factory
Yiwu is frequently “out of the circle”
Yiwu, known as the “Small Commodity Capital of the World”, has long been deeply integrated into the world. Yiwu International Trade City currently operates 75,000 business locations, bringing together more than 2.1 million kinds of commodities and exporting them to more than 230 countries and regions. Although the so-called “Yiwu knows everything in the world” is a bit of a joke, Yiwu’s frequent “out of the circle” in recent years is enough to illustrate Yiwu’s development vitality.
During the 2016 U.S. election, in the Yiwu market, Trump’s orders for support items far exceeded those of Hillary Clinton. Yiwu businessmen used this to predict that Trump would win the presidential election, which later came true. Although some analysts believe that this inference ignores complex political factors and is not statistically supported by comprehensive and accurate data. But it became an internet meme that continues to this day.
Earlier this year, China’s exports of electric blankets, electric heaters and other heating equipment to Europe showed explosive growth, and Yiwu became the “darling” of the media, attracting many reports. Yiwu Customs data shows that from January to August this year, Yiwu exported electric blankets and other thermal supplies totaling 190 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.6%.
Official data shows that in 2021, Yiwu city achieved a regional GDP of 173 billion yuan, an increase of 11.6%. Yiwu’s outstanding achievements are inseparable from foreign trade. In 2021, Yiwu’s total import and export volume reached 390.31 billion yuan, an increase of 24.7%. Among them, foreign trade exports were 365.92 billion yuan, an increase of 21.7%; imports increased by 95.3%.
Yiwu’s development has been lamented as “inexplicable” development, development that “comes out of nothing”, and development that “turns stone into gold”. In April 2006, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government issued the “Notice on Learning and Promoting Yiwu’s Development Experience.” Yiwu’s development experience includes six major connotations: “promoting commerce and building a city, industrial linkage, urban and rural coordination, harmonious development, rich heritage, and promising party and government”.
It is easy to feel the strong business atmosphere in Yiwu. For example, during the reporter’s interview in Yiwu, he received a call from the local epidemic prevention and control department on October 27, and the first call he made was “boss”. For another example, the aforementioned interviewee Wu Junyong came here with his mother who was working in Yiwu. He first joined a factory and later started his own business, from selling footballs to producing and selling his own products. Wen Congjian worked in a foreign trade company after graduation and later started his own business. Focus on jersey sales.
Although business can be negotiated online, Yiwu is still eagerly awaiting the arrival of foreign businessmen.
Affected by the epidemic, the number of foreign businessmen entering and exiting Yiwu has dropped significantly since 2020. This year, Yiwu plans to organize business charter flights to bring foreign buyers to Yiwu. According to incomplete statistics, so far, at least 400 businessmen from Pakistan, India, and South Korea have come to Yiwu.
Why must foreign businessmen be invited to discuss business face to face? Ge Qiaodi, deputy mayor of Yiwu City, said in an interview with the media that this is related to the characteristics of small commodity trade. Yiwu exports are mainly carried out through market procurement. For example, when a foreign businessman comes to the Yiwu market, he may go to a dozen merchants to purchase hundreds of goods, put them together into a container, and export them to his country. Most of the goods he purchases are non-standardized, multi-variety, and exported in small batches. It is precisely because of this characteristic that face-to-face communication is required during the procurement process, and it is particularly important to see samples on the spot. When you entrust others to purchase or purchase online, you may be dealing with small or short-term orders, but if you communicate with business owners on-site and look at samples on the spot, you will end up with large and long-term orders. Therefore, the purpose of “bringing back” foreign businessmen through chartered flights is to allow them to go to the market to place orders and purchase, and ultimately turn them into real trade.
In August this year, merchants from Pakistan and India went to Yiwu for purchasing
An article published by the Yiwu Media Center on August 24 revealed that after arriving in China on a chartered flight, Indian businessman Salim purchased kitchen supplies, hardware tools and other products for an amount of approximately US$10 million. He has more than 70 supermarkets in Dubai and other places, half of which come from Yiwu.
There are more than 70 supermarkets, half of which come from Yiwu.
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