Wheely good ideas

Yet, Song got dismissed by the store's manager.

"We were not exactly a household name, and the price was a bit steep," he says.

Thinking on his feet, Song came up with a cunning plan. He started demonstrating the functions of his brand-new stroller on the overpass right outside the mall, grabbing the attention of passersby.

"When they asked me where I got it, I told them it was from the store," he says.

As time went by, an increasing number of people were inquiring after his products at the store, which eventually convinced the store of their sales potential.

"It was the key which opened up all the channels," he says.

That first breakthrough made things easier for Song's products to find their way into major shopping malls across the country, and sales began to rocket.

In 1991, Song paid off the debt, and two years later, Goodbaby strollers raked in 110 million yuan in sales, ranking first among its peers.

Just when Song thought he was able to rest on his laurels and enjoy his success, a German client gave him a rude awakening.

He told Song that plants abroad had automatic production lines, with higher efficiency and a more consistent product quality, while almost everything in Song's plant was manual.

It prompted Song to check out the international competition.

After seeing an automated stroller production line during a visit to Japan in 1992, Song decided that something needed to be done back home.

"My goal was to improve, not to make money, because we would have no market if those good foreign goods were here," he says.

However, his initial plan of introducing a Japanese production line and joining forces with foreign capital investors both hit the wall, but, it was Song's innovation that once again solved the problem.

The United States' second biggest baby products company, Cosco, decided to partner with Song after he developed a stroller where the cradle could swing both in an arch and a linear trajectory.

"It took both sides 15 minutes to hammer out a deal," Song says.

"Every year since then, we roll out new products, and all of them are revolutionary," Song states proudly.

To date, products from the joint venture have proved incredibly successful in the US. From there, it was plain sailing for Song to make inroads in the European market.

Song, however, was not satisfied, because his products were popular in overseas market, but his brand was not.