Chinese Designer Brands Are Exploring More Diverse Retail Channel Strategies:
In November 2024, Luxe.CO tracked the latest developments among Chinese designer brands, revealing that their stores are not only appearing in core commercial districts and trendy streets in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities but are also increasingly present in outlet malls.
For instance, BLACKHEAD opened a street-side concept store on Shanghai’s Anfu Road, while COMME MOI launched its first formal outlet store in Shanghai at the Bailian Qingpu Outlet Plaza.
Expanding product categories is another area of continuous exploration for designer brands. Recently, fashion designer Chen Xuzhi introduced a fragrance brand, Of Nature, inspired by Chinese culture. Its debut collection includes nine scented candles and nine incense products.
The overseas expansion efforts of designer brands are also worth our long-term attention. This month, we saw the handbag brand CAFUNÉ opening pop-up stores at Lucua Mall in Osaka and Isetan Shinjuku in Tokyo.
The Luxe.CO China Designer Brands Monthly Report for November 2024 (November 1–December 1, 2024) collected 24 updates from 17 Chinese designer brands. These include 1 update on category expansion, 6 on offline store expansions, 9 on collaborations, 5 on pop-up stores, 2 on overseas market expansion, and 1 on a celebrity endorsement appointment.
Category Expansion
- Fashion designer Chen Xuzhi launched a new fragrance brand, Of Nature. The debut collection features nine scented candles and nine incense sticks named: Guan Yin, Jinshi, Two Thousand Trees, Stone Calamus, Lotus Pond, Xiang Yuan, Ling Zhi, Zhu, and Shen Cong.
Offline Store Expansions
2-4. Jewelry brand HEFANG Jewelry (founded by Sun Hefang) opened new stores in Xi’an SKP, Shenzhen Coastal City Shopping Center, and Dalian Olympia 66.
5. Accessories brand BLACKHEAD (founded by Liu Yu) opened the Ark Relic concept store on Shanghai’s Anfu Road.
6. Designer brand WHM (founded by Wang Haoming) under ZUCZUG opened its first Shanghai store at Réel Mall, showcasing its full range of men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, home goods, stationery, and exclusive items.
7. Fashion brand COMME MOI (founded by Lü Yan) launched its first formal outlet store in Shanghai Qingpu at Bailian Outlet Plaza.
Collaborations
- Designer Chen Peng partnered with Chinese menswear brand LILANZ to release the Cheng Qi capsule collection of down jackets.
9. Designer Qiu Shuting collaborated with LVMH-owned premium liquor brand Hennessy on a limited 2025 Lunar New Year series. Inspired by classical Chinese culture, the collection features abstract floral patterns and snake scale motifs on the bottles of Hennessy V.S.O.P, X.O, and Paradis.
10. Downwear-focused fashion brand Raxxy (founded by Shen Weilian) teamed up with Los Angeles-based lifestyle brand Cult Gaia for a limited-edition jacket collection combining Cult Gaia’s sculptural style with Raxxy’s avant-garde design.
11. Streetwear brand ATTEMPT (founded by Liang Dong) collaborated with footwear brand UGG to launch a new shoe collection.
12. Chinese haute couture designer Guo Pei partnered with BYD’s premium auto brand Yangwang to reinterpret the interior design of the Yangwang U7 sedan.
13. Streetwear brand Randomevent (founded by Hong Yang) partnered with BLUE SKY LAB, NIO’s sustainable fashion brand, to release a new collection titled Own Rhythm, including hoodies, sweatpants, and jackets.
14. Footwear brand BING XU (founded by Xu Bingqiang) collaborated with apparel brand ERDOS to launch a limited-edition footwear collection.
15-16. Fashion brand TYAKASHA (founded by Tong Yun) released two collaborations: one with illustrator maitoparta for a new collection and another with thermal goods brand AKS for a line of insulated bottles.
Pop-Up Stores
- Fashion brand SHUSHU/TONG (founded by Jiang Yutong and Lei Liushu) launched a 2024 Christmas-themed pop-up space at Shanghai JC Plaza, featuring its Christmas exclusive collection and limited-edition Severine bags.
18. Knitwear-focused brand swaying/knit (founded by Huang Shasha) opened a pop-up space at Chengdu’s CPI.
19. Jewelry brand HEFANG Jewelry opened a pop-up store at Guangzhou’s Taikoo Hui.
20. Handbag brand CAFUNÉ (Queenie & Day) opened a pop-up store at Hong Kong’s Harbour City.
21. Footwear brand BING XU and British hand-painted wallpaper brand de Gournay presented a collaborative footwear collection at a pop-up in Hong Kong’s The Upper House hotel.
Overseas Market Expansion
- Handbag brand CAFUNÉ (Queenie & Day) opened pop-up stores at Osaka’s Lucua Mall and Tokyo’s Isetan Shinjuku.
23. Fashion brand XIMON LEE (founded by Lee Dongxing) collaborated with APOC, an independent designer platform, to showcase special designs from XIMONLEE’s archive at a historic space in London’s E1 district.
Celebrity Endorsements
- Jewelry brand HEFANG Jewelry announced Chinese actress Chen Duling as its brand ambassador and launched the Wan Shi Du Ling series in collaboration with her.
Designers and brands are welcome to share their latest updates with us via email at crystal@hualizhi.com.
| Image Credit: Provided by designer brands and official channels
| Editor: Elisa
