EC-Born Brands Enter Commercial Districts, Accelerating Restructuring of China's Apparel Industry

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Structural changes are underway in China’s apparel retail market. While established brands close stores and scale back their presence, emerging brands born from e-commerce platforms are collectively entering commercial districts, increasingly competing with major international brands.

According to a report by TMTpost’s Retail Circle, the withdrawal of well-known brands from commercial districts such as MixC Mall and Wuyue Plaza is accelerating. Meanwhile, in top commercial districts like Nanjing Deji Plaza and Shanghai’s West Nanjing Road, most of the new brands introduced in 2025 were emerging women’s fashion brands originating from e-commerce. Specifically, Taobao-born brands such as CHICJOC, UNICA, and MARIUS have joined the ranks, standing shoulder to shoulder with international brands.

Overall Market Growth Stalls

The scale of the industry is losing momentum. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the year-on-year growth rate of above-scale apparel retail sales in 2025 was only 2.8%. Given that it exceeded 15% in 2023, this is a sharp slowdown. Online apparel is similar: the annual year-on-year growth rate for clothing was just 1.9%, significantly below the average for physical goods on e-commerce platforms overall.

In this environment, many brands have chosen to retreat. PEACEBIRD had 2,998 stores as of end-2025, a net decrease of 2,216 stores over four years. DAZZLE Fashion also closed 87 stores in the first half of 2025, cutting more than 10% of its total stores. Lancy Co., Ltd. likewise saw a net reduction in stores, and its women’s apparel sales ratio continued to shrink.

The continued store closures have spread a market perception that “the women’s apparel business is difficult,” creating a vicious cycle that erodes consumer confidence. But this is only a surface-level fluctuation. Even as the overall industry stagnates, segmented categories are showing vitality of their own.

The Rise and Growth of Original Design Brands

According to estimates from industry institutions, the domestic original women’s apparel brand market has posted a compound annual growth rate of over 15% in the past three years, far exceeding the growth rate of the industry as a whole. In other words, the apparel industry has not declined as a whole; rather, the extensive development model that relied on traditional channels and traffic has come to an end.

Traditional brands grew through offline expansion, with product assortment and sales promotion as their core logic. Their heavy-asset investment increased and their designs became increasingly outdated. Unable to keep up with changes in consumer aesthetics, they clung to past successes. Some international fast-fashion brands, represented by H&M, are also facing operational difficulties due to product cycle issues.

On the other hand, second-generation influencer brands emerged on the strength of e-commerce and livestreaming traffic. But they lacked an original design philosophy and became stereotyped as “low price.” Imitation and copying became the norm, and quality control was lax. All of these problems ultimately stem from a lack of “original design.”

Three New Brand Types

The current newcomers can be broadly divided into three types. The first is domestic high-end original brands represented by ICICLE and EXCEPTION. ICICLE has entered Paris Fashion Week, captures Tmall’s high-end customers, and operates more than 200 directly managed stores in top commercial districts such as Hang Lung properties and SKP.

The second type is emerging original brands from e-commerce, such as CHICJOC, Kaijian, UNICA, and MARIUS. These brands were born on Taobao but avoided low-price mass sales, instead adopting a “fewer but curated” hit-product strategy. After building brand awareness online, they have made the reverse move into commercial districts such as Nanjing Deji Plaza and Hangzhou MixC. As of July 2025, CHICJOC operated 38 stores in China and had also expanded into the United States and France.

The third type includes EC-born designer select brands represented by Fabrique, and aesthetic light-luxury brands represented by Songmont. Fabrique was founded in 2020 and adopts a “global designers + Chinese supply chain” model. Songmont expanded from handmade bags, and during Tmall’s 618 shopping festival in 2026, its brand growth rate exceeded 340%.

Challenges and Limits of the New Model

What these new brands have in common is a rejection of volume sales through low prices and a rejection of creative imitation. They use original design as a barrier to entry, maintaining long-term customers through consistent aesthetic expression and strict quality control. Offline stores are positioned not as sales channels but as a medium that gives tangible form to brand quality.

However, this “original design-driven + offline expansion” model also has challenges. Unlike snacks, apparel has strong aesthetic elements and relies heavily on physical experience. The vast number of SKUs and seasonal fluctuations affect sales, requiring careful management of cash flow and inventory disposal rates. Offline physical stores in particular are constrained by location, spatial display, and customer service experience, putting integrated operational capabilities to the test.

For the new generation of brands to surpass the two preceding generations, further time and market validation are needed. Because online and offline operate under different logic, adaptation to both is essential.

Editorial Opinion

These developments show that e-commerce platforms have evolved from mere sales channels into a breeding ground for brands. In the short term, EC-born brands will accelerate store openings in major Chinese commercial districts, dramatically changing the traditional tenant mix. Further withdrawals by established brands are expected, and differentiation among commercial facilities will advance.

In the long term, the integration of e-commerce and offline operations could become the new standard for the apparel industry. Brand building centered on original design will be the key to breaking out of homogenized competition. However, how well companies manage apparel-specific risks—inventory and trend fluctuations—will determine long-term success.

What the editorial team questions is whether this model can extend to other retail categories. Is the rise of EC-born brands a phenomenon unique to China, or could it become a global trend? Technically, data analytics and supply chain management on e-commerce platforms will be key, but cultural and market factors also play a major role.

References

• “线上品牌批量涌入商场，服饰大洗牌来了”, by 零售圈 — 钛媒体, 2026-08-15T08:40:00.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.tmtpost.com/8104022.html