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With a seemingly never-ending debt crisis which has prompted a slowdown in consumer spending, investing in Europe might not appear particularly attractive right now. But Bosideng, a Chinese fashion brand specializing in down-filled clothing, thinks differently.
The company will open a brand new flagship store near Bond street, London’s posh shopping district, on Thursday, just in time to catch a wave of Olympic tourists.
The launch signals a change in China’s clothing retail market. While international retail players like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara are looking to further explore the Chinese mainland, China’s retail powerhouses are starting to look across the border to regions beyond Asia.
Bosideng is the first large mainland Chinese fashion group to embark on an overseas mission, and it is not holding back. The launch in London’s prestigious West End cost approximately 35 million pounds ($54 million), the company told CNBC.com.
Chinese athletic apparel and footwear brand Li-Ning made an attempt to launch its brand in the West with a retail store in Portland in the U.S. in 2010, but the store recently closed after Chinese media outlets reported in early February that Li-Ning would cut staff to reduce costs after forecasting a 6 to 7 percent drop in annual sales.
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