Health & Beauty

The wig industry in Xuchang City, Henan Province has a long history and is well-known at home and abroad, playing an important role in the global wig trade. In response to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and other factors, Xuchang's wig industry is seeking greater development. The introduction of cross-border e-commerce, the efficient and fast air logistics, and the wig itself have the characteristics of high value, small size, and many manual processes. It provides more development potential and space for the local wig export to the road of high added value.

The wig production process cannot be replaced by machines

Wig production and processing workshops in Xuchang are very common. Unlike other industries, where the level of intelligence and automation has been continuously improved, manual operations have been greatly reduced or even disappeared. The wig industry still needs a lot of manual labor. There are dozens of processes to make a wig, many of which require skilled workers to complete, and many links are sewn by hand, stitch by stitch, which is better than using machines. In this regard, the skill and hard work of laborers have become one of the important foundations for the development of Xuchang's wig industry.

Compared with the domestic wig market in the cultivation stage, the wig markets in Europe, America and Africa are larger and more mature. Due to their aesthetics and living habits, many people in Europe and the United States like to wear wigs; in Africa, many people are born with curly hair and fall off easily. Women like to wear wigs, and even one person has multiple sets of wigs. Benefiting from the needs of the European, American and African markets, Xuchang's wig industry has exported a large scale to these regions, and has gradually grown into a world-class industrial cluster, accounting for about half of the world's wig market. Some wig companies have set up locations and stationed personnel in Africa. By observing the market and distributing goods, they can further understand and quickly respond to foreign market needs and better integrate into the African market. A Xuchang wig manufacturer who was stationed in Africa even said that during his stay in Africa, he was able to meet his classmates and acquaintances in China by accident.

Overcome difficulties and do a good job in exporting wigs

Xuchang wig industry also has some hidden worries in the development process, which affects the stamina of industrial development. For example, in some wig workshops and small factories, there is a phenomenon that the workers are older.

Xuchang Audemars Piguet Hair Jewelry Co., Ltd. has its own factory. Although the recruitment situation is good, the company reports that many young people are reluctant to work in the factory. The staff of a large local wig company also said with some concern: "Although some young people start their own businesses and do wig-related e-commerce businesses, young people are reluctant to learn to make wigs and feel that it is too hard. In the local wig workshop, Most of the middle-aged and elderly people are working, and skilled workers are not available. In this way, it is difficult to protect and inherit the wig-making skills.”

There are also some companies that are still optimistic. The staff of Wanrui Arts and Crafts Co., Ltd. said that although the wig process is cumbersome and difficult to make, local young people are still willing to work in the wig industry. Xuchang Xinxin Hair Products Co., Ltd. has its own factory. The staff of the company said that although some small factories have difficulty in recruiting workers, it is not difficult for the company to recruit workers. The workers in the factory are not very old, and many workers are around 30 years old. They are all recruited from the local area, and the wages are higher, which is more cost-effective than going to other places to work. There are more old workers in small workshops. "My grandparents and myself are in Xuchang. I see that the younger generation is still willing to work in wigs."

Under the current international market environment, the export market of Xuchang wig industry this year is mixed. Xuchang Municipal Bureau of Commerce revealed that the export situation of Xuchang wigs in the first half of this year was relatively normal, which was generally flat compared with the same period last year. Many companies performed differently. Xuchang Audemars Piguet Hair Jewelry Co., Ltd. mainly exports to the US market. The staff of the company revealed that the export situation is not very good this year. In addition, it is the off-season, and the market is getting worse and worse. Xuchang Aoyun Industrial Co., Ltd. also reported that exports declined in the off-season this year, and waited to see the situation in the peak season in the second half of the year. And Xuchang Xinxin Hair Products Co., Ltd.'s product positioning for foreign markets is more mid-to-high-end, and they said that the export situation this year is OK. Wanrui Arts & Crafts Co., Ltd. has Amazon and AliExpress online stores, and its products are exported to the United States, Europe and Africa. They said that the export situation this year is good, similar to last year.

According to the feedback from Xuchang Xinxin Hair Products Co., Ltd., the main difficulty encountered by the export of wigs is the repeated epidemic, which affects delivery and logistics. The epidemic has a greater impact on the industry.

As for the rumors that the acquisition of raw materials is difficult and the cost of raw materials is high, according to feedback from many local companies, this is not a big obstacle at present. Xuchang Xinxin Hair Products Co., Ltd. said that the price of purchasing hair this year is a little lower than last year, which is still affordable. The staff of Wanrui Crafts Co., Ltd. also revealed that it is not difficult to buy real hair as a raw material. Generally, it is bought by ton. The rising cost of raw materials is not a unique phenomenon in the wig industry. The company will continue to purchase raw hair and maintain normal production.

Improve experience service to create high-quality products

It is understood that at present and in the future, the Xuchang wig industry still has many advantages and has the potential to release high added value.

One of the advantages is the active cross-border e-commerce business. The Xuchang Municipal Bureau of Commerce told reporters that at present, many companies in the wig industry in Xuchang are engaged in cross-border e-commerce business, and wigs have the advantages of high value and small size, which are very suitable for air transportation, so it is more common to export by international air parcels. It is understood that Xuchang Aoyun Industrial Co., Ltd. has overseas warehouses in the United States and South Africa, which is convenient for speeding up cross-border delivery. This also shows that the Xuchang wig industry has advantages in cross-border logistics and can avoid the so-called shipping problems.

The second advantage is that it attaches great importance to the consumption experience and launches personalized customized services. Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co., Ltd. has many stores in Beijing. In one store in Chaoyang District, there are wig display areas and wig care areas. There are far more types and quantities of women's wigs than men's wigs, most of which are several thousand yuan apiece, and the price is relatively high. Different from general storefronts that mainly sell products, the overall layout of the Rebecca store is more like a high-end barber shop. The store provides equipment such as mirrors, seats and hair dryers to facilitate customers' shopping experience.

The staff of Henan Ruimei Zhenfa Co., Ltd. said that they can make molds for customized wigs according to the customer's brain circumference, and the molds do not require customers to pay for separate purchases.

Among the exported goods, Xuchang wig companies are still difficult to provide such meticulous services. The staff of Wanrui Arts and Crafts Co., Ltd. admitted that they provide better after-sales service in terms of returns and exchanges. "Foreign customers who buy wigs feel inappropriate and don't want to return them. It is really impossible to try it out like buying a wig in a physical store. Wearing, measuring the circumference of the brain, and customizing the mold; in addition, the factory usually starts up for mass production, and cannot produce products for one customer alone." It seems that, unlike domestic physical stores, which are increasingly focusing on experience services and even private customization, The current production and services in Xuchang's wig export field are relatively extensive, and there is still room for improvement.

An expert who is engaged in training and promotion in the wig industry told reporters that in the labor-intensive industry, the wig industry is quite special. Although a lot of manual labor is used, the product has high value and small size, and the value of the product is small and large. , The common low value-added products with high transportation costs, difficult packing, and shipwrecks are significantly different. He believes that wig industry clusters such as Xuchang, Henan can learn from Italy in labor-intensive industries to create high-quality and famous products with the help of small and medium-sized enterprises and even handicraft workshops, and then gain high value-added experience and further enhance the value of wig products in the international market. In the wig industry, manual and machine processing cannot be generalized, and Xuchang's wig workshop and manual operation should not be criticized blindly, and more attention should be paid to its potential.