A man brings his umbrellas to consumers' hearts

Recently, a set of video clips featuring a man showcasing umbrellas with various creative designs has gone viral on the internet, even spreading overseas and attracting foreign netizens with the unimaginable "Chinese creativity", CCTV news reported.

In the clips, there are shining laser reflective umbrellas to dispel darkness, umbrellas with floor-length plastic curtains to prevent ones clothes from getting soaked, twin umbrellas specially designed for couples and many others. All of them are made by the man in the clips, Lei Penglin.

38-year-old Lei has operated an umbrella factory in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. Netizens affectionately call him "uncle" due to his performances in the clips.

Lei has worked in umbrella factories since his youth, undertaking almost every job in the factory. He can tell the craft and the approximate price of any umbrella by just weighing it in his hands.

In 2014, Lei established his own factory. At first, his factory received thousands of orders. However, as the competition intensified, Lei had to explore new opportunities.

He found that creative and unique products always stood out. Therefore, Lei started to infuse creative ideas into the products and, in 2022, his umbrella with an attached flashlight gained popularity.

"Consumers pursue personalized products. So the umbrellas have to function as decorations aside from just preventing sunshine and rain," Lei said.

In the comment section of the product videos, Lei noticed an interesting request with many likes, suggesting to him to make a reflective umbrella for walking in the dark. Following the advice, Lei created the "laser reflective umbrella", selling over 70,000 units once upon release. From then on, Lei started to attach great importance to comments to absorb new ideas.

Presently, Lei spends several hours reading comments every day. "Basically 300 to 500 comments a day, I will read and reply to them all by myself. Only by carefully observing can I know everyone's need, and solve the after-selling problems on time," he said.

Several products developed based on the comments have been on shelf. "Almost all the umbrellas made so far can be sold, none have incurred loss," Lei introduced.

In the future, Lei hopes to make some Chinese-style umbrellas that can be paired with Han-style clothing. "I want to try something new and also advocate for our Chinese culture," Lei added.