The Journey of a Laid-Off Female Worker to Becoming a Fashion Queen

　　Focus on women’s entrepreneurship

　　Following Liu Wanfeng, Chairwoman of Kunming Fengling Garment Co., Ltd., through the company’s entrance, the eye‑catching “Fengming Apparel” logo—red background with yellow lettering—conveys a warm, reassuring impression. A three‑story building stands tall in the modest courtyard, its walls adorned with corporate slogans such as “A Trailblazer in Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Journey of Growth” and “Quality We All Deliver—Customers Stay, Never Leave.” As you tour the well‑organized production workshops, the product showroom brimming with an impressive array of clothing and headwear, and the neatly arranged office spaces, it’s hard to imagine that this is the very same enterprise that began in a tiny 9‑square‑meter room.

　　Starting from a 9-square-meter tailor shop

　　After graduating in 1992 from the sewing program at the city’s No. 21 Secondary Vocational High School, Liu Wanfeng was assigned to work at Kunming Hongqi Garment Factory, a state-owned enterprise. At that time, the country was undergoing a sweeping transition from a planned economy to a market economy, and she faced the prospect of unemployment. For Liu Wanfeng, who had come from the depths of the mountains, this was a severe blow, forcing her to return home and resume the traditional way of life—working from sunrise to sunset under the scorching sun. “I couldn’t accept it; my parents were heartbroken too. I was determined to carve out my own path with my own two hands,” Liu Wanfeng recalled firmly. Indeed, every endeavor is a mix of opportunity and challenge. In 1996, she took the initiative to resign, bringing home the “Butterfly” brand treadle sewing machine her parents had purchased with ration coupons, and set up shop in Shizha Village, Xinying Community. Renting a tiny 9-square-meter storefront, she put her school‑learned garment‑making skills to use, starting by cutting and sewing clothes herself and tailoring garments for others. Thus began Liu Wanfeng’s arduous entrepreneurial journey. “As the saying goes, ‘The beginning is always the hardest’—and I truly felt its meaning back then,” she said with a self‑deprecating smile. Yet, the spirit of “women are no less capable than men” was vividly embodied in Liu Wanfeng. “Just one day before my child was due, I was still riding my bicycle to deliver orders; and three days after giving birth, I left the hospital without even taking the customary postpartum rest. As soon as I got home, I’d be busy making clothes for customers, working day and night—it was all routine.” Recalling those moments that now seem almost unbelievable, Liu Wanfeng reflected wistfully: “No matter how hard or exhausting it was, I couldn’t afford to give up. Besides, once you’ve drawn the bow, there’s no turning back—there was no way out, so I just gritted my teeth and pushed through.” Effort eventually paid off. Though profits from her small business were modest, thanks to her natural talent for fashion design and superb tailoring skills, after two years of relentless hard work, she gradually won the trust and recognition of her customers, gaining a modest reputation around Xinying. As her understanding of clothing design and production deepened and customer orders kept growing, the idea of expanding “Fengling Little Shop” into “Fengling Garment Factory” naturally emerged.

　　Rumors, far from harming a company, often end up amplifying its reputation.

　　In September 2002, Liu Wanfeng’s long‑awaited “Kunming Fengling Garment Co., Ltd.” was officially approved and registered by the Kunming Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce. This marked another major step forward on her entrepreneurial journey, as the business transitioned from a small garment workshop into a labor‑intensive enterprise centered on apparel production. By then already gaining some recognition under the name “Fengming,” in addition to fulfilling orders for its established retail customers, Liu Wanfeng began taking on bulk production contracts for work uniforms across various industries and for companies of all sizes. The path of entrepreneurship is always fraught with both opportunities and challenges. Just as Liu Wanfeng and her “Fengling” were flourishing, tangible and intangible obstacles soon followed. In 2003, SARS swept across much of China. Some unscrupulous merchants seized the chance to spread rumors that masks were the most effective means of isolating against SARS, driving up prices for masks and related goods. In response, the government swiftly implemented a series of measures to stabilize prices, including a ban on garment factories hoarding large quantities of white cotton fabric or monopolizing the production of masks and related products to disrupt market order. However, as the saying goes, “the tree that stands out in the forest will surely be struck by the wind.” Just as Liu Wanfeng was purchasing a substantial batch of white cotton to rush‑produce a new line of garments, a rival competitor fabricated an unfounded accusation, claiming that “Fengling Garment” was deliberately stockpiling white cotton to manufacture masks and speculating on price hikes. To verify the truth of these allegations, the municipal health bureau and other relevant authorities ordered “Fengling” to suspend operations for one week while conducting a thorough investigation. For Liu Wanfeng, who had always conducted herself with integrity and worked diligently, this came as a devastating blow. With a critical batch of work uniforms nearly ready for delivery, the week‑long shutdown not only prevented “Fengling” from collecting payment and fulfilling its obligations but also forced it to pay penalties for breach of contract—adding insult to injury at a time when the company desperately needed capital to keep growing. Overwhelmed by anxiety, Liu Wanfeng lost sleep and appetite, her spirits steadily wearing thin. At this juncture, her husband, Deng Bishen, offered her reassurance: “As long as you’re honest, there’s nothing to fear—the truth will prevail. Consider it free advertising.” A week later, the municipal health bureau issued its findings: “Fengling Garment” had not engaged in illegal hoarding of white cotton to produce masks, nor had it engaged in any behavior that would constitute price gouging or public mischief. As Deng Bishen predicted, “Fengling’s” reputation for honest and reliable business practices quickly spread, and the number of corporate clients seeking out “Fengming” for custom‑made uniforms grew exponentially.

　　Fengling Garment’s annual output value has reached ten million.

　　Today, Kunming Fengling Garment Co., Ltd. has grown into a leading private garment manufacturer in Kunming, producing over 120,000 sets of uniforms annually and achieving an annual output value of 10 million yuan. The company has successfully supplied nearly one million work uniforms to a host of well-known provincial enterprises and public institutions, including Kunming Iron & Steel Group, Yunnan Honghe Tobacco Group, China Mobile Yunnan Branch, China Southern Power Grid Yunnan Branch, Dali Tobacco Group, Yixintang Pharmaceutical Group, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, and Yan’an Hospital of Kunming City, with its designs and quality earning widespread acclaim. “Only continuous learning can ensure we don’t get left behind by the tide of social development,” is the phrase Liu Wanfeng repeats most often in interviews. She herself has never ceased to pursue further education, having attended the Kunming Women’s Federation’s Ninth Training Program for Women Leaders in Innovation, professional manager training, and Tsinghua University’s Advanced Program in Modern Economic Management, all of which she completed with certificates. The Women’s Federation also recommended her to the School of Business and Tourism at Yunnan University, where she became a participant in the “Women’s Dream‑Realization” project—a free initiative jointly offered by Yunnan University and Goldman Sachs to support female entrepreneurs. She has also been honored with titles such as Municipal Leader in Women’s Innovation and Kunming City Entrepreneurship and Employment Mentor. In recent years, Fengling Garment has experienced rapid business growth, repeatedly undertaking the production of work uniforms for major and medium-sized enterprises and public institutions across the province. Yet this expansion has made it even more imperative for Fengling to continually innovate its design philosophy and elevate its corporate management standards.