Guangzhou is a famous place for clothing wholesale market. If you are fresh to these wholesale markets, you will find no clues of how to start the purchasing, as there are too many markets to choose from. 

This article is a discussion summary with a buyer who works in Guangzhou clothing wholesale market for ten years. The primary purpose of this article is to give you a general idea of how to begin your trip in this field. 

  1. Thirteen Hong in Canton (十三行)
  2. Shahe Market (沙河)
  3. Baima Market (白马)

1. Thirteen Hong in Canton(十三行）

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Thirteen Hong in Canton is a big wholesale area of Guangzhou, where the most important wholesale building is the New China Clothing Market (新中国大厦服装城). After refurbishing in 2014, the shops on floor 2 and above are offering different levels of Clothes from middle to high end, and shops on and below floor 1 are offering low-end clothes. 

What is the secret of different floors in the New China Clothing Market?

Lots of peoples do not know that some of the shops on floor 2 and above are also selling part of clothes from floor 1 and below, in order to gain a more significant margin, or one boss owns different shops on different floors to set different margins for same goods.

Therefore, when you set the purchase plan here, first and foremost is to take a general walk throughout the market. You can start from the upper floors to choose better designs if you are looking for higher quality and then make comparisons on lower floors so that you’ll not buy for an unnecessary higher price.

For example, the same clothes on the lower floor could be sold at 50 RMB, but it will be priced at 80-90 RMB on the upper floors.

What makes it special for the goods in Thirteen Hong? 

1) Thirteen Hong is closely following the worldwide design trends of clothes. After any Catwalk show in Europe, you will find a popular similar design quickly here. 

2) Percentage of design styles: 60% Korean Style, 30% European Style, 10% rest of others. 

3) Boss of Thirteen Hong shops: You will find many Korean bosses here if you buy in big quantity and need to bargain the price with the boss. They are also the driving force to bring the outstanding Korean design into Thirteen Hong. However, bosses are usually not in the shop; they are more at clothes factories overseeing the production part. 

2. Shahe Market (沙河)

SHA HE is also a vast area for Clothing wholesale market. And there are three important buildings. They are “WAN JIA（万佳）,” “JIN MA（金马）,” and “FU LI（富丽）.”

A. Wanjia Market（万佳)

WAN JIA is a general market covering lots of types of clothes, including Shirts, Coats, pants, sweaters, etc. And women’s wear takes a high percentage. The price range is from low to middle end.

Here you will notice that shops are selling the same style at different prices and quality. And the price varies according to the quality. You can tell from the details of the material which causes the major price differences. 

If the boss is not so busy, usually he will agree with a trial order of 1-2 pcs/style, but the price is higher. If you want to get the wholesale price, you should at least order 3-4 styles, and 10 pcs for each style.

B. Jinma Market（金马)

JIN MA is also a general market for many different types of clothes, but their price is apparently on the low end, and the essential purpose for shops here is to sell in big volumes. Especially for women’s wear, it is the most important market in recent years in Guangzhou.

But inside the market are narrow aisles and the air circulation is not good, so the shopping environment is at a one-star rate.

Here you don’t need to worry about getting a high price, as you will note that price difference sometimes is only 0.5 RMB when you check 2-3 shops for the same style.

C. Fuli Market (富丽)

FU LI is the cheapest market in SHA HE area, but considering the low price, you cannot argue too much on the quality.

Still, women’s wear is much more than men’s wear, and most of the shops will agree to sell from only 1 piece. 

But as the whole place is quoting at a low price, you won’t get any space to bargain for the price if you buy in a small quantity.

3. Baima Market (白马)

BAI MA is a more famous market for overseas customers, due to its geographic location. It is near the Guangzhou Railway Station and is 2 kilometers from the Old Canton Fair buildings. 15 years ago, this is the most bustling area among foreigners.

BAIMA market has the broadest price range in Guangzhou. Designs are more mature and of good quality.

Floor 1, 4, 5 – Women’s wear in trends and high quality, most of the large-scale factories are located here. 

Floor 2, 3 – Most of the small factories are here, price is relatively lower.

Layer 6 – Middle to High-end men’s wear.

What do I need to take note if I make purchasing in Baima market?

1) There is no big space for price bargaining here unless you are taking more than 10 pcs per style.

2) On floor 1 there is a logistic center, you can easily send your goods to the warehouse directly from there.

3) Price is significantly cheaper at the time of changing seasons.  BAI MA will switch to Winter Clothing during August and September; while in February and March, they will switch to Summer Clothing.

For ease of quick reference, the critical features for selecting which wholesale market fit for your channel is summarized as below:

Thirteen HongMiddle to high-end Women’s wear
Sha He AreaJeans, Men’s wear, low to middle-end Women’s wear
BAI MAHigh quality and branded Clothing

Special Note（I’ve never told anyone before）

If you have made up your plan to take a visit to the clothing wholesale market in Guangzhou, you should also pay attention to below general suggestions: 

1) Overall Guangzhou security is good. But inside the wholesale market there are lots of different people, be sure to keep your money in the right place.

2) Remember to take the name card and mark down the booth number when you make initial check walking, as you will easily lose your mind of which one you are interested in and would like to place an order afterward.

3) Walk-away strategy for bargaining works well in these markets. But when you walk away, and no one stops you, you should know what the bottom price is.

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