By ZHU Yongling
Facing developmental challenges, fast fashion brands are venturing into the high-end market, with a shift away from price and speed.
H&M’s upscale brand Cos has introduced a high-end line with nearly half of the products priced at over 2,000 yuan (US$280), and the most expensive coat reaching 11,900 yuan.
Zara has also launched a collaborative series with Studio Nicholson. Prices range from 430 yuan to 3,000 yuan, with over half of the items over 1,000 yuan.
Even fast fashion brands like Gap are determined to reduce discounts and abandon the old discount-driven model.
International brands are closing stores all over China. H&M has closed 160, Zara 60. Three sister brands under Zara’s parent company Inditex completely withdrew from China in 2022.
The novelty of fast fashion to consumers has long worn off and the industry is under fire for quality and environmental issues. The emergence of Shein is squeezing the survival space for traditional fashion.
Some brands are beginning to abandon “fast fashion.” The simplest way to get rid of fast fashion is to avoid using the term.
High-end transformation is a long-term journey toward higher prices. Fast fashion is cheap, and its customers are more hypersensitive to prices. Anchoring new positions for brands to avoid internal competition and maximizing the advantages of the brand portfolio are problems to consider.
Externally, they will also face new competitors. The transformation will not drive consumption upgrades for the original customers; brands will need to find new ones.
But in the several-thousand-yuan category, there is no shortage of niche designers with a more distinctive style, and loyal customers.
