Chinese wigs speeding up to capture global market

A worker of Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co., Ltd introduces a wig through livestreaming in Xuchang City, central China's Henan Province, March 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Li An)

ZHENGZHOU, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Since 2018, Shuijiang Town, a remote mountainous area in Yichun City, east China's Jiangxi Province, has witnessed the rapid growth of its wig industry from scratch. Last year, 34 new wig enterprises were established in the town, bringing the total number to 93, in addition to more than 30 wig workshops.

"More than half of the more than 3 million sets of wig products we produce each year are shipped to overseas markets, while the rest is sold to domestic wholesalers, who then, however, sell the products to their international clientele," said Lin Sheng'an, who is in charge of the Anxin wig factory in Shuijiang.

The company's output value hit more than 40 million yuan (about 5.64 million U.S. dollars) last year, with its overseas orders mainly from Europe and the United States.

It serves as the epitome of the booming development of China's wig industry and its efforts to go global. Data shows that the export value of Chinese wigs reached 3 billion U.S. dollars as early as 2022, which accounted for an 80-percent share of the global market of hair products. The Chinese wigs were mainly exported to countries including the United States, South Africa, Nigeria, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Hair products from Japan and the Republic of Korea once occupied a considerable market share of the United States, which is the world's largest wig consumer market. However, this market landscape has significantly changed in recent years. Relying on their high cost performance, Chinese wigs are entering the American market through emerging channels such as cross-border e-commerce, which can not only reduce costs for companies but also allow small and medium-sized enterprises to participate directly in international trade.

The city of Xuchang in central China's Henan Province now boasts more than 4,000 enterprises involved in the wig products business. Over 3,000 types of hair products produced by local enterprises have been sold to more than 120 countries and regions. It is said that a hair product transaction from Xuchang happens every two seconds on cross-border e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress.

"Our company's products are mostly human hair wigs, and our main market is in North America," said Wang Xianqing, who is in charge of Xuchang Ailin hair products company, of which most products are sold through e-commerce platforms.

Wang added that to expand its business in the United States, the company also signed overseas live-streamers on platforms like TikTok to promote their fashion products.

Also based in Xuchang, Henan Rebecca Hair Products, Inc., a leading company engaged in the development, production, and sales of wig products, has set up offline stores around the world, in addition to online sales channels, to facilitate consumers' trying on wigs. The company is also developing an online try-on system to reduce online returns.

China's wig industry hopes to capture a larger share of the global market by keeping up with international fashion trends and accelerating product innovation and development. For instance, Rebecca's outlets in major markets worldwide provide feedback on local trends and customer preferences for the company, while its designers get creative material and inspiration from sources such as fashion shows and Pantone, a world-renowned color research and development organization.

"The company launches at least 1,000 new models every year," said Yu Jie, who is in charge of Rebecca's R&D center for international wig products.

Xuchang Ailin hair products company also constantly updates its products, including hair toppers and extensions, and offers clients custom-made wigs.

According to Yu, wigs made of chemical fiber are relatively popular in the African market, while European and American consumers pay more attention to whether the products are natural and comfortable to wear.

Over the years, Chinese enterprises have continuously increased their investment in the R&D of wig-making materials. Multiple Rebecca fiber projects have filled the gaps in China's imitation human hair fiber materials, breaking the bottleneck of the scale development of Chinese hair products.

Wang Xixiang, secretary-general of the hair products association of Xuchang, said that quite a few Chinese wig companies have improved product quality through scientific and technological innovation and organized production on a global scale to reduce costs. The gradual expansion of the scale of China's wig industry will benefit global beauty lovers.