How Small Fashion Brands Can Enter to China? (At What Cost)

The Chinese Fashion Market is Really Big, biggest in quantity, and in Value. You should know that it is the most dynamic with a +10% increase per year. 

How Small Fashion Brands Can Enter the Chinese market ? Go Digital

1. “Make Waves with a Splash of Video”: Leverage Douyin’s massive platform to create engaging, creative videos that showcase your brand’s identity and fashion collections. This visual medium can captivate audiences and influence fashion trends at a relatively low cost.
2. “Picture Perfect on Red Book”: Utilize Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) to share high-quality photos of your products. This platform is ideal for building a visual story of your brand and connecting with fashion-forward audiences.
3. “Perception is the New Reality”: Craft your branding to present your small brand as more prominent and established. This can involve sophisticated branding strategies, high-quality product imagery, and leveraging digital platforms to amplify your presence.
4. “Target the Trendsetters”: Use targeted ads on Douyin to reach early adopters and fashion influencers. This group is always on the lookout for new and unique styles, making them the perfect audience for your emerging brand.
5. “Collaborate with Niche e-Tailers”: Partner with smaller e-commerce platforms that cater to specific fashion niches. These platforms often have loyal customer bases looking for unique pieces outside mainstream offerings.
6. “Set Up Shop on Red”: Establishing a storefront on Xiaohongshu can help you tap directly into a community passionate about fashion, lifestyle, and trends, offering a curated selection of your products.
7. “Empower Through Micro-Influence”: Collaborate with smaller KOLs who have a dedicated, engaged following. These partnerships can be more cost-effective and yield a higher engagement rate than working with larger influencers.
8. “Fashion a Loyal Community”: Encourage your customers to wear your collection and tag your brand on social platforms like Xiaohongshu. User-generated content can serve as authentic endorsements, fostering a community of brand advocates.
9. “Leverage Local Events for Global Impact”: Participate in local fashion events, pop-up shops, and markets to gain visibility. Use these opportunities to create content for your digital platforms, bridging the gap between offline and online presence.
10. “Data-Driven Design”: Utilize social listening and market research to understand your target demographic deeply. Tailor your designs to meet the desires and needs of the Chinese market, making your offerings irresistible to fashion-savvy consumers.

Why is the Chinese Fashion Market so interesting for Small Brands? 

The living conditions of the middle-class in China have been improved. Now consumers have become highly brand conscious and the possession of luxury products is seen as a status symbol. ”Conspicuous consumption’’ means having the need to buy goods, not because you need it but to show off to others, and this phenomenon occurs not only in Chinese culture but also in Western culture.

The Power of Branding in China

According to a recent study conducted by Boston Consulting Group  (a consulting company), mainland China is the sixth in the world for expenses on luxury goods ranked by countries. In 2010 it was a USD$ 17.7 billion market where Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci are the most desired luxury brands. However, in recent years they are losing favor among Chinese consumers while the so-called fast fashion companies H&M, Zara, Uniqlo, etc are still popular amongst the young generation in China.  You can also see in China, a market for niche Brands in Premium Fashion. 

China is the largest Fashion Market in the world

The report by McKinsey & Company and the Business of Fashion (BoF) says that in 2019 China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest fashion market for the first time. However, Joann Cheng, Chairman of Fosun Fashion Group & Lanvin, expresses her belief that the trade war will have minimal effect on China’s business. “I don’t think that the fashion industry is the area that will be hit by trade wars. China is still a large economy with very strong internal consumption power,” explains an expert.

The Chinese consumers’ fashion market is huge as domestic luxury brands are presented here just as foreign brands. A reason why the Chinese love to wear foreign luxury brands is that they are convinced that its quality is better.

The Luxury of Optimism

The report by McKinsey & Company and BoF reveals that the premium and luxury fashion sector demonstrates overall stability – the rich stay rich and are getting richer. In Asia specifically, 51 percent of executives surveyed believe the fashion sector will “become better” in 2019, with a further 19 percent believing it will “stay the same.” Meanwhile talking about North America’s market, 64 percent of executives believe the industry will “become worse,” suggesting America is more cautious of impending trade war tariffs.

Market Potential in China in 2024?

China’s role in the global fashion market is quickly evolving. “China is no longer simply the factory to the world. It is the world’s fastest-growing consumer market, accounting for more than 18 percent of all final goods consumed.”

For luxury, this means more of what’s being made in China is now being sold domestically, and Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Despite the rise of the international fast-fashion market, the industry, in general, is still very fragmented in China, so there is still plenty of opportunities for new brands to meet the growing demand for trendy fast fashion. Marketing is the key to success in China

What Cost to Enter the Chinese market for a Small Brand ?

• Branding : 50k$ per year
• Ecommerce :100k$ if you want Ads and influencer to reach ROI
• Retail : 500k$

RED (like insta) , the Social media for Fashion Brand

Navigating Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) or RED can be a game-changer for small brands aiming to penetrate the vast Chinese market. Here’s how to hack the market effectively:

1. Master the Hashtag Game: “Unlock Your Brand’s Potential with Precision Hashtags”
   • Use trending and niche-specific hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts. Analyze popular posts to identify the hashtags that resonate with your target audience, ensuring your content is discovered by ideal customers. Be smart 🙂
2. Optimize for Xiaohongshu SEO: “Be Seen, Be Searched, Be Sold”
   • Incorporate relevant keywords in your content titles, descriptions, and tags. Understand the platform’s search algorithms and optimize your content to appear at the top of search results, making your brand more discoverable. (GMA secret tool)
3. Cultivate Virality through Engaging Content: “Create, Captivate, Conquer”
   • Focus on creating high-quality, relatable, and shareable content. Use storytelling, tutorials, behind-the-scenes looks, and user-generated content to engage users and encourage them to share your posts, boosting your brand’s visibility. Base of Social media 😉
4. Foster a Community with Events: “From Followers to Family”
   • Organize online events, challenges, or contests and promote them on Xiaohongshu. Engage with your followers by encouraging participation and sharing, creating a sense of community and belonging around your brand. Stay closer to them, talk to your target
5. Target One, Win Many: “Conquer Niches, Create Waves”
   • Start by focusing on a specific group of people or niche market. Tailor your content and products to meet their specific needs and interests. Once you’ve established a strong foothold, gradually expand your target audience to encompass broader demographics.
6. Leverage Targeted Ads: “Ads That Don’t Feel Like Ads”
   • Invest in Xiaohongshu’s targeted advertising options to reach potential customers based on their interests, behaviors, and demographics. Create ads that blend seamlessly with organic content, making them more appealing to users.

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Do you want to know the pricing and the details of these Solutions? 

Contact us, we are a Cost-Effective agency, and can help you to perform in China. 

• We can really help you
• We have a lot of experience