The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The tech giant’s holding company is among the investors betting on ChicV, a Guangzhou-based business founded in 2015 that specialises in selling fashion cross-border, also known as haitao, and operates three sub-platforms Stylewe, JustFashionNow and NoraCora, DealStreetAsia reports.
The company is one of many media-shy retailers that have popped up in recent years, taking advantage of China’s highly-developed manufacturing infrastructure to pump out ultra-fast, and very cheap fashion products to consumers across the globe through social media platforms like Instagram.
This model has proven a lucrative one and China’s best-known cross-border player, Shein, was valued at $15 billion in 2020. Though these retailers are also commonly the subject of consumer complaints for the subpar quality of their products and shipping delays.
ChicV plans to funnel the fresh capital from its Series B round into tech, supply chain and brand marketing; it has also set its sights on expanding into South America and the Middle East.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.
Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.