China’s ‘extremely competitive’ clothing sector continues to be hard sell for foreign brands
- Social media posts of sales at Gap stores in China fuelled further speculation that another foreign clothing brand is set to reduce its footprint
- H&M, Old Navy, Top Shop, New Look, Bershka, Pull&Bear and Stradivarius have either withdrawn or reduced their business in China in recent years
Global fashion brands continue to reduce their footprint in an “extremely competitive” Chinese market that may be becoming more hostile to outside labels amid a surge of nationalism that has boosted demand for domestic labels.
Posts of signs saying “Gap clearance everywhere!!! As low as 20 per cent off” and “Gap is closing its stores! Clearance sale!” have also gained popularity on Chinese social media platform Little Red Book over the last week.
“The clothes market in China is extremely competitive,” said Ma Zhongyuan, the manager of Quanzhou Fangma, a garment factory in Fujian province, who has 20 years of experience in garment processing.
Gap’s head offices in China and the United States did not reply to requests for comment via email.
This low-price model via Chinese e-commerce platforms is ideal for Chinese consumers in a downward economic environment due to the pandemic
China remains Gap’s largest business segment in Asia, but it has also decreased its stores in North America from 1,111 in 2010 to 520 in 2021, when it had 329 stores in Asia, according to data from Statista.
