(Yicai Global) April 27 -- Driven by highly sought-after products, many labor-intensive Chinese exporters have grown rapidly, despite the generally dire export situation.

“Things were much better in the first quarter than last year, and it’s our conservative estimate that we’ll be able to increase turnover by at least 50 percent,” said Ma Yao, head of a Jiangsu province-based trading firms that exports shoes and boots.

Ma told Yicai Global that this comes from the accumulation of many new customers in the past two years thanks to popular products such as fur slippers, and the company is also taking the initiative to expand in the same category.

In the future, it will continue to update and collect customer needs as well as flexibly meet market demand, Ma added.

The recent popularity of Big Red Boots on trading platform Ali International means that the production base for the foam injection molding rain boots in Quanzhou, Fujian province, has been very busy.

Zhao Xiadi, general manager of Beijing Diamond Sport International Trading, whose factory is located in Quanzhou, said the company originally produced waterproof shoes, but after learning about the fashion trend, they quickly combined fashion elements to redesign, adjust the molds, and put them on shelves in the Chinese market on a trial basis last month.

“At present, the feedback from domestic sales remains good, while the foreign market is still developing,” Zhao noted.

Zhao picked up on trends from big data and responded quickly during the pandemic. In 2020, the company changed the original largest category of cargo shoes into pandemic prevention boots, and launched them with re-improved packaging. The shoes proved a global hit, with single orders of more than 10,000 pairs each.

In no more than half a year, the exported pandemic prevention boots earned the firm close to CNY20 million (USD2.9 million), Zhao revealed.

Finding popular elements and responding to them quickly is inseparable from the support of flexible production. Digitalization has become the core capability of China’s supply chains, including for clothing, shoes, and bags, according to Qin Fen, head of the industry and merchant business department of Ali International Station. Personalized and customized products often bring higher profits.

Customs data showed that exports of footwear products and parts in the first quarter tallied USD13.19 billion, down 4.9 percent from a year earlier. Exports of labor-intensive products, including bags and clothing, rose 5.7 percent from a year earlier.

Editor: Peter Thomas