Head over heels for underwear
The era when Chinese women undervalued underwear is over.
That’s largely thanks to the younger generation.
This was especially clear at the 10th-anniversary celebration of domestic lingerie brand Aimer’s secondary line, Imi’s, which targets young consumers.
The event, themed “be brave, be yourself ”, showcased the autumn collection that highlights innovative fabrics, leopard prints, and starsand-stripes motifs.
It featured an exhibition of dolls created by emerging artist Sun Dongxu, in which four life-sized and 30 smaller dolls appear clad in Imi’s lingerie. They’ll tour nationwide over the coming year.
“Girls dream about dolls when they’re young,” Imi’s CEO Sun Wei says.
“They make clothes for them and style them. This exhibition makes that dream come true.”
The line positions itself as a metropolitan, cheerful and affordable brand. It’s available in major department stores throughout the country, and has nearly 800 stores in China and Singapore, plus its online stores.
“With Imi’s, we sell not only lingerie but also a youthful spirit,” Aimer’s founder and CEO Zhang Rongming, says.
Imi’s is developing new onlinemarketing channels to tap into young customers’ growing consumption capacity. It has also expanded its offerings from lingerie to outerwear.
“The brand was initially like Aimer’s younger sister. Now it has grown up to walk on its own,” Zhang says.
A few years ago, China’s youth were influenced by Japanese and Korean styles. Today, waves of popularity are determined by the currents of what’s trending on the Internet. And Imi’s is dashing forward to stay ahead, he says.
Aimer was an early mover among China’s first few upmarket domestic lingerie brands.
It markets itself as graceful, delicate and detail-oriented. But it’s too expensive for average consumers.
Imi’s has tapped market demand for greater affordability. And its value-for-money appeal has propelled it to emerge as the group’s fastestgrowing brand, Zhang says.
It currently contributes about 10 percent of the group’s sales. But that’s expected to grow to a third in the near future, he adds.
Zhang, who earned a master’s in metallurgy from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, claims to have invented bras with memory metals — smart alloys that pop back into place when bent.
He founded Aimer in 1993 — a time when lingerie was rarely talked about in China.
It’s a profound understanding of the domestic market that has enabled Aimer to withstand competition from such international brands as Germany’s Triumph and Japan’s Wacoal, Zhang says.
“Chinese customers tend to have more confidence in foreign brands. So we try to develop products that better suit their shapes and sizes,” Zhang says.
Products are produced based on the research and development undertaken by the Aimer Ergonomics Laboratory, a joint program with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.
The lab gathers and analyzes data on the human body across China and Asia.
Product development is also supported by the Aimer Materials Detection Laboratory and the Aimer Lingerie Culture Research Institute
Indeed, it seems the company has invested a lot into researching the science of sexy.
Zhang estimates the brand accounts for over 10 percent of China’s lingerie market, although it’s difficult to determine specific figures.
It helps that actress Gong Li serves as its spokeswoman, and it stages fashion shows that call to mind those run by Victoria’s Secret.
Its new move is to shift toward a family-based approach.
The company has opened Aimer Homes lifestyle shops that offer inner wear for all ages from lines including Aimer, La Clover, Imi’s and Aimer Men.
It’s currently developing cosmetics and skin-care products.
Less than 10 percent of sales come from online stores, but the company aims for e-commerce to account for 15 percent in the future, Zhang says.