Pingxiang County is hailed as the "Capital of China's Children's Strollers". Here, nearly 40,000 bicycles and children's strollers are shipped to all parts of the world every hour, with its export volume accounting for 40% of the international market.
Once relying on OEM manufacturing and trapped in low-price competition, Pingxiang's bicycle and children's stroller industry is now opening high-end markets with innovative products, expanding global layout through diversified development, and empowering enterprises to go global with efficient services.
This distinctive county-level industrial cluster is embarking on a broader new track.
On November 28th, in the product exhibition hall of Xiaokabu Children's Products Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xiaokabu") in Hegumiao Town, Pingxiang County, Wang Zhanying, the general manager of the company, leaned over to demonstrate a light gray stroller. He held the push handle with one hand, and with a soft "click", the stroller folded smoothly in a few seconds, shrinking to the size of a carry-on suitcase.
"We call it the 'Pocket Stroller' because of its compact size when folded," Wang Zhanying stood up straight and patted the dust off his hands. "When parents travel with their kids, they don't need to check it in during boarding—they can just carry it into the cabin directly."
This portable stroller named M9 is Xiaokabu's core product this year. At the recently held 138th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), it not only took the spotlight on the offline stage but also won the CF Innovation Design Award at the Canton Fair thanks to its innovative design of "true carry-on compatibility + reclining function + super safety".
As a representative of Hebei's stroller enterprises, Wang Zhanying introduced its design to hundreds of overseas buyers off the stage. This exquisite product attracted waves of merchants to stop and inquire, and a Dutch buyer signed an order on the spot.
"This was unimaginable in the past," Wang Zhanying said. He has been engaged in the stroller industry for nearly 20 years. In the early days, he mainly did OEM manufacturing, facing serious product homogenization and meager profits.
What embarrassed him most was that when attending large-scale exhibitions before, whenever he mentioned the origin was Hebei, customers often showed doubts and hesitation. "At that time, I felt that relying solely on the conventional competitive model of homogenization would only lead to a narrower path. Only through bold innovation and designing products that others don't have and excel at what others do can we win in future competitions," Wang Zhanying added.
How to innovate products? Xiaokabu's choice is to target specific pain points for breakthroughs.
Previously, the high-end portable children's stroller market was dominated by a handful of international brands. These products were not only expensive but also often sacrificed the stroller's reclining function and structural strength in pursuit of extreme portability.
Wang Zhanying decided to take on this tough challenge. R&D is a long-term endeavor. To fit the folded size perfectly within airline carry-on standards, the design team repeatedly adjusted the structure using 3D models, iterating more than 20 versions. To achieve "both sitting and reclining" functionality, engineers integrated a complex eight-link chassis system into the limited folding space, and adopted aerospace-grade aluminum alloy to ensure the stroller was both lightweight and sturdy.
"The hardest part is balancing various performance requirements: it needs to be small, light, strong, reclinable, and fold smoothly," Wang Zhanying explained. To make the folding joints compact yet fluid, they spent nearly 800,000 yuan on mold opening alone, finally partnering with a precision mold factory in Shenzhen to complete the process.
In the end, this new product integrating 5 patented technologies became an instant hit at the Canton Fair, gaining orders and customer respect.
"Now when we attend exhibitions, we can confidently print 'Hebei' on our business cards. Products speak for themselves, and that gives us genuine confidence," he revealed. After the Canton Fair, several well-known southern brands took the initiative to discuss potential OEM cooperation.
Currently, Xiaokabu's workshops are rushing to fulfill orders signed at the Canton Fair, but Wang Zhanying is not in a hurry to expand production. "First, we need to deliver on existing orders, establish quality and reputation, and then orders will naturally follow," he said.
From Xiaokabu's single "Pocket Stroller" to Jiusheng Vehicle Industry's new production line, Pingxiang's bicycle and children's stroller enterprises are breaking out of the cycle of low-price competition and winning new positions in the broader global market.
Source of the article: Hebei Daily
