The 10-yuan "magic tool for making photos" is all bought by young girls. The boss said: I'm afraid of running out of stock

The triangle scarf is rapidly becoming a new favorite among young people. From scenic spots to music festivals, whether paired with Hanfu or irregular suspender skirts, it can add a unique style to your outfit. Next, let's uncover the fashion code behind the triangle scarf and explore the story behind its popularity.

"When others wear it, it looks like a pastoral, holiday or retro style, but when I wear it, it looks like Grandma Wolf, full of 'sneaky feeling' (sneaky feeling is a new internet personality of young people, describing a sneaky feeling, referring to the fact that some people appear unconfident and restrained in some public places)."

This May Day, colorful "triangle scarves" can be seen everywhere, from scenic spots to music festivals.

Among the more than 20,000 Xiaohongshu notes, the triangle scarf is not only a must-have fashionable item for summer dopamine girls, but also a key prop to create a holiday atmosphere. Girls who go out to travel study the matching formula of the "triangle scarf", with Hanfu, with butt curtains, with irregular suspender skirts... Boys ask themselves on the way to take pictures of their girlfriends: "Isn't this the headscarf I would wear when my breasts are in the ground?"

How can you avoid looking "stealthy" when wearing it? In the process of constantly creating styles and making strategies, the triangle scarf has become completely popular.

Zheng Qingfeng can feel this popularity the most. "We originally mainly made accessories such as sunglasses and hats. We started selling triangular scarves in March last year and sold more than 3 million." In just one year, triangular scarves went from being a niche product that no one cared about to becoming a hot item.

"Most of the stores selling accessories have done it, as have those selling women's clothing and daily necessities. The factory asked us to stock up before, but we didn't listen. At the beginning of this spring, sales suddenly soared. This time, they didn't need to ask us, we basically stocked up, just in case there was a shortage of stock."

In 2023, the "Xinbangbang ACC Accessories Store" operated by Zheng Qingfeng had a transaction volume of 19 million, and the proportion of triangular scarves continued to rise. In March this year, triangular scarves accounted for nearly 40%, with more than 500,000 yuan sold in one month. "We believe that it will continue to be popular, just like women's clothing, with different styles presented according to different combinations." With the arrival of summer, triangular scarves will also usher in a peak season.

1. A "film-making tool" for only 10 yuan

Xinbangbang started out as a women's clothing store and has 9.44 million fans on Taobao. It is the top 1 store on the list of elegant commuting women's clothing stores.

In 2018, in order to expand the business, Xinbangbang ACC Accessories Store opened, extending from women's clothing to the fashion accessories track. But at that time, the new store mainly sold necklaces, bracelets and other accessories, and the category was relatively limited. In 2020, the store expanded from fashion accessories to accessories, and since then began to add fashion items such as sunglasses, scarves, and hats, and gradually accumulated more than 900,000 fans.

"Learning how to make triangular bandages was actually an accident," Zheng Qingfeng recalled.

It was the winter of 2022. The scarves in the store were selling like hot cakes. More than 8 million scarves were sold in two months. Business was booming. But scarves were an "autumn and winter limited" item, and this popularity was doomed to be unsustainable. In order to find the next hit, Zheng Qingfeng's team began to do market research. The triangle scarf, which belongs to the same category as scarves, came into his sight during this process.

"At that time, there were not many businesses selling triangular bandages on the market, but we all felt that it had the potential to become a hit."

Zheng Qingfeng's intuition is not without reason. He analyzed that there are not many choices for girls to wear when going out. "Many southern customers do not have the habit of wearing hats on a daily basis. Some girls who love beauty will at most wear some beautiful hairpins. The triangle scarf is very popular. Wearing it creates a sense of atmosphere. The price is not expensive. With so many people traveling now, it should be easy to sell."

After realizing that this might be a trend, Zheng Qingfeng quickly locked on three styles: French, pastoral and ethnic.

When designing the triangle scarf, much of the inspiration came from the experience of making women's clothing. When Xinbangbang's women's clothing store releases new products on Weibo, Taobao, and Xiaohongshu, the models will also wear fashionable items, which can be used to "test the style" and "attract traffic". Since the supply chains of scarves and triangle scarves are connected, Zheng Qingfeng quickly put a batch of triangle scarves on the shelves after locking in the style through this path.

During this period, the popularity of "triangle scarf" on social media continued to rise, further verifying Zheng Qingfeng's idea.

People are surprised to find that the triangle scarf is a versatile item. The popularity of picnics and camping has led to the popularity of rural-style triangle scarves; the popularity of new Chinese style and Han-style clothing has made the national-style triangle scarf the most fashionable outfit embellishment; from Dali, Yunnan to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, triangle scarves quietly appear in major scenic spots, ancient towns, markets, exhibitions and even music festivals where young people gather.

It is becoming popular to sell triangular scarves at the market stall

If the "tourism fever" is the fundamental reason for the continued rise in popularity of triangle scarves, the "celebrity effect" has added fuel to the fire.

In October 2023, the travel variety show "Flowers and Youth" was launched. The outfit of actress Zhao Zhaoyi in the show became popular. Not only did it set off a trend of layering irregular suspender skirts with jeans, but this dressing style that looked like an overturned paint palette was also imitated by many post-95s and post-00s girls and was rated as "the style of an art student at first glance." And the triangle scarf is her most popular fashion item.

"The same style as Zhao Zhaoyi" became popular, and Zheng Qingfeng's triangle scarf business also exploded. "The vast majority of people who come to buy triangle scarves are girls, aged 18-25, and the main consumption scene is traveling." He was also surprised to find that the repurchase rate of triangle scarves was higher than expected. "It has a strong social nature. From the pictures we observed, many girls will take pictures with their besties and classmates."

2. Earn 1 yuan per order, but the ex-factory price is still "high"

Accessories, like women's clothing, are also an industry driven by "new products". Generally speaking, Xinbangbang launches new products 3-4 times a month, with more than ten new models each time. Zheng Qingfeng clearly remembers that it was a new product launch on July 28, 2023. "We launched more than 20 new models and promoted them on Xiaohongshu, including sunglasses, hats, and belts, but the most people asked about scarves."

It was summer vacation, the peak time for travel. After discovering that the fan interaction rate of this new product was higher than the average, the team posted a few days of Xiaohongshu notes, promoting this French triangle scarf with lace as the main new product of the period. After a few days of promotion, it became the first hit in the store. "In August last year, the average daily sales of this triangle scarf reached more than 300 pieces."

This popularity continued until March this year, and sales continued to double.

"For the same style, the average daily sales this year has reached more than 700 pieces. On March 14 this year, taking advantage of the popularity of Women's Day, more than 1,000 pieces were sold in one day." Zheng Qingfeng currently divides the store's product lines into three: sunglasses, hats, and triangular scarves, each accounting for about 30%. The product matrix is ​​adjusted according to seasonality. "Although the triangular scarf does not account for a high proportion of sales, its sales volume is very high because its average customer price is only about 13 yuan, which is lower than other items."

As the popularity of triangle scarves grew, Zheng Qingfeng clearly felt that more and more businesses were entering the triangle scarf market.

Last October, the factory owner who was in contact with Zheng Qingfeng advised him to stock up more. "But firstly, we estimated that the peak sales season for triangular scarves might be spring and summer. Secondly, we were doing a financial accounting at the time and didn't want to put too much pressure on funds, so we didn't listen to him." Unexpectedly, the triangular scarves were out of stock at the end of the year. "The feedback from the factory at the time was that the corresponding fabrics were out of supply."

After the spring, seeing the sales trend continue to rise, Zheng Qingfeng quickly contacted the factory. "Originally, we prepared a week's supply. This time, without his reminder, we prepared for more than half a month. Because everyone is afraid of running out of stock." Zheng Qingfeng also noticed that the purchase price has become lower, a few cents cheaper per order. "With more factories doing this, the price will naturally go down a bit."

10 yuan is the price comfort zone for triangular scarves. After the competition became fierce, Zheng Qingfeng consciously controlled the profit margin of each single product. "Basically, we only make 1-2 yuan for each model. We also tried to increase the average customer price, but found that it was not selling well at more than 20 yuan."

After the triangular scarf became popular, some upgraded styles also emerged in the market. For example, since this year, the "knitting fever" has brought the crochet triangular scarf to the fore. Some young people who prefer handicrafts have begun to buy "triangular scarf DIY material kits", and merchants selling material kits have also started to sell thousands of orders per month. After noticing that many girls are not good at wearing triangular scarves and turn into "wolf grandmothers" in seconds after wearing them, a triangular scarf combined with a headband has become popular. The triangular scarf headbands sold more than 20,000 pieces per month at the Tiantian Special Sale Factory Store.

From the headscarf you wore when you were young to the stage, it has evolved into a "magic tool for taking photos", and the triangle scarf once again proves that "fashion is a cycle."

Zheng Qingfeng is planning to launch more styles of triangular scarves, such as more colorful triangular scarves in the style of PAM, and triangular scarves with simple and elegant plaid patterns. Since this year, the exquisite matching of accessories, from butt curtains, crocheted belts to triangular scarves, is becoming an important item for young people to show their personality and style. Before the arrival of summer vacation, Zheng Qingfeng felt that in addition to seasonal items such as sunscreen masks, triangular scarves, which also have a certain sun protection effect but are more breathable and beautiful to wear, will usher in a new sales peak season.

Author: Wang Yaqis asked

Source: E-commerce Online (ID: 1089127)