Zhang Yunlan, president of Red Collar, says that she was compelled by her duty as a daughter to help her father run the business. provided to china daily

Zhang Yunlan, the president of menswear manufacturer Red Collar, says that her company’s success is down to her father’s impeccable foresight and the willingness to embrace technology at a time when only a few were willing to

Unlike many others who have insisted that their children take over the reins of the family business, Zhang Daili was supportive of his children’s wishes to pursue their own interests in life.

But when he struggled to find a professional manager in his menswear manufacturing company Red Collar in 2006, he tried his luck by approaching his daughter Zhang Yunlan, who had just a year ago completed a joint bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Business in Canada.

The latter, who was at that time already working for a Shanghai-based company, willingly took up the challenge and has since witnessed how Red Collar has undergone a stunning transformation from a traditional manufacturer to a modern platform for customized menswear.

“I didn’t hesitate at all and immediately said yes to my father, who rarely asks me for help. I have the responsibility to support my father and his business to which he has given his all for decades,” said Zhang.

Located in Qingdao, Shandong province, Red Collar has been one of China’s leading producers of menswear since the country began its economic reform and opened up to the world in the early 1980s.

While many of China’s manufacturers are still focused on producing large quantities of goods for cheap, Red Collar had decided to upgrade its operations and keep up with the constantly changing trends in the global market.

It has since 2003 ploughed more than 30 billion yuan ($4.57 billion) in a move to embrace what Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had in 2015 dubbed the Internet Plus strategy — the integration of cloud computing technology, big data and the Internet of Things into manufacturing.

Internet Plus was one of the elements in the “Made in China 2025” plan that was unveiled in 2015. The plan aims to transform China’s manufacturing sector into a high-tech and efficient one that has a lower environmental impact. One of the strategies in the plan is for domestic manufacturers to achieve technological breakthroughs across a number of emerging industries in order to produce value-added goods.

Zhang said that much of Red Collar’s success today is down to her father’s foresight to invest heavily in research and design.

“My father had accurately predicted the future of the manufacturing sector and decided to make investments to upgrade the traditional structure of our company to catch up with the emerging trends in tailor-made products 13 years ago,” said Zhang, who had worked in different departments within Red Collar before becoming its president in 2015.

“Our online platform, called Magic Factory, demonstrates how one of the oldest professions can be transformed by cloud computing and big data. This platform enables us to better understand the unique demands of each client and tailor our products accordingly,” she added. She also plans to set up an R&D center in Shanghai to further upgrade the products.

Red Collar currently has a database with information on dressing style preferences for more than 2.2 million people. It has also developed its own Source Data Engineering (SDE) application which speeds up the manufacturing process, using it alongside 3D printing technology and hi-tech machinery in its four factories to better cater to increasingly individualized demands from its global clients.

Today, Red Collar hires about 3,000 employees and has an annual sales volume of 1 million sets of clothing. The company also makes more than 3,000 tailored garments daily for its clients in New York and plans to double such customized productions in the future.

Earlier this year, Red Collar took another big step forward when it inked agreements with more than 30 enterprises, allowing them to use the company’s SDE tool which will help them to produce customized goods that will be sold on Red Collar’s platform.

“We have reaped a bountiful harvest from our investments in technology and we would now like to share it with other companies and expand the platform, which is expected to receive orders valued more than 10 billion yuan within two to three years,” said Zhang.

yuran@chinadaily.com.cn