In the industry of fake shoes, you may have heard of Putian shoes. Do you know why they are called Putian shoes and what Putian means?
Putian is actually a city in China, located in Fujian Province. As an industrial belt for fake shoes has been formed here, there are many factories and small family workshops making fake shoes throughout the city.
In this article, I would like to introduce to you the secrets behind Putian shoes and the cities that support the development of Putian shoes.
Why Putian Became the Capital of Fake Sneakers Workshops?
Putian city is located on the coast of Fujian province, across the Taiwan Strait from Taiwan.
Due to its superior geographical location, in the 1980s, some large sporting companies, such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma, gradually set up manufacturing and processing bases in Putian.
This also greatly moved the development of the local shoemaking industry in Putian. Putian can always know the trend of shoes for the first time and obtain samples of brand shoes locally. This laid the foundation for their manufacture of fake shoes.
Meanwhile, Putian’s development pattern is similar to that of Zhejiang. In the 1980s, you could find many small family-owned workshops in Putian, and these are the forerunners of some of today’s imitation factories.
As there is a huge profit margin in counterfeit and genuine shoes, more and more Putian people join the team making fake shoes. At the same time, the manufacturing of fake shoes has gradually become a pillar of urban culture and industry in Putian.
After entering the 21st century, with the development of E-commerce in China, Putian is also known by more and more people, including people from other cities in China and international buyers. Putian is also known as “The Fake Shoes Workshop Capital”.
Learn 5 Grades of Putian Shoes Before Contacting China Shoe Factory
Although Putian shoes are all fake shoes, there are different grades of fake shoes due to the manufacturing process and the raw materials.
Local manufacturers in Putian traditionally classify fake shoes into five different grades of quality. And in the fake shoe industry, each grade has its own Chinese name.
Since these names are mainly used for communication between fake shoe manufacturers and retailers, they are all in Chinese and there is no English equivalent. The names listed here are simply Chinese pinyin.
Tong Huo(通货), the cheapest Putian fake shoes
As the name suggests, Tonghuo is the cheapest fake shoe in the Putian market. Its price is around 100 RMB.
These shoes only imitate some of the designs of brand shoes, but their materials and workmanship are very different, so they can be easily identified as fake shoes.
Some of these shoes will be supplied to retailers in China, who will sell them through Taobao or Wechat. The other part will be sold in Southeast Asia, Africa, and other markets.
Chao A(超 A), the most common shoes you can see
Chao A shoes are more delicate in workmanship than Tonghuo shoes. They are consistent with the authentic ones in appearance. However, the actual fabrics are quite different.
If you compare the real shoes with the Chao A shoes, you can tell.
Such shoes are very popular on Taobao. These are the kind of shoes you usually find on Taobao.
Zhen Biao(真标), defective goods, aka Putian shoe quality watershed
Zhen Biao shoes are also made mainly in small workshops. The cost of Zhen Biao shoes is about 200 RMB in China.
Zhen Biao shoes are made of the same or similar fabric as genuine shoes, so it is difficult to tell the difference, especially for inexperienced buyers.
But some details, such as the size, stitching, and feel of the shoes are different from the real thing.
Gong Si Ji(公司级), is similar to the real one, same materials but different factory
Gong Si Ji is the most authentic fake shoe on the market. They are all 1:1 height according to genuine shoes. Fabrics and workmanship are high imitations of genuine shoes.
You can think of it this way. Nike needs to produce a batch of shoes in China. They have two candidate factories, one is shoe factory A, and the other is shoe factory B.
The equipment, technology, and fabric of both shoe factories are in line with Nike’s requirements for shoe production. Finally, Nike chose to cooperate with shoe factory A among the two factories.
However, shoe factory B is also fully capable of producing such Nike shoes, but their products are not authorized by Nike, so shoes produced by shoe factory B are not Nike’s products, but in essence, the products of shoe factory A and shoe factory B are both high-quality products.
If shoe manufacturer B is also licensed by Nike, then their shoes are Nike’s genuine shoes. If Nike didn’t license their shoes, they would be Gong Si Ji grade fake shoes.
In China, Gong Si Ji shoes are sold at around 300-400 RMB.
Chun Yuan(纯原), 100% reproduction of real shoes
Chunyuan is the highest version of fake shoes on the market. It’s already competing with the real thing.
The version of Chun Yuan shoes is consistent with the authentic shoe version. Even official channels of inspection are hard to distinguish. Chun Yuan shoes are about 500-600 RMB.
How Are the Ultra-realistic Putian Fake Sneakers Produced?
In Putian city, you can find fake shoe manufacturers and small workshops all the time. Behind the “international” local indigenous brands like “Panix” and “Nev Buylane”, you would see rows of high imitation shoes lined up, and even the producer can’t tell the difference.
A person in charge of a shoe factory in Putian revealed that they prepared research funds for each pair of shoes of the brand.
Typically, the manufacturer buys two pairs of brand shoes, one of which is taken apart to study the fabric and manufacturing process. Another pair of shoes was used to replicate the comparison until the difference was invisible to the naked eye.
In the early exploration stage, they figured out the whole manufacturing process of genuine shoes by reverse studying the disassembled shoes and established their own production process.
They are constantly making samples of fake shoes on this production line. These samples will be compared with the original shoes. In comparison, the manufacturer can find flaws in the manufacturing process and constantly improve them until the imitation shoe is indistinguishable from the original shoe, and a high-quality fake shoe is born.
Because the sample study of the fake shoes is successful, they will put the production of the mass to meet the buyer’s demand for fake shoes.
Putian fake shoe manufacturers always follow in the footsteps of brand companies. If Nike releases a new shoe today, you can expect to find a copy of it in the Putian shoe market in a week or two.
4 Channels to Find Putian Shoes for Your Business
Local Workshops & Factories in Putian City
Many of Putian’s fake shoe factories are concentrated in the local shoe-making belt. You can simply ask the locals where these industrial belts are and take a taxi there.
But since you are visiting the manufacturer on your own at the manufacturing site, this is considered more abrupt by Chinese businessmen. They’ll also be wary of you since fake shoes are a touchy subject.
The best way to do this is to ask a reliable local to refer you to the factory or refer the factory to you. In this way, you are introduced to the manufacturer through a familiar middleman.
In the manufacturer’s opinion, you are more reliable and they are more willing to establish a business relationship with you and introduce you to their products.
It is somewhat important to note that factories and small workshops are direct manufacturers, so they are required to MOQ. Generally speaking, their cooperation mode is wholesale. If you want to retail from them or dropshipping, they are not willing to do it.
Unless you can convince them that working with you, even retail or dropshipping can cover all of their production costs and still make an objective profit.
Motivated by such interests, they may consider working with you through such a dropshipping.
Local Wholesalers in Putian
Local factories and small workshops are mainly responsible for the production of shoes. For distribution channels, they usually choose to cooperate with local wholesalers.
So if you want to wholesale fake shoes from Putian, China, your best bet is to work with these distributors.
These distributors and manufacturers have established good long-term relationships. They wholesale the fake shoes directly from the manufacturer (usually hundreds or thousands of pairs) and store them in their own warehouses, then they break them up into small batches.
Since the fake shoe wholesalers are not under the pressure of cost, they are willing to cooperate in the mode of retail or dropshipping. In their view, they don’t have to rely on volume to cover costs. Even in retail, as long as a pair of shoes is profitable, they are willing to take that part of the profit.
Of course, if you buy in bulk (say 100-200 pairs), they are also very happy. That means they can run down inventory more quickly, get money back, and put it to work on new purchases.
E-commerce Selling Channels
With the development of E-commerce, more and more Putian people are selling Putian fake shoes through online E-commerce platforms. Taobao and Wechat are recommended here.
The advantage of the E-commerce platform is that you can directly see the image of fake shoes, and there is price information. And you don’t have to worry about MOQ, because these shoes are for retail.
That means dropshipping is ok. But they can only deal with the destination in China. If you want to send it directly to your customers (not in China), it won’t work.
China Sourcing Agent
The sourcing agent itself is not a channel, it is just a guy who collects a summary of the above information.
Sometimes these sales channels are not always transparent, which means they are hard to find. But the sourcing agents are all Chinese people in China, and they have many contacts who can introduce such resources.
As mentioned earlier, people in the shoe business are wary, and they tend to work with people they know. So to successfully contact the wholesalers, you also need a common contact.
Besides, the biggest benefit of a sourcing agent is to help you deliver the goods to you or your customers and deal with any problems of your business in China.
The one-stop sourcing service of the sourcing agent can help you directly realize the whole process of fake shoes from Chinese wholesalers to your end customers.
FAQs About Putian Shoes
1. Is it illegal to sell fake shoes?
To be honest, selling fake shoes is illegal. Such behavior infringes the interests of brand shoe companies.
It’s like selling Disney products on Amazon. You just made the product according to Disney’s pattern, but you are not authorized by Disney to sell the product. So you’re breaking the law as far as Amazon is concerned. You can’t create a link like this on Amazon.
2. Can I get into this Putian fake shoes business ?
Although it is illegal, the profit margin of selling fake shoes is so large that people go crazy to participate in it. You can be one of them, too, if you can find reliable supply chains and transportation channels.
But these are gray areas, and you may not be able to find resources directly. Usually, these resources are introduced by acquaintances.
3. How to import Putian fake shoes from China?
The traditional model is to import bulk goods from China by sea, but this way is easy to be detected by customs due to the large quantity.
So now the fake shoe business is built on dropshipping channels. The business owner will ask the agent in China to send the fake shoes directly to the customer by express, such as DHL.
This kind of behavior is more like sending express between, and does not involve commercial behavior, so the package can easily pass the customs inspection.
But these are still fake shoes, and there are always potential risks.
4. How can I distinguish luxury fashion from imitation shoes?
Some imitation sneakers are instantly obvious, while others aren’t. A huge number of individuals stand to profit from the sale of imitation sneakers, and the “quality” of the fakes is far from equal.
If you see that your Adidas sneakers are missing one of the three stripes, then the Nike logo will appear like a hangover, and your Vans’ waffle sole will be flimsier, watch out.
Also, just by looking at the box, you can determine whether it’s genuine. If there are indications of damage, you should check it out. Look for any indications in stickers.
Most companies all use the same format, font, and spacing. Make sure to pay attention to discrepancies in space between words or characters, as well as the different levels of detail.