Entrepreneur: Yunlong Hua
Brand Name: Unice Hair
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Xuchang, China
Annual Profit: $50 million
Today, let’s take a look at Unice Hair. It’s an E-commerce brand that is selling wigs and hair extensions. Founded by Yunlong Hua in 2007, Unice Hair is projected to hit $50 million in annual profit by 2025, positioning itself as a top-tier choice for premium hair products.
Hua was originated in Xuchang, China — widely known as the “Wig Capital of the World”. He began his career as a factory worker in the local wig industry. Spotting the rising global demand for high-quality hair products among Black women, he transitioned Unice from an OEM manufacturer into a direct-to-consumer brand, establishing a strong online presence and expanding into physical retail stores across the United States.
how Unice Hair, driven by a data-first strategy, grew into a $50 million empire?
Let’s dive into Yunlong Hua’s journey!
Table of Contents
Building Trust: Creating a High-End Brand
Yunlong Hua understood that he couldn’t compete with industry giants on budget alone. So, he decided to build a trusted, luxurious brand — even with limited resources.
He invested his savings into developing a sleek and modern e-commerce website named “Unice”. It is a blend of “unique” and “nice” to emphasize the brand’s premium quality. After months of supplier research, he partnered with wig factories in China and Brazil specializing in 100% real human hair.
By cutting out the middlemen, he was able to offer premium-quality wigs at prices between $80 and $150. It’s only 1/3 of the $300+ charged by salon brands in the US.
Product Edge: Redefining Wig Standards
Unice Hair offers more than just wigs. It has redefined industry standards by focusing on quality, variety, and functionality. Here’s what sets them apart:
- Affordable Luxury: Wigs start at just $80, made with 100% natural human hair, and rival the quality of salon brands that cost over $300.
- Diverse Styles: From sleek bobs to voluminous curls, Unice Hair caters to all hair types, especially Black and multicultural women.
- Expert Craftsmanship: Lace front wigs feature pre-plucked, natural-looking hairlines. They’re realistic, tangle-free, and easy to maintain.
- Social Impact: For every 10 wigs sold, Unice donates one to women experiencing medical hair loss. building customer loyalty through a mission of “meaningful beauty.”
These product advantages have made Unice Hair a favorite among beauty enthusiasts, influencers, and everyday women alike.
Smart Sales Strategy: Try Before You Buy
Buying wigs online is risky — customers can’t touch or try them on. Hua tackled this challenge with an innovative “virtual try-on” tool and a customer-friendly “30-day satisfaction guarantee.”
Shoppers can upload a selfie to preview how the wig will look, or simply buy with confidence knowing they can easily return it. This reduced hesitation and built trust.
The sales flow is equally optimized:
- Customers browse Unice Hair’s website, filtering by style, length, or texture.
- The virtual try-on feature boosts engagement and has increased conversion rates by 40%.
- After purchase, customers receive styling tutorials via email — encouraging repeat sales.
This seamless digital experience helped Unice Hair become a pioneer in online wig shopping.
Viral Growth: The Power of Influencers
Unice Hair’s breakout moment came in 2017, when Hua gifted free wigs to micro-influencers on Instagram. One beauty vlogger with 50,000 followers posted a glowing review and tagged @UniceHair. The post went viral — driving 10,000 website visits overnight.
Orders flooded in, even crashing the site. Hua rushed to restock and fulfilled 2,000 orders within a week — ten times more than his initial inventory of 200 wigs.
Instead of traditional ads, he leaned heavily on influencer marketing, partnering with YouTubers and TikTok creators to feature Unice wigs in styling tutorials. Fans began sharing their looks using the hashtag #UniceHair, sparking community buzz.
By 2018, Unice had become a household name in the beauty world — without spending a dime on traditional advertising.
Data-Driven Growth: Smarter Scaling
Initially, Unice Hair faced a high return rate (15%) due to mismatched customer expectations. Hua began utilizing data analytics to optimize operations and traffic:
- Customer Segmentation: Using Google Analytics, he identified his core audience — women aged 18–35 in the U.S., U.K., and Nigeria — and tailored ads to their preferences, increasing click-through rates by 25%.
- A/B Testing: Tests on site layout showed that a “shop by look” feature increased average session time by 30%.
- SEO Mastery: By targeting keywords like “affordable lace front wigs,” Unice ranked on Google’s first page, organically driving 60% of traffic.
- Retargeting Ads: Facebook and Instagram retargeting helped recover 20% of abandoned carts.
These smart strategies reduced the return rate to 8%, and by 2020, monthly unique visitors surged from 10,000 to over 500,000.
Funding & Expansion: Going Global
In 2019, Unice Hair secured $5 million in seed funding from angel investors impressed by its 300% year-over-year growth. Hua used the capital to open a warehouse in Los Angeles and launch a standalone e-commerce site — unice.com — giving him full control of the customer experience.
Unlike Amazon or AliExpress sellers, Unice’s independent site allowed for personalized recommendations and faster delivery.
By 2021, Unice opened physical pop-up shops in Atlanta and Lagos, Nigeria — though 70% of sales still came from the website. Today, the brand ships to over 100 countries, serves more than 2 million customers, and sees an average order value of $120.
In 2024, Unice Hair’s annual revenue has reached a remarkable $50 million.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from Unice Hair’s Success
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| Direct-to-Consumer Model | Eliminated middlemen to offer high-quality products at competitive prices. |
| Influencer Marketing | Leveraged micro-influencers to build brand awareness and trust without traditional advertising. |
| Data-Driven Decisions | Used analytics to understand customer behavior and optimize marketing strategies. |
| Customer-Centric Approach | Implemented virtual try-on tools and flexible return policies to enhance the shopping experience. |
| Global Expansion | Secured funding to establish international warehouses and retail locations, broadening market reach. |
Find more E-commerce Cases here !
References:
- https://www.cbndata.com/information/266396
- https://www.cifnews.com/article/147827
- https://www.sohu.com/a/694436685_121637919
- https://www.gu-sou.com/w/case-b2c/59.html
- https://www.qizansea.com/33027.html
