Casual-wear capital spinning up a huge profit
Guzhen is not the only township in Zhongshan that has put all of its eggs in one industrial basket. Shaxi reckons it is to casual wear what Guzhen is to light fittings.
In light of the sheer size of China's textiles industry, any one township's claim to dominate even a small segment of it might seem ridiculous - especially when the segment in question is as vaguely defined as 'casual wear'.
But Shaxi at least makes no specific market share claims with regard to China's casual wear market, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to back up Shaxi's claim to be 'China's Casual Wear Capital'.
Township officials say there are more than 500 clothing manufacturers in Shaxi, employing 30,000 people (including 1,500 designers) and boasting 60 recognised brands on the mainland.
One of the township's main avenues is lined with 300 cloth stores, which supply area manufacturers. At the back-end of the manufacturing process, 1,000 people working in two large rag markets process 100 tonnes of textile scraps a day. They sell the industry's detritus to, for example, toy manufacturers, who use it to stuff dolls.
In the first six months of last year, Shaxi-based clothing manufacturers recorded sales of 3.1 billion yuan (HK$2.96 billion), 70 per cent of which were exported. With the sector accounting for 70 per cent of the township's industrial output, 80 per cent of exports and 70 per cent of tax revenues, Shaxi keeps a close eye on its cash cow.
In October, for example, the township government hosted a 'Casual Wear Festival' in a purpose-built exhibition hall in order to help local manufacturers increase exports abroad and expand distribution networks at home.
'The township government also acts as a bridge for communications,' says Mid-point Fashion director Sam Kong, a Macau entrepreneur who came to Shaxi 13 years ago. 'Clothing exporters often have problems with Customs. If we contact them ourselves, it's usually a waste of time. But when the Shaxi government contacts Customs on our behalf, the problems disappear.'
As Mr Kong speaks, he is interrupted by a telephone call. On the other end of the line, a sales representative for a trade publication, supposedly run under the auspices of the Guangdong Tax Bureau, tells Mr Kong that he is obliged to take out an advertisement in an upcoming issue.
'I get calls like this all the time,' sighs Mr Kong, as he dials a contact in the Shaxi Tax Bureau. The contact solves Mr Kong's problem immediately, telling him that Mid-point Fashion is under no obligation to pay for any advertisement and to refer any similar calls to the Shaxi Tax Bureau.
In addition to such local government assistance, Mr Kong says one of the biggest advantages Shaxi offers is access to the industrial infrastructure and human resources now rooted in the township.
'Preferential policies don't make that big a difference. We don't care so much about saving 100,000 yuan here or there,' says Mr Kong. 'Shaxi's real strength lies in its abundant supply of qualified and experienced workers. That's the most important factor.'
