A Brand War

China Financial Weekly

Issue No. 24, 2018

New York Fashion Week, one of the world’s top four fashion weeks, has always been a showcase for foreign fashion brands. But that all changed in 2018, with the emergence of Bosideng on the runway headed for take-off into the blue skies of the global market.

As a well-known down jacket brand in China, Bosideng has accompanied several generations of the Chinese through many cold winters. In recent years, although it has the lion’s share in the domestic down jacket market, foreign brands still pose an unprecedented pressure as more brand-chasing young men prefer foreign brands.

Bosideng’s case reflects the challenge Chinese enterprises face in global competition. When each brand begins to go global, their brand names are always overshadowed by foreign ones.

Since 2012, China has stressed the importance of brand building for Chinese companies. In fact, to emphasize the importance of brand building, May 10 was designated as the annual Chinese Brands Day beginning in 2017.

In May 2018, the 2018 Internet+ China Brand Development Report jointly released by the Communication University of China and JD.com pointed out that Chinese consumers are now paying more attention to high-tech and environmentally friendly products. However, Chinese enterprises still have a long way to go to build high-tech and fashionable brands that domestic consumers really identify with.

Over the next 10 years, Chinese brands will usher in a new wave of globalization. Meanwhile, an era of more domestic enterprises’ annual sales income exceeding RMB100 billion is foreseeable.