Ahead of the arrival of the Paris Olympics on 26 July, Yiwu in China’s Zhejiang Province was already experiencing a surge in orders for sporting goods. Known as the world’s ‘largest small-commodity distribution centre’, Yiwu saw its total import and export value exceed 300 billion RMB (approx. 41.38 billion USD) for the first time in the first half of 2024. Among these, sporting goods and equipment exports reached 5.02 billion RMB (approx. 0.69 billion USD), marking a 42.3% increase YoY.
Notably, one million official bracelets for the Paris Olympics, produced by a Yiwu handicraft company, was unveiled in Paris on 19 July. These bracelets, divided into two batches, have already arrived in Paris, capturing market attention before the Games’ opened. The Weibo topic #Yiwu 1 million bracelets rush to Paris# gained 1.89 billion views.
Yiwu International Trade City, spanning 6.4 million square metres, houses over 800 sporting goods shops. The third district, in particular, is densely populated with shops offering various models of footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, diverse styles of sports apparel, fitness equipment, and colourful sports accessories and protective gear. Not to mention it is bustling with international buyers.
The Yiwu International Sports and Leisure Products Expo and Outdoor Products Exhibition, held in June this year, attracted 51K professional buyers over three days, an 87% increase, including 603 foreign merchants. The exhibition turnover reached 170 million RMB (approx. 23.46 million USD), a 70% increase.
Beyond traditional offline channels, the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has become the main method for Yiwu sporting goods merchants to secure orders. On Weibo hot searches, it was revealed that many Olympic Games customised goods come from Yiwu: #Paris Olympics table tennis balls from China#, #90% of Paris Olympic mascots were made in China#, etc.
Chen Xianchun, general manager of Jinzun Sports and Cultural Products Co Ltd, involved in the trophy and medal business, commented: ‘For large-scale events like the Olympics, although we don’t receive direct orders from the organising committee, these events still bring incremental growth to our business. Customers placed orders at the end of last year and the beginning of this year for the Paris Olympics, and the relevant orders have been delivered.’
In addition to supporting events like the Olympics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Yiwu supplies about 80% of the world’s Christmas gifts. Furthermore, during the 2016 US election, despite most people underestimating Donald Trump, Yiwu received a significant number of orders from his supporters in the US, including hats, banners, mugs, and other campaign products, far exceeding orders related to Hillary. This surge in orders, dubbed the ‘Yiwu Index’, coincided with Trump’s election victory.
Yiwu’s ability to seize business opportunities is attributed to 40 years of market operation experience, high market sensitivity, responsiveness, and strong organisational and supply capacity. These core elements have enabled many products from Yiwu to become popular both nationally and globally.
