Achieves Success in Clothing Business

The "Chinese Dream" belongs to each Chinese person. As Chinese, we are both participants in and witnesses to the country's pursuit of the "Chinese Dream." The "Chinese Dream" is also the dream of each Chinese woman. Since the March 2014 edition, Women of China (WOC) has been interviewing Chinese women, from various sectors, and we have been sharing their stories of achieving their ideals. In this edition, we interview Gao Haiyan, owner of Dongfangnishang¡¤Mei Clothes Chain.

Gao Haiyan has a special — and unique — collection. What is it? The 1,000-plus boarding passes for the trains she rode during the past 15 years.

Why has she saved the tickets? Gao established her first clothing store, in Siping, a city in northeastern China's Jilin Province, in 1999. Since then, she has traveled more than 200,000 kilometers, between Siping and other cities, for business. Nearly all of those trips have been by train.

When she graduated from high school, in 1982, her dream was to become a good salesperson. Two years later, she inched closer to her dream when she was employed to sell watchstraps in Siping Department Store.

She worked hard and provided a high-quality service, and that professionalism earned her several outstanding-salesperson titles and a promotion to manager of the children's clothing department.

Pursuing Dream

She might still be working at the department store if a fire hadn't forced the shop's closure. During the night of December 17, 1999, the store was extensively damaged by fire. A few days later, Gao was informed the store would close and all of the employees would be laid off. Gao was upset, and she worried about how she would make a living.

"I was familiar with the watch business, but, at that time, I only had 4,000 yuan (U.S. $656) in savings, which was far from enough to start a watch business. As I was interested in clothing and fashions, I decided to open a clothes store, as it didn't require much start-up costs," recalls Gao.

Even so, she still needed nearly 120,000 yuan (U.S. $19,672) to open her business; she had to rent and decorate the shop, and she had to purchase merchandise to stock the shelves. Raising the capital was a daunting task, but she believed when one has the will, he/she will find a way to achieve success.

She borrowed money from friends and relatives and then she traveled to Shenyang, about 200 kilometers south of Siping, where she bought a Mei (a Hong Kong brand) clothing store franchise. She returned to Siping, with Mei-brand clothing to stock the shelves, later that day.

Her first store, on Tiexi Business Street, was just 28 square meters, and it was nestled between two large buildings. The store did not have water and heat, so Gao had to supply her own heater, which she only used when a customer entered the store. "It was cold ¡­ but my passion energized me. I told myself every day that as long as I had the determination, the light of hope would never go out," she says.

After Gao spent the money that she had borrowed, she was unable to buy new clothes until she sold her existing stock. After she made some profit, Gao took the earliest train, at 3 a.m., to Shenyang. That made it possible for Gao to buy new stock in the morning and have it on her shelves by afternoon. She made that round trip three or four times a week, and, as a result, she accumulated a lot of train tickets.

Given the trendy designs and reasonable prices of the clothes, Gao's store quickly became popular.

In 2001, Gao opened her second store, also on Tiexi. The second shop, which was 100 square meters, was on the second floor of a building, which was unusual as most clothing stores were on the ground floor for the convenience of customers. Gao, though, was confident that shoppers would be interested in her products, regardless of where she placed her store.

She was right; within five years, she had to expand the store to the third floor of the building. Now, she owns 12 stores and two shopping centers in Siping.

Use Your Head

Gao says the secret of her success is that she constantly thinks about how to run, and improve, her business. "I have found, as a seller of clothes, one should think from the perspective of the customer, which means that he/she should recommend to a customer the clothes that match his/her occupation and age. I think it's also necessary to teach customers about image design, which will help them learn how to choose clothes based on their hairstyles and makeup."

In her stores, there are special areas where customers can also listen to free lectures on hairstyle design, makeup and healthcare, and where they can exercise or read.

"If you use your head and throw yourself wholeheartedly into your work, you will certainly make some achievements," Gao says.

She has worked hard to maintain her credibility; for example, in early 2013, one of her suppliers announced it would cut the price of a certain item by 800 yuan (U.S. $131) during a Spring Festival sale. Gao was embarrassed because she had just sold a dozen units of the item. After some consideration, she decided to refund the 800 yuan to the customers who had bought the clothes. Some of the customers were surprised when Gao contacted them. Some replied, "Please save the money for me, so I can buy other clothes from your store next time."

Gao believes a company must give back to the community. Through her company, Gao has donated 100,000 yuan (U.S. $16,393) to in-need students, elderly people and quake-affected people in Jilin and other provinces.

Gao on several occasions has been asked to train women who want to start a business. "During the training, I always tell the participants that they will unavoidably face tough times in their lives, but that they should not try to escape them or lose hope because of the temporary troubles," Gao says. "I have done my best to help them create their businesses. Some of them have been quite successful. I feel very proud of them. I expect more valuable experiences in the future."

(Source: Women of China English Monthly December 2014 Issue)