In the industrial landscape of Jiangxi, the luggage industry, especially in regions represented by Xingan, has gone through an extraordinary journey from germination to rise, like a vivid entrepreneurial epic, writing the legend of local industrial development.
Traditional Foundation: The Origin of Luggage Rooted in Camphor Wood Boxes
Xingan County in Jiangxi, a small county in central Jiangxi with a permanent population of less than 300,000, has a profound cultural heritage of luggage. The tradition of "must sending a camphor wood box when marrying off a daughter" has a long history and has precipitated into a unique folk symbol over the years. This tradition not only carries the parents' blessings for their daughters but also nurtured the local time-honored craftsmanship of making camphor wood boxes, cultivating a large number of skilled craftsmen. In 1993, Li Maozi, who was originally a carpenter, founded Huaxing Luggage Factory, becoming the first truly meaningful luggage enterprise in Xingan, mainly producing wooden leather boxes, ABS trolley cases, briefcases, etc. This initiative was like throwing a stone into a calm lake, causing ripples and unfolded the prelude to the development of Xingan's luggage industry, also laying the initial talent and craftsmanship foundation for the rise of Jiangxi's luggage industry. Driven by this, more and more people in Xingan got involved in the luggage field. However, at that time, the tide of working in southern China was surging, a large number of technical personnel flowed out, and the development of the local luggage industry was struggling, falling into a dilemma of slow progress. But even so, those Xingan people with craftsmanship accumulated experience in the luggage industry in other places, laying the groundwork for the future return and revitalization of the industry.
Industrial Turning Point: The Tide of Returning Home to Start Businesses Led by Policies
In 2006, Xingan County acutely captured the opportunity that there were many people engaged in the luggage and leather goods industry outside, and resolutely identified the luggage and leather goods industry as one of the key industries to strengthen the county and enrich the people. The government took active actions, built platforms, provided policies, allocated land, and a series of preferential measures attracted Xingan people who were starting businesses outside like a magnet. In 2008, Deng Guoping, who was starting a business in Huadu, Guangzhou, and more than 30 fellow villagers "returned home in a group" to build the China・Xingan International Luggage and Leather Goods Industrial Park covering an area of 1,300 mu, which became a landmark event in the industrial turning point. Since then, large-scale enterprises such as Hongyuan Luggage from Huaihua, Hunan, and Tengda Luggage from Nanchang have flocked in, and many Xingan-born entrepreneurs who were watching have also joined the upsurge of returning home to start businesses, successively purchasing land and building factories. Xingan County took advantage of the situation, successively built luggage and leather goods production and manufacturing bases in the east and west of the city, with more than 1.8 million square meters of standard workshops springing up, and infrastructure such as water, electricity, and roads all available, realizing that the introduced enterprises "can start production upon entry". Centering on matters such as enterprise registration, project construction declaration, project approval, and implementation of preferential policies for enterprises, the reform of "one thing for the luggage and leather goods industry chain" was carried out, the time limit for project approval was greatly shortened, materials were streamlined, and a green channel was opened for enterprise development. So far, Xingan's luggage industry has moved from fragmentation to agglomeration, starting a new journey of large-scale development, and Jiangxi's luggage industry has also ushered in a key turning point in development, with the industrial scale expanding rapidly.
Growth and Expansion: Complete Industrial Chain and Brand Rise
After years of development, Xingan County's luggage industry has formed a complete industrial chain covering raw and auxiliary materials production, warehousing and logistics, product testing, talent exchange, etc. 615 luggage and leather goods production enterprises are rooted here, with more than 1,000 sales outlets all over the country, producing more than 55 million luggage annually, and travel trolley cases accounting for more than 20% of the national market share. The 95% self-sufficiency rate of accessories and 100% independent supporting capacity of processes have enabled Xingan to gain a firm foothold in the luggage industry competition.
But development is not all smooth sailing. The early extensive development model led to the decline of product quality and reputation, so it is urgent to innovate technology and establish brands. Take Huaxing Luggage as an example. In the past, its products were mostly sold in street stalls, without brands or patents, and could only rely on low prices to sell in large quantities. Later, the enterprise increased investment in research and development, with the proportion of R&D funds in the turnover increasing year by year. The carefully built high-end luggage brands such as "Paul Frank" and "Lulukadi" quickly occupied the market once launched, and the sales revenue of new products accounted for a considerable proportion. Taking advantage of the situation, Xingan County issued a series of documents, established an industrial development investment company, and set up a 1 billion yuan industrial development guidance fund to fully protect enterprises in brand creation, technological innovation, and financing. At the same time, it set up investment promotion teams to strive to attract leading industrial projects, do a good job in strengthening and supplementing the industrial chain, and cultivate demonstration benchmark enterprises. Today, the collective trademark of "Xingan Luggage" has been registered, becoming the first county-level industrial collective trademark named after a place name in Ji'an City, marking that Xingan's luggage industry has taken a solid step in brand building, and Jiangxi's luggage industry is striding forward on the road of branding.
Innovation and Upgrading: New Development Driven by Digitalization and E-commerce
Walking into the production workshop of Jiangxi Hongtu Group Technology Co., Ltd., the achievements of digital transformation are impressive. 6 edge sawing machines and blister machines are quickly assembling luggage under the operation of manipulators, and the technological transformation project has injected strong impetus into the enterprise's upgrading. This is not an isolated case. Enterprises in the entire Xingan luggage industry chain have joined in the digital transformation and upgrading.
On the sales side, e-commerce has become a new engine for the take-off of Xingan's luggage industry. In recent years, the annual e-commerce transaction volume of Xingan's luggage enterprises has exceeded 1 billion yuan, and it has won the title of "China's Top 100 E-commerce Demonstration Counties". Many enterprises have actively expanded overseas markets. Hongtu Group, Jizhirui Luggage, etc. have built overseas warehouses and overseas marketing outlets abroad. The public service platform built by Xingan County, integrating the Internet of Things, convention and exhibition center, centralized purchasing and design center, testing center, financial center, and live broadcast center, provides one-stop services for enterprises and helps products go global. Through professional live broadcast sales in the live broadcast center and joint with luggage design companies to build a design center, implanting international fashion IP elements into luggage design, Xingan's luggage products stand at the forefront of fashion trends, further enhancing market competitiveness. Driven by both digitalization and e-commerce, Jiangxi's luggage industry is constantly innovating and upgrading, continuously expanding its market territory, and writing a new brilliant chapter.
