Core conclusions:A Qinghe factory in Hebei, which makes cashmere sweaters and cashmere scarves, originally only made domestic wholesale and scattered Southeast Asian orders; it pre-prepared the EU fiber composition label, REACH chemical limit document and Polish and Czech language materials, and used mixed cabinets. Cut it into the Polish, Czech, and Hungarian markets, making an export value of 3.4 million yuan in 15 months and signing 5 dealers. The first order took 23 days from the time of sending samples to the receipt of advance payment.
1. Customer background
This company is located in Qinghe County, Xingtai, Hebei Province. It mainly specializes in cashmere sweaters and cashmere scarves, and has its own yarn and garment workshop, with an annual production capacity of about 600,000 pieces. Previously, more than 90% of the revenue came from domestic wholesale and e-commerce channels, and only a few scattered orders from Southeast Asia were exported.
The boss's goal is very direct: the retail price of cashmere products in Europe is high, and consumption in Central and Eastern Europe is rising. Can we bypass third parties and directly find local wholesalers and chain channels? His concerns are: he does not know what documents the EU needs for textiles, and he is worried that small batch orders will be posted in reverse after being completed.
2. Problem diagnosis: None of the four stuck points are on the production line
We thoroughly reviewed the product, quotation and existing information and identified four problems.
- There is no EU version of the information.The tag only has Chinese ingredients and does not mark the fiber composition and origin in accordance with the EU Textile Labelling Regulation (EU) No. 1007/2011. The regulation requires ingredients to be labeled in descending order of weight percentage and use fiber names allowed by the regulation. The industry idiom "spandex" should be written as "elastane" in the context of the regulation. Inconsistent terms will be directly pointed out during customs clearance and supermarket review.
- Chemical limits have no testing support.The dyeing and finishing process involves azo dyes. REACH Annex XVII limits the amount of aromatic amines released under reducing conditions to 30 mg/kg for each type. Customers cannot produce the EN14362 -1 test report and the dye factory's restricted substances declaration. Once the buyer asks for it, the offer will have to be delayed.
- The price is only FOB and there are no certification and testing costs.There are no three expenses in the quotation: certification, testing, and label printing. Once the customer raises his requirements, he can only temporarily squeeze in the transaction price.
- There is no information in the local language.Inquiries from Polish and Czech buyers are mainly in the local language, and English can touch some purchases, but the labels, details pages, and after-sales instructions do not conform to local reading habits.
What the four problems have in common is that they are not on the production line, but in the data and processes, the solution cost is much lower than that of transforming the production line.
3. What have we done?
- Break down the access requirements for the three markets into a list: EU fiber composition labeling, origin labeling, care symbols (EN ISO 3758), REACH chemical limit document, product identification and manufacturer information required by General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, and confirm one by one who provides it and how long it will be received.
- Arrange the testing of azo dyes in the dyeing process, issue a report in accordance with EN14362 -1 and obtain a restricted substance declaration from the dyeing factory, and establish a testing ledger by color to avoid the report becoming invalid after changing batches.
- Supplement the information of the person responsible in the EU and place the manufacturer's name, address, and product identification code on the tag and outer packaging.
- The label, details page and quotation sheet are made in Polish and Czech versions. The fiber components use the fiber names allowed by regulations uniformly, and the certification and testing costs are listed separately.
- Use customs data to screen out the importers of cashmere and blended knitwear in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, and rank them according to purchase frequency and purchase volume, giving priority to buyers with continuous import records and medium annual import volume.
- Design a mixed small cabinet plan: put 3 to 5 models in one cabinet, and each model is at a level of 100 pieces, allowing buyers to try orders at a lower amount while reducing the logistics cost of a single cabinet.
4. Execution rhythm
Month 1: Make up all the information and do not accept orders
This month, only documents will be done: confirming labeling and chemical requirements, arranging dyeing tests, obtaining a declaration of restricted substances from the dye factory, drafting Polish and Czech templates, and recording certification and testing expenditures one by one as the basis for the quotation cost. The information is incomplete, and all subsequent quotations can only be stopped verbally.
Months 2 to 3: Small batch trial orders, running through the link
Use one cabinet to mix small cabinets to contact the first batch of 8 target buyers, and quote prices for both small batch unit prices and entire cabinet ladder prices. The goal of this batch is not profit, but to record the customs clearance time, label review cycle, payment nodes and logistics time into a table. The first written test form takes 23 days from the time of sending the sample to receiving the advance payment.
Months 4 to 9: Repurchase the trial order customer
Trial order customers are divided into two categories: key and ordinary according to feedback speed, payment punctuality and willingness to refund orders. Do three things for key customers: exclusive color matching and packaging, push delivery times from 45 days to less than 30 days, and send new samples quarterly. Aiming the delivery window at the customer's launch pace is more effective than lowering prices.
Months 10th to 15th: Supplementary certification and expansion of channels
After the repurchase is stable, there are two things to do: update the test report according to the season to avoid expiration and affect the review of supermarkets; find one or two local chain channels for home furnishing and apparel, and knock on the door with complete testing and labeling information. At this stage, 3 new contracted dealers were added.
V. Outcome data
After 15 months, the export structure has changed significantly.
- Cumulative export volume:3.4 million yuan
- Signed dealer:of 5(2 in Poland, 2 in Czech Republic, 1 in Hungary)
- Transfer and repurchase rate of trial orders:40%
- First order cycle: from sending samples to receiving advance payment23 days
- Cumulative expenditure on certification and testing:6.8 million Yuan
- Average delivery time for repurchase orders:within 30 days(Originally 45 days)
| indicators | before starting | 15 months later |
|---|---|---|
| export market structure | Scattered orders from Southeast Asia, no stable customers | There are 5 dealers in three markets in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary |
| Compliance data | Chinese tag, no test report | Complete EU ingredient labels, EN 14362-1 reports, and product identification information |
| order structure | The single amount is small and there is no repurchase record | The re-purchase rate of trial orders is 40%, and the certification expenditure is 68,000 yuan |
6. Which factories can this method be replicated to?
The whole set of methods is suitable for factories with "no product problems and no information has been done at all": they have stable production capacity and domestic sales base, but cannot produce label versions and chemical test reports for the target market. For such factories, repair the data first and then transfer it to the channel, and the return will be faster than the other way around.
Conversely, if the product itself has obstacles in accessing the target market, such as involving quotas, special certification and high costs, or the order is too fragmented and the certification cost cannot be spread, the market should be changed first and the quantity should be gathered first.
7. Common questions
Q: Can the EU fiber composition label be posted locally?
A: Yes, but the cost is higher and the risk is more concentrated. Labels can be checked before leaving the factory; local labeling requires warehousing and labor. Once the wording is not in compliance, the entire batch of goods will be rectified, and the compliance link will be more stable in your own hands.
Q: How often is the test report of cashmere products updated?
A: Managing by batch and color is more practical than managing by time. If the source of dyes of the same color changes or the dyeing factory changes, re-samples must be taken and tested; for seasonal styles, the validity period of the report must be checked before being put into production every season. Record the report number of each color in the ledger, and it can be provided directly when the customer asks.
Q: How to control the logistics cost of mixed cabinets?
A: Three rules: fill the volume of a single cabinet instead of the weight; fix 3 to 5 items to avoid excessive unpacking; agree with the freight forwarder on a fixed closing time to avoid extra costs due to rush time. The gross profit of a single cabinet is lower than that of the entire cabinet, but the frequency of repurchase is higher, and the comprehensive gross profit after dilution is not bad.
For factories that make products such as cashmere, knitting, and home textiles that require labeling, the threshold for the Central and Eastern European markets is not price, but whether they are willing to complete labeling, testing and local language materials before taking orders.
Qihang Zhilian Foreign Trade Research Institute·Let China's intelligent manufacturing industry set sail to sea·Tel: 180-0327-6609
