On December 1, the opening ceremony of the 2019 China (Jinhua) Internet-Famous Fishing Competition and the Internet-Famous Fishing Summit Forum, themed "Beautiful Jinhua, Flowers Fill Wucheng," was grandly held in Wucheng District, Jinhua City. Over 200 top anglers from across the country, national-level fishing masters, and internet-famous figures in the fishing community gathered to discuss the development of fishing as a sport, the digital economy in fishing, the industry ecosystem, and cultural trends, jointly kicking off a feast of "entertainment and fishing." The successful hosting of this internet-famous fishing competition marks the move into the practical stage of Wucheng District’s industrial layout to establish Jinhua as China’s new landmark for "China’s Fishing City."
As the operating entity of the 2019 China (Jinhua) Internet-Famous Fishing Competition—Jinhua Meichen Trading Co., Ltd., leveraging the brand strength of its Jiadiaoni fishing gear, its capabilities in organizing fishing competitions, and its integration of the digital economy, became the leading enterprise in implementing Wucheng District’s fishing industry plan, supporting the development of characteristic tourism in the town. Seizing this opportunity, Jiadiaoni’s strategic layout to build a new blueprint for the fishing ecosystem also officially surfaced.
Jiadiaoni: The “E-commerce Giant” in the Fishing Gear Industry
Founded in 2009, Jinhua Meichen Trading Co., Ltd. was established by founder Xie Xiaozhong, a post-85s entrepreneur. Having been exposed to the internet since childhood, Xie regarded internet tycoons like Jack Ma and Pony Ma as his idols. An avid angler himself, he turned his entrepreneurial vision toward “internet + fishing gear.” Using internet thinking to reshape the traditional fishing gear industry and develop the best and most cost-effective fishing gear products for hundreds of millions of fishing enthusiasts became Xie’s biggest dream—thus, the earliest internet-based e-commerce fishing gear brand in China, “Jiadiaoni,” was born.
“Over ten years ago, there were very few fishing gear brands that primarily sold through e-commerce. First, it was hard to break away from traditional sales channels; second, people didn’t understand online communication skills and found it too difficult to engage with consumers online. To break into the market, our customer service staff often hung out in fishing enthusiast QQ groups and promoted our e-commerce products at reservoirs where anglers gathered,” Xie Xiaozhong said in a media interview. Professionalism and focus were the “remedies” to solving these challenges. The Jiadiaoni team actively learned e-commerce marketing techniques, studied the online consumption habits of fishing enthusiasts, gradually established norms for e-commerce marketing and communication in the fishing gear sector, and the Jiadiaoni fan base continued to grow, making it one of the first domestic internet fishing gear brands to exceed 100 million yuan in sales.
Currently, Jinhua Meichen Trading Co., Ltd. has grown into a large enterprise integrating fishing gear R&D, production, and sales. Its brands include Jiadiaoni, Xincheng, and Huoli, with product lines covering fishing rods, tackle boxes, rod holders, landing nets, fishing chairs, and various fishing accessories. In 2010, Jiadiaoni began exporting its products, reaching ten countries including the United States, Canada, France, and Japan; in 2018, Jiadiaoni pioneered the new retail trend in the fishing gear industry by enabling online payment with offline pickup; in 2019, Jiadiaoni increased its support for live streaming and launched a plan to cultivate internet-famous streamers.
In Xie Xiaozhong’s view, continuous innovation is key to the success of an e-commerce brand. First is product innovation. To make fishing more convenient and comfortable for consumers and address user pain points such as the difficulty and fatigue of fishing and the fragility of fishing rods, in recent years Jiadiaoni has introduced new technologies and materials such as eight-layer carbon fiber processes and high-density carbon fiber, making fishing gear more resilient and durable. Second is content marketing innovation. In the context of the internet, Jiadiaoni has become an “internet-famous IP” in the fishing gear e-commerce space. In recent years, the company has launched industry public welfare blockbusters like “Fishing Journey” and new-style fishing instruction columns like “Best Fishing Techniques,” leading innovation in content marketing within the industry.
Ecosystem: Expanding from Manufacturer to Service Provider
In recent years, driven by emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G, as well as social media, internet giants have been crossing industries and transforming, with platformization and ecosystems becoming key terms. After the eras of product competition and industrial chain competition, the socio-economic landscape is entering an era of commercial ecosystem competition. Based on insights into industry trends, Jiadiaoni proposed the concept of a “fishing +” industrial ecosystem, creating a new business model of “fishing gear products + fishing competitions + cultural tourism services” to empower the digital economy development of enterprises. Among these, transitioning into a fishing competition operator is Jiadiaoni’s first step.
Building on Jiadiaoni’s years of experience in the fishing industry, its accumulated network, and content innovation expertise, the 2019 China (Jinhua) Internet-Famous Fishing Competition hosted by Jiadiaoni was a vibrant event featuring exciting elements such as the internet-famous fishing competition, live streaming, social interaction, specialty product exhibitions, and fishing culture displays. Guests including representatives from the Chinese Angling Association, Happy Fishing Channel of Hunan Broadcasting System, Beijing TV’s Four Seas Fishing Channel, Alibaba Sports, Tmall Outdoor, Today’s Headlines Sports, and Douyin Outdoor, as well as dozens of national-level fishing masters, internet-famous fishing personalities with millions of followers, and entertainment stars, added star power to the event.
It is reported that the hosting of this internet-famous fishing competition is also a special case and an experiment within the sequence of the China National Fishing Tournament. In form, it aims to build a platform through the participants of the fishing event to give ordinary anglers a deeper understanding of fishing as a sport, and to create a window for fishing enthusiasts nationwide to learn about the charming city of Jinhua. Next month, the finals of the China National Fishing Tournament will be held in Dongfang City, Hainan Province, and the winners of this internet-famous fishing competition will automatically qualify for the finals.
“We are not only professional fishing gear manufacturers, but also professional organizers and operators of fishing competitions,” said Xie Xiaozhong. Jiadiaoni has assisted Alibaba’s Sports & Outdoors Fishing category in establishing product specifications and industry standards, successfully operated the International Grand Round Pond Super Cup competition, and possesses advantageous resources in the fishing industry along with successful experience in event operations. It can also leverage internet sales platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and Pinduoduo, collaborate with live streaming platforms like Yingke, Douyin, and Kuaishou to provide official traffic support, maintain long-term strategic partnerships with “Happy Fishing” and “Four Seas Fishing,” and has a wealth of internet-famous streamer resources across the fishing industry. With capabilities for promotion through various online and offline channels, Jiadiaoni has the core strengths to build a truly premium pan-digital entertainment fishing exhibition platform.
Combining the establishment of Jinhua’s new landmark as “China’s Fishing City” with Jiadiaoni’s new blueprint for the fishing ecosystem, and participating in and promoting regional industrial development, is an essential path for modern enterprises to grow stronger. Creating a leisure fishing base rich in Central Zhejiang’s fishing culture, attracting sustained and long-term tourism to Jinhua, supporting the development of characteristic tourism in the town, and making Jinhua a destination that integrates tourism, leisure fishing, and water sports is the next dream of Xie Xiaozhong and Jiadiaoni.