Gap offers XXXS sizes in China to make up for its sizing difference with other countries. Pictured: a Gap store in Hong Kong. (Gap Inc.)
International clothing retailers have long struggled to find a balance in their global sizing policies in order to cater to both their super-size American and petite Chinese customers, but a concerning new report on China’s rising obesity rate may see them making adjustments in the future to their China clothing sizes.
The practice of “vanity sizing”, or offering roomier fits in items claiming to be a smaller size on the label, is well known to retailers in the American clothing market, where brands need to deal with the fact that the average customer is both larger and more insecure about their clothing size. Until now, foreign companies have had the exact opposite problem in China, where their hamburger-friendly helpings of fabric have left thin Chinese consumers with limited fitting options.
Finding the right fit has long been a challenge for retailers in China, whose “vanity” sizes have forced them to make major adjustments. Fast-fashion brands and mid-range American companies have especially had to make big changes when they entered Asia: Gap, for example, has to provide a size XXXS in China in order to make up for the size difference. According to a recent report on Minyanville,
This all may be set to change, however, as the size of China’s waistlines may be growing along with the country’s GDP.
According to a troubling report this week from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of obese people in China under the age of 18 is now up to 120 million. According to People’s Daily:
Fast food chains such as KFC and McDonald’s are prevalent in China, and with a middle-class population roughly the same size as that of the United States, their prices allow for regular consumption by a vast number of people. For the upper-middle and affluent classes who may not be scarfing down daily big macs, high-calorie Western staples such as wine, chocolate, and even cheese are all gaining in popularity.
Let’s all hope for China’s sake that public health officials and experts can get a grip on this problem before it gets out of hand like it is in the United States. It is certainly possible for countries to develop quickly, have access to fast food restaurants, and not have massive numbers of overweight people — take Japan, for example, where retailers also have to grapple with fitting adjustments.