You might be surprised to hear that 70% of the world’s sexy lingerie is made by older women in China. And no, they’re not from Shanghai or Hong Kong, but a small town called Guanyun. Let’s take a look at this fascinating place.
Start of the sexy lingerie empire
Ten years ago, a student named Lei Congrui from Guanyun saw this business opportunity. At the time, Chinese people were conservative and too shy to buy sexy lingerie in real stores. They’d only secretly shop for it online. So, he started sourcing from Guangzhou to resell online and finally made a million dollars.
To cut costs, Lei Congrui decided to start his own factory. However, things didn’t go smoothly at first. Many locals considered it an “improper” business and refused to work there. To attract workers, he had to offer higher wages. But at that time, most young people from rural China were heading to cities for jobs, leaving only older rural women with spare time to join the factory.
The funniest part? Some villagers mistakenly thought the factory was running a shady operation—yes, that kind of shady. Someone even called the police! When the officers arrived and saw what was actually going on, they couldn’t help but laugh.
Village workshops build an industry
Many workers were farmers, with flexible work hours. They planted crops in the spring and harvested wheat in the fall. During the off-season, they sewed thongs as a side job. The handwork cost for one piece was about $0.3, with total production costs under $1. When sold in the U.S. and Europe, it could fetch $20 per piece. The generous profit was much higher than farming, and more locals started opening sexy lingerie factories.
This led to the birth of thousands of small workshops. They were modest in size, but had all the essentials—showrooms, production floors, and quality control areas. Each workshop could produce 200-300 pieces a day.
Here’s how it works: big companies nail the marketing, score the orders, and then outsource the production to workshops scattered around town. Once production was completed, all finished products were collected for quality inspection.
Fabric suppliers and equipment manufacturers flocked to the town, gradually forming a supply chain. Today, there are hundreds of lingerie factories and over 3,000 online stores, including those on Amazon and Shein.
With its price advantage, Guanyun quickly met the demand for affordable lingerie. 80% of lingerie is exported to the U.S., Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Japan, bringing in $420 million in sales and creating over 20,000 jobs for locals.
Update on latest market trends
From Mordor Intelligence, the global sexy lingerie market will exceed $20 billion by 2024. Today’s consumers not only care about style but also comfort and functionality. To keep up with product trends, manufacturers in Guanyun are continuously upgrading their designs and materials, such as lightweight, soft cotton yarn and polyester. They are also launching products that cater to different body types and consumer groups.
China’s Other Lingerie Hubs
Currently, our lingerie clients either choose wholesale-ready designs or bring in their own design for custom production. Custom orders, especially, come with attractive profits.
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