China will become the World’s Largest Fashion & Apparel Market in 2019. According to Euromonitor, China will exceed the USA Market and become the world’s largest Clothing & Apparel Market by 2019. Total Annual apparel sales in China will reach $121 Billion in 2019 (25% Growth per year). We estimated apparel sales in the USA at around $120 Billion in 2019 (+3% Growth per year)
The characteristics of the clothing market in China
The big population makes a huge fashion clothing brand market in China. Because of the sustaining rise of the costs (material, transport…), the appreciation of RMB, the slowdown of demand in the domestic and international market, and other reasons.
China Apparel is a Brand Market
In the Chinese clothing industry, the brands in the market can be separated into two different camps according to the consumption structure. The first camp is the high-grade clothing brands. The consumer for this part is the high-income group, they are interested in luxury and have the ability to buy it, and they have more emphasis on apparel quality and the service. The second camp is the brands for the public following the mass line, such as Uniqlo, ZARA, and H&M, which are fashionable and not expensive, they are popular, especially for the young consumers.
In China, Branding is Everything
Read Also: Fashion in China: Top Marketing Strategies for Brands
Local brands VS foreign brands
In the current market, Chinese brands take the leading position in the mass-market segment. Nevertheless, the high-end market is almost entirely occupied by foreign brands, especially French, Italian, American, German, Japanese, etc. Previously, the large shopping malls like in the big cities mainly sell local brands, but with the increase in their positioning and also the influence of the entering of many foreign brands in the Chinese market, many local brands are forced to exit the market of the big cities and moved to the second and third cities.
Right Positioning in China for international Brand is High End
Buying online has become an essential channel for the clothing market
There are several channels of sale in China, among them, the first channel is the shopping malls (69%) and the second is brand monopolized shops (42%). Most of the sales by these two channels are the clothes of high end or mid-range.
The explosion of E-Commerce in China
Since 2009, the e-commerce of clothing is increasing year by year. In all online shops, clothing occupies 1 /3. In 2017, the sale amount has already reached 605 billion RMB, a +49.9 % increase. The three most popular e-commerce websites for clothing are Taobao & Tmall, Jingdong VIP, and secco. And 70 % to 80 % of e-consumers say that they think more about the design than the brands.
Tmall & Taobao :
more information about the Chinese e-commerce websites here
Basically, if you want to enter Tmall or Tmall Global
- You need to Apply, Tmall is selective and only accepts Well know Brands
- After you have to give a Deposit
- Then you can set up your Stores, and your page
- After, you need to manage your Store, animate your page like your own website
- You need to reply to questions of clients (or future Clients)
- And Attract Traffic, via Advertising or Influencers;
Taobao is for small brands and individuals.
Taobao costs less and is seen by the Chinese as more amateur, and less professional compared to Tmall.
Cloths sold on Taobao are also usually cheaper.
