Guangzhou Clothing Wholesale Market Guide. The best place to buy wholesale clothing in China.
Hisuper HernándezShare
Guangzhou is famous for its wholesale clothing markets. If you're new to these markets, you won't know how to start shopping, as there are so many to choose from.
This article is a summary of a conversation with a buyer who has been working in the Guangzhou clothing wholesale market for ten years. The main objective is to give you a general idea of how to begin your journey in this sector.
1. Thirteen Hong in Guangzhou (十三行）
Thirteen Hong, in Guangzhou, is a major wholesale market in the city. The flagship building is the New China Clothing Market (新中国大厦服装城). Renovated in 2014, the stores on the second floor and above now offer clothing of varying levels, from mid-range to high-end, while the stores on the first floor and below offer low-end clothing.
What's the secret of the different floors in China's New Clothing Market?
Many people don't know that some of the stores on the 2nd floor and above also sell some of the clothing from the 1st floor and below, to make a bigger profit, or a boss owns different stores on different floors to set different profit margins for the same products.
Therefore, when planning your purchase, the first and most important thing is to explore the market. You can start with the upper floors to choose better designs if you're looking for higher quality, and then compare prices on the lower floors to avoid buying at an unnecessarily high price.
For example, the same clothing on the lower floor might sell for 50 RMB, but on the upper floors it will be priced at 80-90 RMB.
What makes Thirteen Hong products special?
1) Thirteen Hong closely follows global fashion design trends. After any fashion show in Europe, you'll quickly find a similar, popular design here.
2) Design style percentage: 60% Korean style, 30% European style, 10% other.
3) Thirteen Hong Store Managers: You'll find many Korean managers here if you buy in bulk and need to negotiate the price with them. They are also the driving force behind bringing exceptional Korean design to Thirteen Hong. However, the managers are not usually in the store; they are instead located in the garment factories, overseeing production.
2. Shahe Market (沙河)
SHA HE is also a large wholesale clothing market. There are three important buildings there: "WAN JIA (万佳), "JIN MA (金马)" and "FU LI (富丽)".
A. Wanjia Market (万佳)
WAN JIA is a general market that covers a wide variety of clothing, including shirts, coats, pants, sweaters, and more. Women's clothing accounts for a large portion of the market. The price range is low to mid-range.
Here you'll notice that stores sell the same style at different prices and qualities. The price varies depending on the quality. You can see the details of the material that cause the biggest price differences.
If the boss isn't very busy, they'll usually accept a trial order of 1 or 2 pieces per style, but the price is higher. If you want the wholesale price, you should order at least 3 or 4 styles, and 10 pieces of each.
B. Jinma Market（金马)
Jin Ma is also a general market for a wide variety of clothing, but its prices are seemingly low, and the main goal of the stores here is to sell in large quantities. Especially for women's clothing, it has been the most important market in Guangzhou in recent years.
But inside the market there are narrow aisles and poor air circulation, so the shopping environment is one star.
You don't need to worry about getting a high price here, as you will notice that the price difference is sometimes only 0.5 RMB when you compare 2 or 3 stores for the same style.
C. Fuli Market (富丽)
FU LI is the cheapest market in SHA HE area, but considering the low price, you can't argue too much about the quality.
Still, women's clothing is much more common than men's, and most stores accept only one piece of clothing.
But since everything is priced low, you won't have any room to haggle if you buy in small quantities.
3. Baima Market (白马)
Bai Ma is a very popular market with foreign customers due to its geographical location. It's located near Guangzhou Railway Station and 2 kilometers from the buildings of the former Canton Fair . Fifteen years ago, this was the busiest area for foreigners.
The BAIMA market offers the widest range of prices in Guangzhou. The designs are more sophisticated and of good quality.
Floors 1, 4, 5 – Trendy, high-quality women's clothing, most of the major factories are located here.
Floor 2, 3 – Most of the small factories are here, the price is relatively lower.
Layer 6 – Mid-to-high-end men’s clothing.
What should I keep in mind when shopping at Baima Market?
1) There isn't much room to haggle here, unless you buy more than 10 pieces per style.
2) On the 1st floor is the logistics center, from where you can easily send your merchandise directly to the warehouse.
3) Prices are significantly lower during seasonal changes. Bai Ma will switch to winter clothing during August and September, while in February and March, it will switch to summer clothing.
For easy reference, the critical features for selecting the right wholesale market for your channel are summarized below:
Special note (I've never told anyone this before)
If you are planning to visit the clothing wholesale market in Guangzhou, you should also pay attention to the following general suggestions:
1) Overall, security in Guangzhou is good. However, the wholesale market is crowded, so be sure to protect your money.
2) Remember to take the name card and write down the booth number when you do the initial check, as you will easily lose track of which one you are interested in and then want to place an order.
3) The bargaining strategy works well in these markets. But when you're walking away and no one's stopping you, you need to know what the minimum price is.
