By Patience Chat Moses
What goes through your mind every time it’s Christmas and you see the beautiful decorations giving life to your homes and streets? Have you wondered where the Christmas lights, tinsel, star ornaments, jingle bells and stockings hanging on your Christmas tree come from?
So, while your environment beamed and glowed with beautiful Christmas ornaments, Yuwi, a small city in China made billions. How, you ask? From the sales of Christmas ornaments!
Yiwu is a small city in Zhejiang Province, China, known as the global capital of Christmas decorations. Although Christmas is not widely celebrated in China, Yiwu has become the epicentre for the production and export of holiday ornaments, decorations, and festive supplies.
Each year, more than 600 businesses in Yiwu produce an estimated 80 per cent of the world’s Christmas decorations after which millions of decorations are made and shipped to over 100 countries, generating nearly 3 billion dollars in revenue yearly.
A British Broadcasting Commission (BBC), report said the city’s success in the Christmas decoration industry is driven by its specialised factories, efficient manufacturing processes, and skilled labour force, which have enabled Yiwu to dominate the global market.
What makes Yiwu’s success remarkable is the fact that very few people in China celebrate Christmas. Yet, the city thrives by catering to the insatiable demand for holiday decorations from countries that do celebrate the season. This paradox highlights Yiwu’s ability to leverage its manufacturing capabilities and strategic position in global trade. The city’s vibrant wholesale market attracts buyers from all over the world, making it a key player in the international holiday industry.
It will surprise you that all decorations are made from plastics and are mostly handmade. For instance, the bubble balls and holly berries are painted by hand. To meet up with production, each worker paints hundreds of balls a day. With this, a factory in Yiwu employs about 400 people and supplies retailers around the world, with Europe and America topping the list of Yiwu’s most important markets.
Production time is the quietest time of year for the Christmas industry, which only gets going around February, after Chinese New Year. Many buyers come to tour the market in Yiwu, placing orders for what they see on display.
Sometimes, buyers come to Yiwu with ideas for what they want for next Christmas, often bringing samples of designs they want copied. For this reason, decorations are not pre-produced and stored. Orders are placed in February or March, shipped from China by July, sold by wholesalers to retailers between August and October and then put on the shelves for Christmas.
The manufacturers in Yiwu simply make and sell their products and it is up to the buyer to organize logistics including transport and customs clearance. Yiwu market is, for the large part, strictly wholesale. Factories do not accept orders less than one container load.
Nigeria can draw valuable lessons from Yiwu’s success. By investing in local production of holiday goods and utilising the country’s rich cultural diversity and craftsmanship, Nigeria could tap into the global market for festive decorations and gifts. A focus on creating unique, high-quality products that appeal to local and international consumers could open up new opportunities for Nigerian entrepreneurs. Additionally, the availability of raw material which happens to be rubber is an advantage for Nigeria. The country could strengthen its export sector by targeting countries with a strong demand for Christmas and holiday-related products, thereby boosting the economy and creating jobs, just as Yiwu has done.