义乌又爆单了

Speaking of the World Cup, Yiwu's orders have exploded again.

What does that mean?

It means orders are too many to handle.

This year's World Cup kicks off in June in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Less than two months until the opening match.

But Yiwu's factories have been swamped for a while now.

Let's start with a number.

In January and February this year, Yiwu's sports goods exports hit 2.34 billion yuan.

A year-on-year increase of 38.5 percent.

What does that number mean in context?

More than a third higher than the same period last year.

And that's just January and February.

The following months will only be higher.

You might not know much about Yiwu.

Yiwu is a small city in Zhejiang Province.

Small, but not that small actually.

But not very noticeable on a map.

Yet this city has something the whole world knows.

The Yiwu International Trade City.

It's all small commodities inside.

Cups, flags, plush toys, all sorts of small items.

If you go to tourist spots in any country.

Those little souvenirs you buy.

There's a very good chance they were made in Yiwu.

When the World Cup comes, Yiwu gets especially busy.

Let's start with footballs.

One factory makes four thousand footballs a day.

Four thousand.

Machines running non-stop, workers in shifts.

Then there are other products.

A merchant named Luo Tianle.

Got official licenses from eight national teams and eight major clubs.

Meaning he can print team names and logos on his products.

He launches twenty to thirty new items every week.

Some products take just one day from start to finish.

How is that speed possible?

Because Yiwu's supply chain is incredibly complete.

A supply chain is all the steps needed to make something.

You want to make a fridge magnet.

There's a mold factory right next door.

You want to make a badge.

There's a printing factory across the street.

Everything is nearby.

So the speed can be extremely fast.

There's another merchant named Wen Congjian.

He holds thirty-nine patents and thirty-two trademarks.

For this World Cup he got official fan jersey orders for Brazil, Argentina, and Portugal.

Ten thousand pieces.

Buyers from around the world are flocking to Yiwu.

A Saudi buyer placed an order for ten thousand backpacks at once.

Buyers from Jordan and Mali came too.

Why do they come to Yiwu?

Two reasons.

First, it's cheap.

Second, it's fast.

Order somewhere else and you might wait two to three months.

In Yiwu, some items ship within a week.

Here's a really impressive number.

During the last World Cup in Qatar.

All the World Cup-related small goods in the world.

Seventy percent were made in Yiwu.

The flags, horns, and jerseys you saw on Qatar's streets.

Seven out of ten came from this small Chinese city.

This time three countries are co-hosting the World Cup.

The market is way bigger than Qatar.

Merchants estimate orders will be fifty percent more than last time.

But not everyone is that optimistic.

Some merchants say the international situation isn't very stable.

Some overseas clients' businesses aren't doing well either.

Someone even said they shipped an entire container.

And didn't receive a single cent in payment.

The risks of exporting have always been there.

But Yiwu's advantage is you can't find a second place like it.

There's only one Yiwu in the world.

Whatever you need, it can make.

If you need it fast, it delivers fast.

If you need it cheap, it can do cheap.

This is Yiwu.

A small city.

That becomes the world's supply center whenever the World Cup comes.

Small city, big business.

That's Yiwu's story.