African Gold Rush: My Wig Business in Africa

“When the ship carrying wigs had just arrived at a Nigerian port, a large crowd of locals had already gathered there. As unloading began, to prevent others from snatching, some people sat down on the cargo containers, while even more people started fighting fiercely to grab the goods — the winners proudly carried their goods away; the losers, wiping the blood from their noses, left with resentment.”

This wasn't a scramble for weapons or treasures; in a report by 'NetEase E-commerce', what was depicted was the enthusiastic pursuit of wigs by African people.

▲ Black people generally have sparse hair, and if they braid it, it's almost always a wig.

In the vast and largely uncultivated virgin land of Africa, countless wealth opportunities are hidden.

Visible opportunities include abundant natural resources like gold, copper ore, crude oil... But more are invisible, such as selling wigs.

The young men and women of Africa are no longer the tattered and unadorned figures we might imagine. Fashion, cosmetics... With economic development, they are continuously expressing their demand for beauty.

Chinese people lose hair and try various methods to prevent baldness; Africans, on the other hand, pursue beauty on their scalp by buying a beautiful wig.

In Africa, wig shops are as dense as snack bars. A high-quality wig can easily cost tens of thousands, making it a veritable 'black gold' of immense value.

And countless people have already started their 'wig gold rush' business in this magical land.

       01 Buy wigs even if you don't buy clothes

“I'm not in a good mood today, let's go shopping and buy a wig.” African girls can easily pick up a wig while shopping; their enthusiasm is like Chinese girls buying lipstick.

Wigs are a fashion statement in Africa. On African streets today, you can still see Black grandmas pushing trolleys, selling wigs along the street.

Why do Black people love wigs?

For example, every public appearance by former US First Lady Michelle Obama has always been graceful and dignified. Shoulder-length bobs, bob cuts, large black waves... they are considered fashion trends.

But in fact, these are all wigs adding to her splendor. Michelle's natural hair is fine, woolly curls, which, when grown out, turn into unrestrained 'afros.' Such 'afros' are the natural hairstyle for Black people.

Due to natural conditions, Black people's hair grows in tiny, spiral strands. This hair texture is fragile, frizzy, and difficult to manage, nor is it easy to style like straight hair. With such woolly curls, it's even hard to distinguish men from women from behind.

Black girls all want beautiful braids and often spend a fortune staying at salons for half a day, which is time-consuming and laborious. Thus, convenient and versatile wigs have become a trend.

Africans' pursuit of wigs goes beyond your imagination. A Black office lady can change three or four hairstyles a week: today it's golden curls, tomorrow black straight hair, the day after tomorrow granny grey... Girls who love beauty even sleep with wigs on, and to avoid messing up their hairstyle, they might even maintain one sleeping position all night.

In Black communities, wigs have even become a symbol of wealth. High-quality wigs can sell for tens of thousands of RMB, though wigs costing a few hundred yuan are also available.

When dating Black women, you also shouldn't casually touch their hair, because every strand is money.

Behind this phenomenon is strong data support. In 2017, China's total export of hair products was approximately 3.177 billion USD; among them, Africa was China's second-largest export destination for hair products, accounting for 34.8%.

Currently, in the African wig market, a wig is sold every two seconds on average, with market growth ranging from 100% to 300%.

       02 Wig personal shoppers getting rich

The demand for wigs has supported a group of people.

At the very upstream are naturally those who sell and collect wigs. A Chinese master craftsman, with a pair of scissors, a mirror, and a carrying pole, travels alone, venturing into the world. The hair of metropolitan girls has long been damaged by various perms, dyes, and blow-drying, making it unsuitable for secondary processing. These master craftsmen go from village to village in rural areas, traveling far into the Yunnan-Guizhou mountains, collecting the undamaged hair of young rural girls.

Generally, half a meter of black hair can be worth one to two thousand yuan per jin (500g). When resold to wig factories, it can yield a profit margin of over one hundred percent.

If there's not enough hair in China, then 'expeditions' are made to India. Poor Indian women, unable to afford offerings to temple deities, deliberately grow long hair and then donate it to temples. The temples then sell this hair, earning hundreds of millions of RMB annually.

Young people have also joined the wig industry, though they are in a more downstream position — as personal shoppers (daigou).

Some business-minded African students studying in China fulfill a large demand for wigs from beauty-loving girls in their hometowns. Before returning to their home countries, they buy a large batch of wigs from Taobao or arrange direct international shipping. An ordinary African student can earn over ten thousand yuan a month by "reselling" wigs through "buying low and selling high."

The son of an African chief studying in China is no longer content with being a purchasing agent; he wants to attract investment and set up wig factories directly in Africa.

"My father can approve a large piece of land!" said this "African prince."

Among the Chinese who ventured into Africa in earlier years, a considerable number seized the "wig opportunity."

Zhang Qiangguo is one of them. In the early 2000s, he went to South Africa to seek fortune, having run a timber processing factory, a bicycle factory, and a Chinese supermarket. However, due to large investments and difficulty communicating with local employees, none of them made a significant impact, and he even lost money.

In 2009, Zhang Qiangguo started his wig business. Initially, he only sold them sporadically in his supermarket, but they proved unexpectedly popular. After that, he closed his low-profit supermarket and opened a wig store, focusing solely on selling wigs. More people came to his store for wholesale purchases than for retail. Over ten years, Zhang Qiangguo has opened 8 chain stores locally and has become a wealthy man in the African Chinese community.

According to a Jiemian News report, a white-collar worker earning 400,000 yuan annually at a foreign company in Shanghai also gave up a comfortable and stable job and life to seek fortune in the wig industry.

       03 Chinese Wigs Go Global

When it comes to wigs, one must mention China's wig capital—Xuchang, Henan.

In 2019, China's wig exports accounted for 80% of the global wig market, and wigs produced in Xuchang accounted for half of those exports.

In Xuchang, there are over 5,000 wig workshops, and more than 200,000 Xuchang residents work in this industry. Every household here deals with wigs. In the courtyard of an ordinary farmhouse, one can see mountains of hair piled up, with two or three women sitting nearby, combing through the acquired hair.

They proudly say, "Even the U.S. President's wife wears wigs from here!"

Rebecca, the world's largest wig factory, also originated from Xuchang. Zheng Youquan, Rebecca's boss, transformed his destiny from a farmer to the richest man in Henan by selling wigs.

In the 1990s, Korean wigs dominated Europe and America. A large number of Xuchang wig factories, represented by Rebecca, manufactured for Koreans, primarily exporting to Europe and America.

Koreans put their own labels on the wigs and sold them for several times the price, with no one knowing they were "Made in China." In the wig industry chain, Chinese OEM wig factories were the least profitable and most labor-intensive part.

Later, Xuchang people delved deep into wig manufacturing craftsmanship, and combined with their price advantage, gradually replaced South Korea's position in the wig market.

In recent years, the "conquest" of Chinese wigs in the global market is even more attributed to the development of e-commerce globalization. On the international version of a certain e-commerce platform, wigs rank among the top three international sales categories, and a quick search reveals many Chinese wig enterprises have set up shops.

According to Jiemian News' report, the first wig enterprise to register on an e-commerce platform has now fully reaped the benefits.

Their products can be sold to over 80 countries worldwide through e-commerce platforms, selling more than 20 million yuan a month, with top-performing salespeople earning up to millions annually.

In the wig industry, the most lacking talent currently are those proficient in English and brand building.

Firstly, over 90% of customers are foreigners; secondly, although many Chinese wig factories produce high-quality products, they lack brand building and marketing capabilities, making it difficult to gain recognition and remain "behind-the-scenes contributors."

This seemingly simple and traditional industry actually has great potential, and what it needs most is the power of knowledgeable young people.

Three thousand strands of hair transform into ten thousand taels of gold.

Wielding "hair" as a sword, Chinese merchants are making a big "killing" globally.