Orolay Down Jacket Made in Jiaxing Enjoys Unexpected Popularity in New York

Liang Yingjie

Orolay， a Chinese brand of a womens down jacket designed and made in Jiaxing in northern Zhejiang， has enjoyed unexpected popularity in  in the last two years. On March 27， 2018， a story titled “The Unlikely Tale of a $ 140 Amazon Coat thats Taken Over the Upper East Side” published in New York magazine traced how some women in Upper East Side of New York first fell for such a good down jacket for such a price and how the fine reputation spread gradually through word of mouth. It was early in 2018. As the winter that spanned 2018 and 2019 was brutally cold in America， Orolay thickened down coat became the most popular coat of the season and it took over New York City.

The other day， I had a phone interview with Qiu Jiawei， CEO of Jiaxing Zichi Trade， a business that makes this Orolay down jacket product line. The company started its e-commerce business on Amazon in 2013. This makes it one of the first online exporters in China. The business runs three product lines on Amazon： down jacket， furniture （folding chairs， storage cabinets and wall-mounted tables）， and suitcases. Down jacket accounts for 80% of the annual transactions， explains the young entrepreneur born in the 1980s. When he started down jacket business on Amazon， he had the slightest idea that he would become Amazons number one seller in the category of clothing. This is really something， for Amazon has more than 150 million brands in this category. In the first year， Orolay sold just over 400 down jackets.

He apparently felt the surge of sales two or three days after  printed the story. “But back then， the sales were already strong. The surge didnt affect the general picture， but it spread the word about our brand，” recalls Qiu.

As the cold winter swept the United States， the demand for Orolay really surged. Qiu Jiawei and his team didnt have time to respond to the demand. They worked hard to supply. And they had to deliver down jackets by air to USA buyers. Orolay sold fast. “Since December 2018 up to now， we havent been able to keep our supply fast enough，” sighs Qiu.

Orolay羽絨衣。Orolay down jacket

Birth of Orolay

When Qiu started his business， he wanted to produce a European-styled down jacket for domestic consumers. When he turned to overseas market， he simply translated the brand into Orolay. He found that down jackets in the North America are largely designed for outdoor sports buffs. Many sportswear brands emphasize features for outdoor weather， but more often than not， they are far from fashionable. So he wanted a down jacket that keeps warm， emphasizes good quality， and displays fashion elements.

The fashion part came from Qius wife， who had worked as a fashion designer before she met Qiu. In 2016， Orolay set up a design center where Qius wife is in charge. At the center， new products are developed for the North American market. “We train our own fashion designers. It is very difficult to find experienced designers for the market in North America，” says Qiu Jiawei. “At present， our focus is on research and development.”

Since November 2018， Qiu Jiawei has visited New York twice. He went there to see how popular his own brand was in New York. “I felt great when I saw people wear our down jackets，” he recalls. He will visit New York again soon， in the hope that he can set up a retail network in partnership with local retailers. Qiu aims to establish a world brand. Now he is looking forward to promoting the brand in Europe. Toward the end of 2018， his business sold some Orolay down jackets in Europe. The sales numbers look promising. He plans to market more products in Europe this year. However， he isnt upbeat about the domestic market. Orolay doesnt sell well on Taobao， an online retail platform operated by Alibaba， the worlds biggest e-business based in Hangzhou.