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interface news reporter | zhou fangying

interface news editor | lou qiqin

according to the latest data from the national bureau of statistics, the total retail sales of clothing, shoes and hats, and needlework textiles in july was 93.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.2%; the total retail sales from january to july was 803.3 billion yuan, a slight increase of only 0.5% year-on-year, which is slower than the pace of recovery of the broader market and cannot be described as optimistic.

but it was precisely at a time when offline clothing retail was relatively sluggish that a french designer brand with high average order value began to expand in the chinese market.

in the past two months, french designer brand ann andelman has opened its first local stores in ningbo hankyu, guiyang mixc, and jilin changchun mixc. in addition, the brand has also opened a limited-time boutique in nanning mixc in guangxi. limited-time pop-up stores are sometimes used to test the waters and prepare for the subsequent opening of formal stores.

in terms of pricing, the price of single items shown on ann andelman's wechat store is basically between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan, and the price of heavier items such as lambskin coats and down jackets is between 3,000 and 4,000 yuan. in general, ann andelman focuses on the mid-range price range, aiming to attract consumers who value quality and design but don't want to spend a lot of money.

so far, ann andelman has stores in shenzhen, shanghai, qingdao, shenyang, nanning, ningbo, suzhou and guiyang in china. the earliest flagship store in shenzhen opened in 2021. ann andelman's first flagship store in paris, france, just opened in january 2024.

according to the official introduction of the ann andelman brand, this is a fashion brand founded in france, known for its rational deconstruction of traditional designs and the integration of men's and women's styles. the brand combines seasonal fashion trends and abstract elements in its design series to reflect a primitive, simple and dynamic style. in addition, the brand's official website also specifically pointed out that "since entering the chinese market in 2020, ann andelman has won great popularity among celebrities and fashion lovers."

however, ann andelman is obviously more well-known in the chinese market than in overseas markets.

ann andelman won the "2021 fall/winter shanghai fashion week commercial performance award" in 2021. according to the official tweet of shanghai fashion week, the brand manager of ann andelman is wang liuwen. there is almost no public report on the brand and the designer himself on the internet.

on social media, ann andelman is more popular with celebrity bloggers wearing it. for example, in recent months, ann andelman’s official weibo account has posted photos of liu yifei wearing the brand in the tv series “the story of roses,” as well as photos of zhang yixing and li yuchun wearing it in variety shows and concerts.

in order to build momentum for its offline stores, ann andelman invited the internet celebrity piyou to be the store manager for a day on september 15. with frequent online marketing and the extensive expansion of offline stores, ann andelman seems to be more familiar with channel operations and brand promotion than other independent designer brands that are still trapped in buyer stores.

online, in addition to tmall stores, ann andelman has opened sales channels on emerging content e-commerce platforms such as xiaohongshu and douyin.

it is not easy for independent designer brands to operate multiple channels online and offline, because most brands are limited by size and cost control issues, and their supply chains are not as stable as those of commercial brands. it is especially difficult to cope with inventory problems caused by sudden surges in orders and high return rates in online e-commerce.

according to the ann andelman brand wechat official account, the main operating company behind it is guangzhou gaoqian trading co., ltd. tianyancha shows that the actual controller of the company is li junjie, and there are two other shareholders who equally share the remaining 62% of the shares.

on the recruitment software, guangzhou gaoqian trading co., ltd. is recruiting fashion designers and live streamers. it can be imagined that ann andelman's next step is to continue to expand sales through live streaming.

although ann andelman is still attracting niche consumers who hope to avoid wearing the same clothes as others on social media as a french niche designer brand, once it enters the offline market and opens stores in popular business districts in cities, the consumer groups it faces will expand from niche to mass.

even though some hit items can help brands attract traffic in a short period of time, such products are extremely easy to become outdated due to changing trends. many independent designer brands have retired because their hit items cannot last long and they are unable to pay the rent for prime locations in core business districts.

it is worth mentioning that recently, independent designer brand yirantian also opened its first offline store on the second floor of shanghai jincang mandarin plaza. industry insiders told jiemian fashion that yirantian's confidence in trying offline channels comes from the positive feedback from online sales channels such as tmall stores.

there are also cases where designers themselves are facing closure because they cannot support themselves. for example, chinese designer brand calvinluo announced in mid-2024 that it would gradually suspend its brand business from the first quarter of 2025. since 2022, the brand has entered the core business districts of many first- and second-tier cities, such as shanghai mall, chengdu ifs, shenzhen ping an financial center mall, and beijing sanlitun taikoo li.

founder and designer luo yucheng said in a statement that the fashion industry is fast-paced and stressful, which has caused a lot of energy to be occupied by unexpected design matters. this is why he decided to stop operating.

in any case, ann andelman's offline and online expansion actions reveal the ambition of this niche brand to make a big splash in the chinese clothing market. after all, the successful commercialization of designer brands such as le fame and jiangnan buyi all show that this path is not completely closed.

however, the difference in popularity between ann andelman in china and overseas may be a problem that the brand will face in terms of brand recognition in the future. the consumer loyalty of niche designer brands can only be maintained by the dual blessing of design and value recognition, which is also the source of brand premium.