Chinese fans see growing sales in overseas market

Sales of Chinese electric fans on Taobao’s overseas e-commerce platform soared by 52 percent amid heatwaves between June and mid-July compared to the same period last year, according to data from the platform.

Photo shows a woman wearing a portable neck fan. (Photo courtesy of Tmall)

Handheld fans and portable neck fans have become the most popular fan exports from China, the largest manufacturing hub of electric fans in the world, since June. Hundreds of thousands of consumers from countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, North America, Europe and the Middle East, purchased these portable fans on the platform.

“Thanks to the inventory of fans in our warehouses in Canada, we can ensure that the products will be delivered to customers after they place orders,” said an executive of the platform, adding that its inventory in Canada is sold out.

Photo shows containers of Tmall. (Photo courtesy of Tmall)

The overseas sales of portable neck fans from JISULIFE, a Chinese brand, rocketed by 800 percent year on year in the last three months, and its total global sales have exceeded 1 million units, said Xie Wenbin, an executive from the company.

Meanwhile, in Chinese small appliance manufacturing bases including Ningbo and Foshan, orders of electric fans from countries such as Canada and Kuwait have poured in, fueled by surging market demand.