Fast fashion brands under scrutiny in China; Since Zara entered China in 2006, it has been blacklisted at least 15 times
April 7, 2014 Leave a comment
Fast fashion brands under scrutiny in China
Staff Reporter
2014-03-23
Over the past year, cheap, fast-fashion brands such as Zara and H&M have swept through the Chinese mainland market, the Chinese-language Time Weekly reports.
These fast fashion brands have an unbelievably quick product cycle of just 15 days, but their quality has been questioned in recent years. Many of the products have made it onto quality inspection “black lists,” said the report.
One Nanjing bridegroom’s 699 yuan (US$110) Zara pants ripped as he knelt before his wife down before his wife during their wedding.
“In order to maintain their cheap prices, fast fashion brands have tried to cut costs, but quality issues very easily surface,” said Xiong Xiaokun, researcher on light industry at China Investment Consulting.
Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers indicating the speed with which new fashion trends move from the catwalk to retail. Fast fashion clothing collections try to ride on the latest trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year. These trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow mainstream consumers to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower price.
Since Zara entered China in 2006, it has been blacklisted at least 15 times, including twice in March alone.
Due to the lack of domestic competitors, Zara has no domestic rivals, allowing it to act boldly. Chinese consumers fall for it, hoping to wear foreign brand names without breaking the bank, analysts said. This allows Zara to get away with its frequent blacklistings and still keep consumer enthusiasm, the report said.
Zara’s supply chain cycle takes only 10-15 days, compared with H&M’s 20 days, while most other apparel brands take 6-9 months or even longer.
In Europe, Zara produces most of its products from its own factories, but in Asia, it has adopted the original equipment manufacturer model.
According to H&M’s 2013 financial report, its total revenues reached 146.6 billion yuan (US$23.5 billion), of which sales in China grew 23% from a year earlier to 6.5 billion yuan (US$1 billion). Currently, H&M has 205 stores in China, ranking fourth in its global operations, but it opened 74 shops in 2013, ranking first globally.
China has become the most important overseas market for international fast fashion brands, with the top four such brands — Uniqlo, Zara, H&M and C&A — having opened 523 shops on the mainland as of June 2013, the report said.
About bambooinnovator
Bamboo Innovator 