Coach has announced a tie-up with Poizon, China’s premier sneaker and streetwear social-commerce platform. The American affordable luxury brand will sell handbags, leather goods and accessories on the platform, simultaneously offering its range on the app as well as its own stores. There are also plans for the brand to offer exclusive products on the platform in the future.

According to the brand, this seemingly odd coupling will help it to better engage with China’s younger consumers. Previously disclosed data from Poizon showed its average monthly active user base had reached more than 40 million in 2020, of whom more than 70 percent were post-90s consumers (roughly analogous with Millennial consumers in the West) and most were men.

“The move marks a step forward in our digital efforts in China and is a solid move for the brand to accelerate the building of a digital ecosystem,” said Li Rong, Coach China’s vice president of business development. The new partners also plan to collaborate on designs for the Chinese market in future, Li added.

Today, mainland China has become a key market for Coach and its parent company Tapestry, the market accounts for 15 percent of the group’s total sales and 17 percent for Coach specifically. In the three months to March, Tapestry’s sales in China rose by 175 percent versus the same period last year and were also up by 40 percent compared to the same (pre-pandemic) period in 2019.