Strollers from Hanchuan in C China's Hubei find success overseas

In the exhibition hall of a company in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province, sales manager Pan Fan skillfully demonstrates how to use a stroller.

"This is our latest stroller model, mass-produced just this May, and designed primarily for European and Central Asian markets," Pan said.

The company, Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., exported 390,000 strollers last year, and has now entered over 40 countries and regions including Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

①: Workers produce strollers at Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd. in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

②: Pan Fan (1st L), sales manager of Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., introduces a stroller to customers in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

③: A stroller is tested at the Hubei provincial center for quality inspection and testing of strollers. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

④: Photo shows strollers on display in the exhibition hall of Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd. in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

It is a sales company under Yangtian Group, specializing in strollers, cribs, high chairs, and other infant products. Thanks to over 30 years of dedication, Yangtian, one of the earliest enterprises engaged in stroller production in Hanchuan, has helped turn the city into one of China's seven major stroller production hubs, alongside many other manufacturers and supporting enterprises.

Known as the "stroller capital of central China," Hanchuan saw export value of the stroller industry hit $58.38 million last year, up 35.7 percent year on year, and the total output value of the sector reach 2.8 billion yuan ($388.51 million), according to Zhong Shoucheng, secretary-general of the Hanchuan Stroller Association.

Zhong noted that Hanchuan is home to 36 stroller manufacturers and 48 supporting companies, producing more than 9 million units of strollers, cribs, and pet strollers annually.

Hanchuan's stroller story began in the 1980s when locals started making parts for a stroller factory in Wuhan, capital of Hubei. By the 1990s, local entrepreneurs had set up their own factories.

One such entrepreneur, Hu Xiaohong, entered the stroller business and later renamed his company Hubei Yangtian Plastic Products Co., Ltd., producing both plastic stroller components and fully assembled strollers as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

In 2012, his son, Hu Chengpeng, took up the baton, becoming a second-generation stroller entrepreneur.

"Back then, the domestic stroller market was extremely competitive, with nearly 100 related manufacturers in Hanchuan alone," said Hu Chengpeng.

After visiting factories in south China's Guangdong Province, east China's Jiangsu Province, and elsewhere, he decided to focus on component production and the design of finished strollers, outsourcing manufacturing and repurchasing finished strollers for e-commerce sales.

In 2014, he founded Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., launched the "Belecoo" brand and prioritized e-commerce. Today, Belecoo boasts over 50 stroller models with a daily production capacity of more than 800 units, Hu Chengpeng said.

Like Hu Chengpeng, many of Hanchuan's young entrepreneurs have taken over their family businesses, creating new brands. According to Zhong, Hanchuan now has 80 stroller assembly lines and over 50 registered stroller trademarks.

In 2016, Hu Chengpeng led his company into the manufacturing of finished strollers, doubling sales that year.

"We've applied for over 150 patents. We now manufacture 80 percent of components used in Belecoo strollers," he said.

However, Hanchuan's rise as a stroller hub was not without challenges—lack of innovation and intellectual property protection awareness.

"Every time a hot-selling stroller hit the market, it was immediately copied. At one point, over 30 companies were producing the exact same model," Zhong recalled.

This led to fierce price wars. "Profit margins dropped to as low as 5 yuan per stroller," said Deng Fangbo, deputy general manager of Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd.

There were also quality control problems. In 2017, the local government issued an action plan and established a leadership group to improve product quality.

"We brought in experts to review each company in areas such as product design, standards implementation, and quality control," said Zhong. Experts visited 23 factories, found 104 quality problems, and made 56 recommendations.

Deng shared how his company responded. "We hired quality experts to analyze our entire production line and invested millions of yuan in intelligent equipment."

After upgrading to smart manufacturing, the company's production efficiency and yield rate soared, with daily output now reaching 3,000 units, Deng added.

Eight leading companies in Hanchuan have also established in-house testing labs capable of evaluating every detail from fabrics and tubing to screws and finished strollers, solving quality problems before mass production begins, Zhong said.

Inspired by the success of early adopters, others followed suit, embracing tech upgrades and innovation. According to Zhong, after the transformations, research and development (R&D) investment in the city's stroller industry has exceeded 100 million yuan.

In September 2021, 11 local stroller companies jointly issued new evaluation standards stricter than national benchmarks.

Before 2000, the city's stroller industry primarily focused on the domestic market. But a few forward-thinking companies decided to try their luck at the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, aiming to break into global markets.

Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd. explores overseas opportunities primarily through trade expos like the Canton Fair, which has become the main gateway for many Hanchuan businesses.

Deng noted that approximately 40 percent of his company's products are now sold overseas.

According to Zhong, 10 stroller companies from Hanchuan joined the 137th Canton Fair in the first half of this year, occupying 32 booths in the "Toys" and "Maternal & Infant Products" sections – 71 percent of the city's total booths, marking a record high.

As Hanchuan's stroller companies go global, they are not just complying with international standards and registering trademarks – they're also designing products tailored to customer needs in different regions.

By zeroing in on what global consumers want, Hanchuan's strollers are making waves overseas.

In recent years, the city's stroller enterprises have accelerated expansion into countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, tapping into markets in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.