Major Japanese casual clothing brands are accelerating the pace of opening stores in China. Shimamura, which operates clothing and other retail stores, will open six stores in China in 2014, which is equivalent to three times the number of the previous year. The number of stores is expected to increase to 30 in three years. ADASTRIA Holdings, which operates “GlobalWork” brand stores, will also open 37 stores in 2014, and the number of new stores will be approximately double that of the previous year. Companies are hoping to expand their business in China, where the middle-income population is growing.
Dao Cun entered the Chinese market in April 2012 and opened four stores named “Shimenngle” in Shanghai. The locations are mainly located in shopping centers slightly away from the city center. Like Japan, it mainly sells some cheap clothing and daily necessities. The number of customers is increasing, mainly women in their 20s to 50s.
Shimamura judged that two years after entering the Chinese market, its popularity had improved, so he decided to officially speed up the pace of opening stores. After opening 6 stores in 2014, we will further accelerate the pace of opening stores in the suburbs of Shanghai and Suzhou. The mid-term plan is to increase the number of stores to about 60, and will also consider building a new logistics center.
ADASTRIA Holdings will also open additional stores in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Chinese area areas. “GlobalWork”, a brand for young people, and “Nikoand”, which mainly sells clothing and daily necessities, will serve as the pillars of overseas stores. Stores will be opened mainly in major shopping malls. In the above-mentioned areas, young people in their 20s and 30s are still the main target consumer groups.
One of the reasons why major clothing brands have accelerated the pace of opening stores is the rapid growth of China’s clothing market. According to a survey by Euromonitor, China’s clothing market reached 23 trillion yen in 2013, greatly surpassing Japan (approximately 9 trillion yen) and becoming the world’s largest market after the United States (29 trillion yen). 2 major clothing markets. Major European and American companies are also eyeing the growing Chinese market and are actively expanding their stores.
Among Japanese companies, Fast Retailing, which operates the “UNIQLO” brand, has great influence in the Chinese market. However, these clothing companies at the forefront of development have also shown a tendency to adjust and focus only on expanding store openings. Women’s clothing specialty store “Honeys” will temporarily stop opening new stores in China in fiscal 2014 (ending May 2015) due to a decline in its ability to attract and receive customers due to the rapid increase in stores. Adopt a management policy that focuses on strengthening existing stores.
