China is witnessing the sports and luxury fashion categories become increasingly intertwined as the categories react to growing consumer trends to mix work and play.
“We are seeing more luxury brands jump into sportswear for two key reasons,” said Gavin Lum, director of digital branding at Lululemon China. “First there is the increase in income and influence, but it also has to do with the development of the sports infrastructure in the country, which allows people to schedule sports in their daily lives.”
Lum pointed to the need for comfort as a key driver of the need to mix sports and fashion: “People in China’s major cities are starting to wear sportswear to work so they can immediately participate in sports from work. Nowadays, the sport can be enjoyed at any time of the day”.
Lum points out that the pandemic has a key influence on the sportswear industry. “The impact of Covid has two sides. On the one hand, he pushed for the separation, but on the other hand, he emphasized the importance of health and, in turn, pushed for online fitness classes so that you can train at home. Digital technology has enabled interaction with friends who may not be able to meet in person,” Lum said.
Despite the rise of more sophisticated local brands that can sometimes react faster to upcoming consumer trends, Lum sees that the market is still open for niche brands, but they need to be very cautious.
“As sports continue to diversify, there will always be new and innovative ways for niche brands to enter China, whether they are local or international,” Lum said, “but they have to be extremely niche focused to survive otherwise otherwise it will lose relevance for its target audience”.
Gavin Lum’s interview is available on the ShanghaiZhan podcast, now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and Xiao Yu Zhou. For more information, please visit http://zhanstation.com.
Source: news.google.com