Chapter 22 The third chapter boldly typed the prefix of "China"

In 1989, Fei Xiaotong, a famous sociologist, came to Changshu Garment City to investigate. When he saw that farmers around the ancient city built a super clothing market in their vegetable fields and ponds in just a few years , colorful and lively scenes every day, I couldn't help writing down the 8 characters of "Changshu shopping mall, a shopping paradise". Compared with the shopping malls at that time, today's clothing city is far more than the past several times and tens of times.In Changshu today, whether you are a local or a foreigner who comes here, if you ask him where is the most worth seeing in Changshu, and where has left the deepest impression on you, what you can hear is no longer Guo Jianguang singing. Yangcheng Lake and the big crabs in Yangcheng Lake with "reed flowers blooming and rice fragrance", and Mrs. Aqing's "Chun Lai Tea House". (However, if you come to Changshu for the first time, you must try the Yangcheng Lake crab, which is unique in the world. The teahouse is also a major feature of Changshu. It is taken from the water of Shanghu Lake where Jiang Taigong was fishing, and then soaked in Yuzhong The piece of pollution-free tea left by the sages on the top of Yushan Mountain, drinking seventy-seven forty-nine pots of it, and then blowing it all over the world, the feeling is definitely not found in some teahouses in Beijing that rely on tap water to deal with guests.) You What I heard must be "Clothing City".

Yes, there is a famous saying among the cadres in Changshu. They say that "Shajiabang was born during the Anti-Japanese War, and a clothing city was born during the reform era."The former "Shajiabang" and today's clothing city are always two monuments in the minds of Changshu people, and they are also two monuments built by Changshu people in the Chinese revolution and China's construction. The history of the revolutionary struggle of "Shajiabang" provided the Chinese revolution with a guerrilla warfare model suitable for the southern Jiangsu region; the establishment practice and successful experience of the clothing city provided a model suitable for the conditions of townships in China's modernization today. Under the economic model with socialist characteristics.

With these two points alone, the people of Changshu can stand tall in front of 1.2 billion Chinese. However, they also have their bad days.Changshu Garment City is truly "No. 1 in China" in terms of scale, sales, and its prestige and influence in the Chinese garment industry.However, in order to obtain a brand with the prefix "China" for the clothing city, the cadres in the city and shopping malls went to Nanjing and Beijing many times, but the result still failed. The unit and enterprise of the head must be the state or the direct unit and enterprise of the state.In a word, you Changshu is the local "little brother".In this regard, Changshu people need not be upset.

In fact, they are not depressed.They still hang a huge and powerful "China Garment City" written by Wang Guangying, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Li Ximing, another vice chairman, at the most prosperous and eye-catching exits of the clothing city. "5 big characters.It is said that when the State President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng visited Changshu, and the officials from various ministries and commissions of the Central Committee inspected Changshu, they not only did not express doubts but smiled when they saw the striking words "China Garment City".

The Changshu people put down the weight in their hearts. In fact, they have no worries.After the Garment City became a well-known market, they have been treating it as a "high-yield demonstration field" to implement Deng Xiaoping's socialist road with Chinese characteristics and market economy in the local area, and they have been carefully cultivating and operating it—— This is to always implement the 100% market rule—— This law is autonomy, equality, fairness, and competition, allowing people to make money safely and with peace of mind. People in Changshu understand that the brand with the prefix of "China" is important, but what is more important is its content.A sign without content will fall down sooner or later. (It is worth mentioning that after the success of the Changshu clothing market, the surrounding big and small markets and "tigers" of all sizes also set up "so-and-so clothing city" and "so-and-so textile city". Highly typed the prefix "China", but in the end most of them ended in failure.)

Admittedly, at the moment when there is a "market craze" in China today, it seems necessary for those who have suffered from failure to come back and earnestly learn from the experience of Changshu people in running a market.I have used the following literary language to summarize their experience as follows: From wanting to make money yourself to letting others make money first; From being able to make money yourself, let others make as much money as possible; From being able to enjoy yourself on the money you have earned to doing more things, let others earn permanent money and earn appreciation money;

In the end, you can make money together with yourself and others. Some people may consider this kind of "stupid" business experience, which is precisely the difference between Changshu people and people in other places who run the market.In addition to the "ethical" style of tolerance and legacy of "everything is safe" cultivated by their unique and long-standing regional culture, the deeper meaning is that their leaders have put their foothold from the very beginning on "the first Enriching the people and rejuvenating the country".Therefore, they firmly grasped the essence of the "China" brand, which is:

One of the elements of building a first-class market: fairness and freedom The group of Changshu people in Qinnan Township at the "crossroads" of the bus station started to run the clothing market for the sake of making money for themselves; those Changshu mayors and secretaries sitting in the office at the foot of the beautiful Yushan Mountain At the beginning, it was also for the sake of making money in the city that it worked hard to support Qinnan Township to run a market.Those who don’t want to or don’t take the initiative to make money in order to revitalize one’s economy are lies, and they are not true Communists.But the same money-making has different goals and realms.The first spirit that Changshu people embody when they set up the clothing city is: from wanting to make money themselves, let others make money first.This is a very difficult and painful thing for small producers and farmers who regard profit as their life.However, in the 20 years since the establishment of Changshu Garment City, the farmers in the original Qinnan Township where it is located, including the people in Changshu City, have all experienced the difficulties and pains of whether to let themselves get rich first or let others get rich first. process.In the process, they have made many valuable sacrifices.

One thing, the memory of local farmers and Changshu people is deep, and that is the problem of the stalls in the clothing city. In the early days of its establishment, when the market was transformed from a "road market" to a standardized market, the market built by everyone raised funds not only had debts, but also no one wanted the stalls, so the stalls at that time could only be allocated to farmers and cadres.This happened in the first few years after the establishment of "China Merchants City" in 1985.By the end of the 1980s, the situation in the clothing city was completely beyond the expectations of Changshu people.Especially after entering the 1990s, no one can imagine the booming business of the Garment City and the speed of its own development.Business people describe it as: whoever occupies a booth is like sitting on a golden mountain; whoever has a foot in the clothing city is equivalent to running into his own bank.At that time, tens of thousands of clothing merchants from all over the country flocked to Changshu like a tide. In the past, the stalls that could not be rented out for 50 cents a day can now easily cost tens of thousands of yuan. Even tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.Many farmers who had to borrow money to beg for their wives the day before woke up as millionaires overnight...

The possession of market stalls and retail outlets has caused sharp conflicts between local people and foreign businessmen on the issue of interests.The stalls and stores of the locals are shared, or they come through the "back door" with approval, and the cost is low.The bosses from other places paid high prices or rented them several times or even dozens of times higher, and bought them from local villagers and cadres who had stalls but no one to engage in business.This unreasonable situation will inevitably frustrate those businessmen who come from afar, and ultimately affect the normal development of the market.

In the spring of 1994, a decision-maker proposed that from now on, all the stalls and shops that will be built will be auctioned and rented publicly, and the "head sharing" of villagers, especially cadres, by villages, towns and government agencies will be stopped. The decision maker is Xu Guoqiang who was appointed by the municipal party committee and the municipal government to serve as the "top leader" in the clothing city.People in Changshu in the clothing city are not unfamiliar with Xu Guoqiang, because when he was also the "top leader" of the clothing city, he was also the "top leader" of Yushan Town, the supervisor of the clothing city, and he was also the "top leader" of Yushan Town The supervisor in charge of the town is the deputy secretary of the Changshu Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.Sending such a high-ranking official to work in the clothing city shows how much the municipal party committee and the municipal government attach importance to it. When Xu Guoqiang announced this decision in the clothing city, the clothing city exploded.However, although few of those foreigners knew Xu Guoqiang, they couldn't help but say after hearing about this decision: "This is a good decision maker who understands the market economy." By doing this, isn't it intentional to make things difficult for us locals?Well, if he insists on doing it we'll give him a hard time. On a scorching hot day in July 1994, Secretary Xu Guoqiang came to the "China Merchants City". A group of villagers really surrounded him, and then some people who didn't know the truth followed suit, forming a momentum of siege by hundreds of people.From noon until eleven or twelve o'clock at night.The villagers wanted to know why the golden rice bowl in the hands of Changshu people was given to outsiders? "The reason is very simple: fair competition is what business is all about. In the past, the practice of distributing stalls according to the number of people is not in line with the laws of the market economy, and will definitely affect the development of the clothing city. If the clothing city cannot develop, we Changshu people will suffer the most. Myself." Xu Guoqiang said. The villagers asked: "A few years ago when the market started to be moved, houses were demolished, land was requisitioned, and some ancestral tombs were even relocated. We were the ones who suffered. Now that we can make money, we have given out the golden rice bowl and shared it with everyone. What's the point of this?" "This is called doing things in accordance with the laws of market economy." Xu Guoqiang replied, "In the market, the market must be built first, and then there can be a market. If the stalls are allocated according to the old method, it is neither fair nor conducive to the formation of a market. The market has also caused many unhealthy tendencies. If the market is compared to a cage, then the merchants are birds. If there are cages but no birds, or if there are birds but no cages, it means that we have no market. Besides, the booths are publicly auctioned and rented. It is everyone, it is good for foreign businessmen, and our local businessmen can also compete fairly!" After hearing these words, the villagers who had been noisy for a day suddenly fell silent.Suddenly, someone stood up and asked: "Secretary Xu, we can give up the booth for public auction, but what about the ones in the hands of the cadres?" "Treat everyone equally." Xu Guoqiang answered with certainty on this point. "But as far as we know, a few days ago, when some cadres heard that Secretary Xu decided to implement public auctions for all stalls, they rushed to buy several stalls for themselves." A villager reported. "Who? Tell me your name. As long as you find out, no matter who it is, you will quit." Xu Guoqiang took out his notebook with a very serious expression. "The village secretary." "Check! If it is true, not only should he be ordered to hand over all the stalls, but he should also be dealt with seriously according to the severity of the case." Xu Guoqiang especially emphasized. The crowd was excited.Someone came up with an offensive sentence: "Secretary Xu, what if someone exposes your injustice or you have a booth?" "There is a fine of ten. If anyone finds that I, Xu, or my relatives have tampered with the distribution of booths and stores, whoever has the right to prevent me, Xu Guoqiang, from entering the clothing city!" "If town or city cadres come to ask for a booth, Secretary Xu, what will you do?" "Treat the same. In short, no one is allowed to go through the back door." "..." Three days later, Xu Guoqiang came to the "Zhaobai" again, and immediately announced the three things he had promised to the masses that day: the former party secretary of Hujing Village was suspended for inspection, and all 10 booths he took were returned.The new booths in the market and the auction and rent plan of the new store will be submitted to the masses for discussion; specific solutions will be taken for practical problems involving villagers' environmental sanitation and labor resettlement. A long-standing problem, a conflict of interests, has been resolved with the joint efforts of all parties, and the clothing city has also achieved a qualitative leap: a large number of merchants have obtained booths and stores in fair, just and open auctions. After the right to manage, people "built nests and laid eggs" here one after another, which brought unprecedented prosperity to the clothing city business.Here are a few figures to illustrate: Before 1992, Changshu locals accounted for the majority of operators in the market, and foreigners accounted for only a minority; now, foreigners account for 70% and locals account for 30%.What needs to be explained is that this does not mean that there are fewer local merchants, but that the structure of the total number of merchants has changed. Foreigners earn much more money in the Changshu market than locals.Secondly, before 1992, the annual turnover of the market was over 1 billion.Now it has reached more than 20 billion.The tax and profit of Garment City have also increased from 40 million yuan in 1992 to 200 million yuan now. Some people are now commenting on the "auction and rent stalls and stores" of the year, which revitalized the entire Changshu clothing city.But Xu Guoqiang said that this is just a ploy by our municipal party committee, including the comrades who specifically run the market, to insist on doing things in accordance with the laws of the market economy. For more than 20 years, the cadres in Changshu have paid a real price and worked hard to ensure the absolute "fairness and freedom" of this market.In the early days, they did this. Some people wrote "complaint letters" to all the central and provincial leaders and ministries, which also led to a big debate about "socialism" or "capitalism".The result of the debate proved that they were on the right track.It should be pointed out that at that time, some people raised doubts about the "completely free" market, which itself should be said to be a kind of progress.History progresses through this repeated understanding. Some time ago, two Beijingers suddenly broke into my office.They said to thank me as soon as they met, which baffled me.My friend from Beijing laughed and said that we started our clothing business in Changshu clothing market after reading your masterpiece, and now we have made money, so we came to express our gratitude.I was also suddenly happy after hearing it.A while ago, my other reportage on Changshu Garment City, "Commercial City in Changshu", was published in "Chinese Writer", this is already the third group of people who have found me. "Your article is not nonsense." Beijingers are so straightforward that sometimes it is unbearable. One of the young men said to me: "We were completely 'deceived' by your article when we went to Changshu to start a clothing business. Now it seems that we have misunderstood you writers. We used to think that most of your articles were made up. Through doing business in Changshu this time, we are going to "rehabilitate" you. At least—what writer are you writing about Changshu The article is not made up." The few of us laughed together. The other said to me uncontrollably: "We used to do building materials business in Beijing. The building materials business has been difficult in the past two years. At the beginning of this year, we were worried about what to do! At this time, I saw your masterpiece. You wrote about the Changshu clothing market in such a mysterious way that we were fascinated by it. But at first we didn’t believe it all. We went to Changshu after trying it out. Bullying is a common problem in all cities. The view is no exception. There are fair stalls and free buying and selling. Many places only use these things as gold-lettered signs to attract customers, but few really do it. Hey, people in Changshu really talk about fairness and freedom!" "Tell me, how do you experience the fairness and freedom of Changshu people from your experience?" The guy from before snatched the conversation away: "After we saw your work, we ran there before the Spring Festival. Although we are not familiar with the place, the people there are very enthusiastic. When we went, we were going to return empty-handed. , and saw that a commercial building was auctioning booths for rent. At first we thought it was just for show, those with good locations and moderate prices, in the end they must not be occupied by the locals themselves. But this time in Changshu, my buddies It’s crazy, we found the best booth after the auction ended. No, after the Spring Festival, we’ll go south to Shajiabang, which happens to be the peak season for clothing sales. , How much money do you think we made?" "Eight thousand is not a problem, is it?" The old man held out two fingers slyly. "Twenty thousand?" "Add a 0." "200,000! Come on, it's time to treat me!" Amidst the laughter, two Beijing clothing merchants who had just returned from Changshu made an agreement with me that they would "see you" at the Wangfu Hotel when they became "millionaires". I know it's not far off. The second element of establishing a first-class market: people and I omitted the two important market elements of weather and location, because in contrast, "human harmony" occupies the core of all elements.Besides, I don't need to say too much, Changshu's unique climate and location have been prosperous since ancient times.Man is the creator of everything, and at the same time he can also be the leader of destroying everything. When a person transforms himself well, he is the winner. In the clothing city, a boss from Shangqiu, Henan insisted on inviting me to his new residence in Changshu.I laughed and asked him if he had "haired".When he said that Changshu came to do business, he was sure, but I invited you to my new residence because I heard that you came from Beijing to write about the clothing city, so I wanted to tell you what was in my heart.This is something to be desired.However, due to time constraints, I was unable to visit his new residence.However, he provided me with very good material. "You asked me what my name is? Of course I can tell you. But I dared to do this only in Changshu, and I really wouldn't dare to do it in other places. Why do you ask? Black chant. Someone I will blackmail you. Who will blackmail me? There are many, there are those from the management department and the underworld, but the local people are even more difficult to deal with. You know, business people are just trying to make more money, but In many places, you don’t dare to make enough money. As soon as you make money, someone will follow you. You can’t bear it any way. For example, industry and commerce, public security, taxation, etc. come to you and knock you down. You have to pay as much as you want; if the underworld seeks you, you have to give it honestly to save your life; if the locals seek you, you have to hand it over, otherwise you will have no place to stand. Changshu It’s different here. We in Henan have a lot of people who come out to do business together, and we have visited a lot of places. Everyone has experience. If you make money in some places in the south, you have to run home quickly, or there may be some black forces I'll be watching you anytime. In those places, you have to turn around to see if anyone is watching you when you go to the toilet with money. We have also been to the Northeast, where you outsiders want to make money at his door. It starts to squeeze you, but in the end you still can’t stay. Many places in rural Henan are poor, and it’s not easy to run out to do business and make some money. What would you do if you encounter the above situations? You have to go back home. In the past few years, a group of fellow villagers who went out to do business with me basically did not stay in any place. Only in Changshu, our group of people almost all took root. You ask how many people from Henan are doing business in Changshu now? There are about 1,300 to 400 people in Shangqiu County where I live, of which 2 to 300 are clothing business owners with stalls and stores, and another 1,000 Many people are selling vegetables and opening small restaurants around the clothing city. Most of these people are brought by me. Now there are 20 merchants in Shangqiu alone who have bought houses in Changshu City and put their homes They are all settled here. Ask why? It’s good here. Changshu is a place of prosperity. In the past, it was unthinkable for us Henan people to settle here. At that time, we Henan people were only qualified to come here to beg for food. Now It’s different. We have made money here, and we have our own home. If you say I don’t want to thank Changshu people from the bottom of my heart, who else should I thank? They have opened a market and created two for outsiders in poor places. Paradise': One is the 'paradise' of making money, and the other is the 'paradise' of living and working in peace and contentment. Just like me, I used to dare not think that my children could go to the 'noble schools' in Wuxi City. Now my two All the children have entered, last year. I paid 60,000 yuan at once, and I have to pay tens of thousands of yuan in tuition and miscellaneous fees every year. It’s nothing, I think it’s a good deal, and things that were undreamed of in the past have now become reality. What's not worth it? You ask if I've been here all my life? Of course. Not only me, but also the next generation will take root here forever. Changshu is now my hometown. It can make money here. The locals don’t bully us, and the living conditions are good. I make my home hereWhat could be better than this? " These are the words that Henan boss Ge Xiaofeng wanted to say after chasing me.These words of his were indeed touching, and I think even Changshu people would burst into tears when they heard them.In fact, everyone in Changshu understands that if you don't offer a heart, it will be extremely difficult to keep any wanderer from a foreign land, rich or poor.However, Changshu people did it today.They did it in the socialist market economic activities carried out in accordance with Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory.It is not only foreigners like Ge Xiaofeng who are educated about this matter, but also Changshu people themselves. I think it should be a kind of self-education in a non-general sense.For thousands of years, due to natural differences in regions, ethnic groups or tribes or even countries in rich lands have always excluded those poor people from poor natural conditions.Such ethnic, cultural, traditional and psychological differences constitute the habit of rich countries rejecting poor countries, rich lands rejecting poor lands, and rich people rejecting poor people, which is a common problem in human society.Such a problem, whether you admit it or not, it also exists in China, even today.However, from the fact that Ge Xiaofeng, the boss of Henan Province, and a group of people around him have successfully migrated from a place with backward natural conditions to Changshu, a rich land, we should be delighted to feel that China's ongoing socialist market economic revolution has brought not only great benefits to the Chinese nation. It is not only prosperity in material life, but also may be historical progress including great integration of nationalities. It should be pointed out that Changshu people's opening of the Changshu market not only attracts Henan people who have made a fortune in Changshu and took root in Changshu, but more importantly, those who come to Changshu and pass through Changshu. The hard-working "bees" who harvested "floral dew" and returned to themselves to brew more delicious "honey juice"... There is a saying that a garden without bees is not a good garden.I think a garden without honeydew is not a good garden either.The Changshu clothing market can attract businessmen from all over the country to flock here. The most important reason is that the clothing wholesaled here is stable and profitable.During the interview, I conducted a detailed investigation on this issue with various businessmen from other places, and the result was that 100% of the merchants told me that the profit margin of the commodities wholesaled from Changshu Garment City can be guaranteed at 30% at any time. about.Such a "anytime" can contain a lot of content that seems simple but is not easy. It shows the "three-dimensional" advantages of commodity prices there. Commodity prices have always been an important factor in determining the prosperity and decline of a trading market. As long as you do not have any of the conditions of direct wholesale, direct raw material origin, and direct production and processing of clothing products in any time, space, or location, you will never be able to compete with the Changshu market.It is almost hard to find a place like Changshu, which not only has the geographical advantage of being located between the north and the south of China, but also is a wholesale place with first-class facilities, a place where cotton spinning raw materials are produced, and a place with the highest level of garment processing and production for thousands of years.However, experts in the clothing industry say that these are only the two major advantages of the time and location that contributed to the prosperity of the Changshu market, and there is another factor that may be the most important and the most lacking in the market in other places, that is, "people and harmony". "Two words. The word "renhe" expressed by Changshu people in running the market includes two important aspects, namely policy tolerance and psychological tolerance. When I asked the leaders of the municipal party committee why they were able to do this, they believed that: for a market, policy will determine everything.What kind of policy there is what kind of market.In recent years, with the continuous deepening of reform and opening up and the continuous development of the economy, there has been a boom in the business market in almost all places, but there are not many that have really done well and can persist.One of the important reasons is that some regions have been too strict and meticulous in the management of the market, and even violated the laws of market economy, which led to the result of being vigorous today and closing down tomorrow.However, tens of thousands of customers doing business in Changshu reported that this kind of situation has never happened here.Merchants are most satisfied with this point that the Changshu clothing market has been implementing the principle of acting in accordance with the laws of the market economy from the beginning to the end, especially the thorough marketization of commodity prices: that is, the prices of producers and sellers are completely based on the "climate" of the market. "up to you.There, no matter whether you are an individual or a collective, whether you are state-owned or a joint venture, the prices of all commodities entering the market are equally and unconditionally subject to market trends.Changshu clothing market is actually a clothing wholesale distribution center, and its retail sales only account for a few percent of the total turnover.The wholesalers in the Changshu market are almost all foreign merchants.That is to say, because it implements the freedom of market prices, it is these foreign merchants engaged in wholesale that really make money. Then, due to the implementation of complete freedom and liberalization of prices, what is the result it brings to Changshu people?Bottom line: they're less profitable.Many people do not understand this, but it is true. I understand this fact only after I walked among Changshu people, and I admire the millions of Changshu people who sacrificed themselves for the prosperity of our socialist market from the bottom of my heart... It was a Sunday morning, around 4 o'clock, I left the hotel alone and walked towards the clothing city.At this time, Dongfang had just revealed its whiteness. I thought I got up early, and I intended to see the morning market transactions in the mall.As a result, I met several Changshu locals riding motorcycles and they were all ready to go home.I stopped one of them and asked why the transaction was closed so early? "It can't be too late. If it's later, I'll sell each piece of clothing for one yuan less." The owner said. "What's going on?" I asked. He said: "If it is later, there will be more people listed. If you compare goods, you can only sell for less." "Are there still several current prices in a day in a market here?" "Maybe you're not in business?" The owner of the cargo saw that I was confirmed, and sat down to chat with me intentionally.He said that it is very difficult for people who produce clothing on the Changshu site to make money because the competition is too fierce.Almost every household here is a garment factory of different sizes. Because the price in the market is free, people who produce garments want to sell their products as soon as possible, at a good price, and quickly turn over funds.This creates competition for customers.Didn't you just ask me why I sold the goods so early?That is to win customers.It's late and no one wants your goods, won't you be miserable?He said that he is a small family, and the goods produced every day have to be sold in the market, while those large producers directly receive customers to their homes.When you go to the market, you have to pay attention to the time period, and merchants from other places usually ship out on the same day of purchase.Those who are near have a car and leave directly, and those who are far away catch the early morning bus to check in.Therefore, our sellers have to catch up with the time before their transportation, so that we can get a slightly better price, otherwise we will not be able to raise the price at noon or afternoon. I asked him what kind of clothing he was selling, and he said it was children's clothing. "How much is one piece?" "8 yuan." "So cheap? Is there any profit to make?" "Basically no." "No way, what are you doing with it if there is no profit?" "In Changshu we all rely on making clothes for a living. Why don't you do this?" He said that he was telling the truth when he said there was no profit. If you don't believe me, you can visit his home to see it. I asked how this is no profit? It is also the reason why the price is liberalized in the market.He said: "The cost of making a small children's clothing is 7 yuan, and an additional one is the production cost. Isn't this no profit? If you talk about profits, they will all go to the wholesalers and sellers. It's like a piece of children's clothing." Wholesalers bought 8 yuan from me and shipped it to other places and transferred it to the seller. Generally, there is always an additional three to five yuan. This wholesaler will not be less than 30% of the profit after excluding various expenses. And 8 yuan from Changshu A piece of children's clothing from Qianbai is at least 15 yuan in the hands of consumers... Are you from Beijing? Hey, your profits are even greater on our clothing. The same jacket can only be sold in Changshu. 45 yuan, but it costs 120 to 150 miles in Beijing shopping malls!" "The price difference between production and sales is so big, why don't you raise the price, and the profit will come out?" He smiled at me and said: "You don't understand this. It is impossible for any new style or new product in Changshu to raise the price very high. Even if it is possible to take a risk sometimes, it will be sold within three to five days. will fall back." "Why is that?" "Free competition is fierce. You may have heard that as long as a new product appears in the market here, as long as a kind of clothing can be sold at a good price, within three to five days, this product and this style of clothing will be popular in the entire market." If the tops appear overwhelmingly, the previous good prices will be wiped out. "Three percent of the Maori is enough to eat, and seven percent of the Maori is starving to death." This sentence is a wise saying in our Changshu clothing industry. Whoever violates it, who may You will suffer big losses. Its central meaning is that if you want to do business well here, you must adopt the tactics of small profits but high sales. If you violate it, you may eat a fat baby for a while, but in the end you will suffer You yourself. It’s not like we didn’t have people like this in the beginning, including those big companies. They released a new product and style, and after it was put on the market, the profit for each piece might be a few dollars or ten dollars higher than usual. At this time According to the rules here, you can’t do this. Why do you ask? The reason is too simple. Almost 90% of the clothing manufacturers in Changshu are farmers. They generally don’t know how to design clothing styles independently. In fact, unless those people have a lot of money Only then can we independently engage in style design. It is generally not necessary or cost-effective for small and medium-sized households like us to design new products by ourselves. Besides, the market changes so fast, and powerful companies like 'Qiuyan' and 'Santa Fe' Manufacturers have to launch several new products to the market every day, and they have professional senior technical personnel. Can we keep up with them? No. We can’t compare with them. So over the years, our farmers in Changshu Although most of them do not independently design clothing, they know which product is good and which product is not easy to sell. At the same time, in the process of following others for a long time, they have improved their own set of skills, which is extremely strong. The power of imitation. If you bring a Pierre Cardin dress, we can imitate it in a few days, and it looks exactly the same. Do you believe it?" I laughed and said, "Why are there so many counterfeit and shoddy products in the market now, probably because there are too many copy masters like you?" The Changshu man waved his hands again and again, saying that you are completely wrong.He said that none of them in Changshu would do such a thing.He explained that people in Changshu would not do fake things like Pierre Cardin, and not all local business people are so honest, in the final analysis, it is because of the influence of the clothing market and its prices.You think, to make a high-end garment like Pierre Cardin, the material and workmanship will be very large, and the cost of such a garment must be very high.You are a farmer, even if you take out something exactly like Pierre Cardin, they will still ask you for a price of ordinary clothes worth tens of dollars, and you will suffer a lot at that time. You?Having said that, there are plenty of people in Changshu who can make clothing of the quality of Pierre Cardin.It's just that our unique market price here determines what kind of products we make, and we will only suffer losses if we do that kind of counterfeit thing, so we don't do it.Besides, we Changshu people also have self-esteem. Isn’t your “Hongdu Fashion” in Beijing also the handicraft of our Changshu “little tailor” Tian Atong?In my opinion, the workmanship of the "Qiu Yan" and other garments produced here is no worse than that of foreign famous brands like Pierre Cardin.People in your big cities are a little superstitious about foreign goods, but how much is the price difference between foreign goods and our "local" goods?How many times?Dozens of times, right?And you may also know that foreign clothing like Pierre Cardin in the Chinese market is actually produced in China, made by us Chinese ourselves, and the price is dozens of times higher just because of a famous brand label. up.It's been a long time, and people in big cities have come to understand a little bit. Now big shopping malls in Beijing and Shanghai come to Changshu to buy goods. Isn't this a good explanation?To put it bluntly, what do most of us Chinese wear in clothing?Isn't it just newer styles, better workmanship, and cheaper prices, and we in Changshu have all these three points. It really surprised me that a farmer clothing merchant could have such an incisive "apparel market view" and clothing marketing theory.However, what surprised me even more was the valuable special contribution made by Changshu people in supporting and maintaining the free price of the clothing market, which is not seen or thought of by 1.2 billion beneficiaries every year. The "Wangfujing" in Changshu Clothing City - Ma Shengyuan, the general manager of the Zhaomai Shopping Mall, told me one thing.One day, Comrade Qiao Shi visited his shopping mall and saw that the same piece of clothing here was surprisingly cheaper than in Beijing.So Comrade Qiao Shi asked, why are the clothes sold so cheap here?Mr. Ma said that the reason why the clothes here are cheap is because of the fierce competition after the implementation of free market prices. The profit of the clothes producers is the labor force itself, and after the labor power itself is included in the profits of the producers, it forms a market in Changshu. The price of clothing is much lower than that of other markets.In addition, Changshu has the advantages of producing raw materials for cotton spinning and direct production of products, which constitutes the fundamental reason why wholesale and purchase of clothing here can always make money. Labor force is equal to production profit - this is the special contribution made by Changshu people on the journey of developing market economy. Originally, as a market in a region, the local administrative department can intervene in the market price in order to safeguard the local interests.For example, in a certain season of a certain kind of clothing, the relevant local departments can set a uniform price to treat foreign merchants, so that the producers' profits can be absolutely guaranteed on a certain amount.But Changshu did not do so.Why?The person in charge of the clothing city said frankly: Since it is a market economy, local protectionism cannot be practiced.Our Changshu clothing market implements a free price, which is completely regulated by the market mechanism. For us Changshu people who are clothing raw materials, processing and producers, there may be a piece or a few pieces missing for every piece of clothing sold and every wholesale product. Income of 1 yuan, but we have contributed more to society, especially played a positive role in the prosperity of the market.For such a sacrifice of interests, we Changshu people feel it is worth it.Instead of catching all the fish in the pond, it is better to put them in the running water and raise them freely... This is the attitude that Changshu people insist on facing the impact of free prices. Now I finally understand the real meaning of why the local shipper said "no profit".In fact, no one does business at a loss. What Changshu people say "no profit" is correct in a certain sense.As a commodity, the clothes they take out from home or from state-owned or collective factories are put into the market at production costs, and there is indeed "no profit".But on the other hand, it is they who put the products into circulation at the only price equal to the production cost, which ensures the absolute advantage of the market price.And a prosperous and stable market in turn promotes the unprecedented prosperity and lasting stability of the industries in which producers are engaged. Changshu Changshu, Changshu Changshu - this truth, probably only the smart, shrewd, and brilliant Changshu talents have the deepest understanding and practice of it. During an interview in the village, I asked an individual garment producer how many years he had been in the garment business.He said that he has not stopped playing clothing city since it opened.I asked him how much money he earned on average for each piece of clothing from production to sale?He said 1 to 5 yuan.I asked why not make more money?He said that the Changshu market is a fairly stable market, especially in prices.Unless there are special circumstances, there will be no sustained rise in a certain commodity.Similarly, as long as you follow the trend of the tide, you can't sit on your back all the time.If you want to make a lot of money, you either have to invest a lot, or you have to use your brains to research and launch new products.If neither of these two items is taken into account, then you have to improve and improve labor skills and reduce labor costs as much as possible, otherwise there will be no way.He said that the reason why he is still making clothes for 10 years is because of the last road.That is to strive to improve their labor productivity. "Ten years ago, I worked together with my wife and daughter. At most, I could produce more than a dozen pieces of clothes a day. Now I have to produce at least two to three hundred pieces a day. It depends on the improvement of technology and equipment." The boss proudly led the I visited a villa he had built with money from his clothing business.In Changshu, there are many people who get rich through hard work like this.I think this should be counted as a reward for their sacrifices in the market economy. Just as I was talking very speculatively with my fellow villagers in Changshu, a boss with a foreign accent came to him in a hurry.So the Changshu fellow said sorry, he had to go to help immediately.What am I asking?He said that his neighbor, the Zhejiang boss, had something wrong with his factory and had to go and see.Why is the boss's factory in Zhejiang here?Why do Changshu people treat foreign merchants rushing to their door to grab jobs so enthusiastically? ... A series of puzzling questions linger in my mind.When the fellow came back, I finally figured out what was going on. The Changshu fellow and the Zhejiang boss met in business.That happened 5 years ago. At that time, the Zhejiang owner surnamed Lu came to Changshu for the first time. He didn’t touch the door. .Just when Boss Lu was desperate, the Changshu fellow I interviewed found out about the matter. He took the Zhejiang people to his home and comforted him by saying that you should not worry, I happen to have a batch of goods here, so you can take them first.The boss in Zhejiang said that I can't even afford the travel expenses to go home now, so how can I have any capital to buy your goods.The fellow in Changshu said, you just need to take my batch of goods. You don’t need to pay for the goods now, and it won’t be too late to sell them when you return to Zhejiang.On the same day, he helped consign the goods properly, and paid for a ticket to send Boss Lu from Zhejiang to the car.A few days later, Boss Lu from Zhejiang rushed back to Changshu. When he saw the Changshu boss who was helping him, he knelt down on the ground with a "plop" and cried, "You are my savior..." The two became friends from then on. friend.Later, Zhejiang Boss Lu made a fortune in Changshu and bought a garment factory there.Since Boss Lu is a foreigner, and he is not good at clothing production, he always asks his Changshu friends to help him when he has something to do.And at this time, the fellow villagers in Changshu always take the trouble to provide various guidance, which has delayed a lot of their own business.So some people said that you helped the boss of Zhejiang to make a fortune, and now it's time for him to thank you again. Don't you knock him one hundred and eighty thousand?The Changshu fellow shook his head and said that it is right for others to help when they are in trouble. No matter whether he is a foreigner or a local, it is not what we Changshu people do after doing good deeds.Later, once, the boss Lu actually took 100,000 yuan to thank his benefactor.But people from Changshu just don’t accept them, saying that you foreigners can now set up factories here and make a lot of money here, which means that Changshu is attractive and has attracted the "Golden Phoenix". As Changshu people, this is enough. "Look at the cultivation of people in Changshu? Where else would I go if I don't do business in such a place with favorable weather, favorable location, and harmonious people?" Boss Lu from Zhejiang Province insisted on meeting me when he heard that I was here for an interview, and said this from time to time. One day I was interviewing Director Lu Guansheng of the Clothing City Office, and he was called away by a meeting of the bank halfway. "You go too, this meeting is very special, many big bosses who are doing business in Changshu from other places will go." Director Lu's words undoubtedly aroused my interest, so I followed him into a conference room of a hotel. Walking into the meeting room, I saw that there were no empty seats. It turned out that the presidents of the Municipal Agricultural Bank held a special theme meeting here, called the "star customer" talk meeting.At the beginning, I didn't understand what the concept of "star customer" was, but I was able to figure it out after being introduced by the president of the bank.The so-called "star customers" refer to depositors with a single deposit of more than 500,000 yuan in the Agricultural Bank of China office in the clothing city. This is a special honorary title given by Changshu Agricultural Bank to large market players.I have not investigated whether there is such a precedent in the national financial system, but I am deeply impressed by Changshu Agricultural Bank's approach.They think what the merchants think, and are anxious to act as the merchants are eager to do. It can be said that they have done their job absolutely.At this symposium, the president of the Agricultural Bank of China made three new commitments to those big merchants from all over the country with pockets full of money amidst the praises: to extend the business hours, from the past 12 hours It becomes a 24-hour service; all "star customers" enjoy loan priority; in case of financial problems in business, you can directly contact the president... The host convened this meeting without any preparation for me and the merchants who attended the meeting, and there was no artificiality at all.It is precisely because of this that even I, a person who has no relationship with Changshu Bank, felt warm for some reason after hearing the promises made by the president. At the end of the meeting, I asked a Fujian businessman to talk about his direct feelings about the past and present practices of local banks.Because the boss was about to trade a business at that time, he just wrote eight words in a hurry in my interview book: "Be sincere and support me firmly." "Comrade writer, I'm not just referring to Changshu Bank..." After walking a long way, the Fujian boss turned to me and said.He didn't finish what he said later, but I understood his meaning, and understood the weight of his meaning even more. From the day when the clothing city was formed, under the unified leadership of the municipal party committee and the municipal government, the management departments of industry and commerce, transportation, public security, finance, etc., which were previously called "frightened when they saw it" by the majority of self-employed people, put down their airs and persevered The land appears in the market and among operators with the image and attitude of a service provider.What they promote is the principle of "I welcome you to do business; I collect taxes when you make money; I help when you are in trouble; I sympathize with you when you lose money; I investigate and punish you if you break the law."What they advocate is the working standard of "implementing a policy of tolerance, creating a relaxed environment; working together from top to bottom, and leaving no dead ends in civilization".What they strive for is the perfect service of "ensure that customers can come in, keep them, earn money, and sleep well...".And just the above three sentences, to do it well, it shows his painstaking efforts.However, the operators of the clothing market say: the management here does exactly what it says and does. You might as well go to the industrial and commercial and taxation departments to go through a set of business procedures, and you will find that it only takes half a day to complete all the procedures. You might as well try to report a case in this huge market where thousands of merchants gather, and you will find that within three to five minutes, the security guards of the shopping mall and the quick-action officers of the "110" police station will appear in front of you immediately. You might as well try to save a sum of money, you can walk to the 33 savings banks here... In a market, the earners and the earners, the managers and the managed are usually contradictory and opposite.In many good markets that we know and don’t know, the main reason for their gradual decline and disappearance is often the contradiction and conflict between the earners and the beneficiaries, the managers and the managed. On the opposite.Changshu Garment City is not without such contradictions and oppositions. However, Changshu people have completely resolved such contradictions and oppositions with their own hearts and sincerity, and turned the simple relationship of mutual profit in market business activities into a society of mutual benefit. socialist cooperative development relationship. "Market first, customers first, and service first." The words of Ma Shengyuan, the main market of the clothing city and the general manager of "Zhaomao", revealed the essence of their success in managing and treating the market and customers. Take "Zhaomao" as an example. The "Wangfujing" market in this clothing city, which now has several billion yuan in fixed assets, was the "one-acre" market in Hujing Village by Gu Bangjun, the former general manager 20 years ago, with a loan of 600,000 yuan. From the beginning of its establishment to today, the super shopping mall rolled up step by step in Sanfendi has always adhered to the purpose of "attracting merchants, gathering information; invigorating circulation, serving urban and rural areas; based on this city, facing the whole country".Ma Shengyuan, who has been the "boss" for six or seven years now, told me that the actual fixed assets of his shopping mall are about 400 million yuan, and the annual profit of "recruiting the mall" is 20 million yuan.As soon as I heard it, I thought that being such a boss can really sit back and relax.But Ma Shengyuan said that if I have a lot of money in the account of the mall, I will not be able to sleep, because it means that there is a problem with my work in the market.You think, my money is earned by running the market. Strictly speaking, it is because tens of thousands of bosses from all over the country do business here every day that we have money. If we have more money, we will deposit it in the bank. Doesn't it mean that our market development and various service work have not been done well or comprehensively? "There is a saying in the business world, 'The boss who can't make money saves money, the boss who can make money spends money', does it mean the same as you?" I suddenly remembered such a sentence in a book, so I asked Mr. Ma for advice.He said that you are only half right. There are indeed a group of profitable bosses in the business world who seldom keep their funds in the bank.But this is not the case for our "recruitment market".The purpose of the market is to allow merchants to have a place to do business and make money.If those who manage the market do not focus on how to run the market well, but only on how to make money, the market will undoubtedly decline. "Of course, I don't need to paint myself. It's a lie to say that we don't want to make money at all, but the most important and fundamental thing is to run the market well first. This is not what you say, nor is it one or two merchants. It depends on the overall situation, whether the merchants are retained, whether the vast majority of businessmen have made money, and whether the money can be permanently appreciated.” Another fresh point of view.I asked: "Under what circumstances can the money earned permanently appreciate in value?" "It depends on whether this market has a long lifespan and whether it has enough advantages over others." "If these two points are achieved, how can we understand how to let merchants earn permanent money and earn appreciation money? Especially appreciation money, what is the appreciation method?" "A permanent market can make permanent money for merchants. Changshu Garment City has been established for more than 10 years, and now tens of thousands of bosses and hundreds of thousands of wholesalers have basically been fixed, especially for The hundreds of thousands of peasant clothing manufacturers in our local area and surrounding areas almost share their fate with the clothing market. The clothing market is permanent, so is their economy; conversely, their clothing and production industries are permanent. It has promoted the permanence of the clothing market. As for earning appreciation money, it depends on the development of the market itself and the internal operating mechanism. In the ten years since our Changshu Garment City was opened, all businessmen who rented market stalls and stores were basically It is the business that makes money every year, and the value of the stalls and stores also increases every year..." Ma Shengyuan's explanation gave me a deeper understanding of the Changshu market. Ma Shengyuan told me that he could not sleep because of too many year-end bonuses.According to him, as the general manager of a shopping mall with an annual profit of more than 20 million yuan, he can get a bonus of more than 100,000 yuan every year, but Ma Shengyuan has never received so much in the six or seven years he has been the "boss".He explained his behavior in this way: 1. If I take it, I feel unbalanced, because I am a party member.2. If I take it, what will happen to so many managers and section chiefs?3. If I take it, does it mean that I have done all the work in the market impeccably?That's not the case, there's still a lot to do in market management... so I can't take it. This is the mind of a farmer's market manager in Changshu. During the days when I interviewed, I witnessed the demeanor of such a group of market managers and pioneers with brains, drive, vision and heart—— One Sunday morning, I accidentally ran into Secretary Xu Guoqiang in the mall.I asked him why he didn't rest on holidays. He said that there are many things to push you to do when it's working time. On Sunday, you have some free time. When you are free, you want to come down and talk to the cadres and merchants. Once you talk, things will go smoothly Come out, then I have to force you to do it again... The market opens at 6am and closes at 6pm.The managers and service personnel of all departments of the mall also have to follow the mall's timetable from morning till night.The marketing managers say that there are never Sundays or holidays in their schedules, and it has long been their habit to work two shifts every day for 360 days. In order to create a comfortable and hygienic environment for the clothing city and thousands of merchants, the municipal party secretary, the mayor and other members of the city's leadership team personally sit in town and organize and direct... ... There can be a hundred such shots.There can be a hundred such characters.All such shots and characters are doing one thing in common, that is, building the market, serving the market, and developing the market. Over the past 20 years, Changshu people have invested more than one billion yuan for such a thing, and built a clothing, knitting, cloth, and small commodity market as the main body, integrating emerging industries, economic exchanges, real estate, financial circulation, A modern "city within a city" integrating tourism services and transportation: ——This "city within a city" has 200 water and land lines, connecting more than 2,000 urban and rural commercial outlets in all provinces and municipalities in the country except Tibet every day; ——This "city within a city" has more than 30 professional markets with different characteristics and scales, and a daily trade volume of 40 million yuan is completed within and around it; ——In this "city within a city", thousands of farmers have given up their homes, and thousands of looms have opened up their hearts. Every day, they settle and retain more than 200,000 foreign business owners and migrant girls... A Taiwanese businessman told me that he lost his documents, passport and money at the hotel at the end of last year, and the police officers in the Garment City caught the thief at Suzhou Railway Station within half an hour.The well-equipped and rigorous security system here makes him feel at ease when he comes here to invest and do business. A businessman from Zhejiang told me that a boss in Guangzhou had a dispute over the payment of goods with him that year, and he had no choice but to ask comrades from the Industry and Commerce Bureau for help.Without further ado, the comrades from the Industry and Commerce Bureau went to the South to help recover the full amount of the payment. A "family planning" cadre in Anhui told me that tens of thousands of women of childbearing age work outside the county where she lives. How to do a good job in the family planning work of these "super-birth guerrillas" who have been away for many years is the most headache for her and the government. thing.But she is very relieved of the hundreds of women of childbearing age in her county who are in the Changshu market, because the family planning work in Changshu Garment City has done better for them than herself.而服装城的“计生”干部丁巧玲介绍说，她管辖的12000多名在此经商的育龄妇女，自1992年来，年年保持计划生育率的100%和节育率的95%以上符合政策规定。她仅讲了一个她与同事为了让一位河南女客商做手术，亲自下厨房，上医院当“保姆”近一个月的经历，好不催人泪下…… 常熟人所做的这一切，都是为了创造一个让人放心，让人满意的赚钱与经商的好环境。而有了一个好的环境，便有了正如徐国强书记给市场下的定义那样：能赚钱环境好＝市场繁荣。