Some In China Feel Country’s Fashion Industry Headed Towards Fast Fashion Rather Than Luxury
Actor Wentworth Miller was tapped for ME&CITY's first collection in 2009
While the buzzword “fast fashion” may be somewhat new to the China market, fast fashion itself has been around in some form or another for the past few decades, mostly in the form of low-priced items of questionable quality sold at street-side outdoor markets. In recent years, however, home-grown mass market brands like Metersbonwe and online retailer Vancl have emerged as China’s top fast fashion contenders, even as foreign retailers like H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and others have plowed their way into the already crowded market.
In response to the success of H&M and Zara in the Chinese market, some Chinese fast fashion retailers have stepped up to the challenge by launching new, somewhat more “upscale” brands to woo consumers who find the allure (and affordability, relative to imported luxury brands) of foreign brands irresistible. In late 2008, Metersbonwe debuted its ME&CITY brand, targeting middle class, twenty- to thirty-something white collar professionals and signing celebrities like Wentworth Miller of “Prison Break” (arguably a bigger star in China than in his native United States), actor Orlando Bloom and model Agyness Deyn for ad campaigns.
Since its launch nearly two years ago, ME&CITY has opened more than 85 locations throughout China, but the company has seen some of its greatest success in second-tier cities. As Sina pointed out last year, much of ME&CITY’s growing popularity in smaller markets comes down to the fact that the brand arrived in many second-tier cities before H&M and Zara. However, with annual revenue last year of 350 million yuan (US$51.7 million) — only about 1/10 of what Metersbonwe took in — ME&CITY is still a few years away from profitability.
Another of China’s fast fashion contenders, URBANEIGTHDAY (sic), which aspires to be something of a Chinese version of Urban Outfitters, is already expanding into third- and fourth-tier markets that international brands have yet to explore. As the brand’s general manager said in an interview last year, URBANEIGTHDAY is trying to compete with foreign fast fashion retailers on the basis that Chinese companies “better understand what Chinese consumers want to wear,” and are more open to experimentation.
So, in the battle to become China’s Uniqlo, or Gap, or H&M, how can we gauge who’s coming out on top? How can upstart Chinese retailers compete in this space? This week, China Fashion Net proposes a “China Model” of fast fashion, noting that Chinese brands are inherently at a disadvantage when competing directly with larger foreign competitors, and as such must put as much — if not more — focus on branding as they do on product. Among other recommendations for success in the fast fashion market, such as bolstering supply networks and targeting specific niches (such as footwear), the article has some interesting insights about localization and branding for the China market. Excerpts (translation by Jing Daily team):
The article goes on to extol the benefits of digital outreach, noting that the Internet is good not only for e-commerce but also real-time interaction with customers and as a barometer for customer wants and needs. Continuing, the article points out that fast fashion brands shouldn’t be afraid to venture into untested, smaller markets, since companies like ME&CITY and ME & KAR are making inroads there. Finishing up, it looks at the importance of branding: