Wolford targets China via new Fosun subsidiary, expects steady growth there

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 25, 2019

Wolford has clearly been itching to share some big news all this month but couldn’t do so until its parent company Fosun offered up its own big news last Friday around the setting up of its new Fosun Fashion Brand Management Company (FFBM).

So on Monday, Wolford was finally able to announce that since the beginning of this month it has been using FFBM as its new partner to manage the company’s brand identity in the important Chinese market.

The market, which is so important because it’s populated by “a steadily growing class of luxury-oriented consumers,” is the company's next frontier after it has already seen success in expanding its presence in Hong Kong and Macau.

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FFBM has now been contracted to steer the planned marketing drive in China and it will be a very high-profile test of the new company’s abilities as it acts as a full-service provider focusing on marketing and sales of luxury brands in China. 

The high-end intimates company said that FFBM “will contribute its local expertise on Wolford’s behalf in order to develop a detailed market entry strategy for China and assume responsibility for the operational management of all wholesale and retail channels as well as for e-commerce.”

“In this way, FFBM will ensure the cultural ‘fit’ of the merchandising and also carry out all operational tasks,” it added. 

So what are the brand’s expectations for what it can achieve in China? It's not expecting fireworks at the start but said that it's aiming to “gradually and sustainably develop its business” in the country. It added that in the medium-term, revenue generated there “should be comparable with Wolford’s present core markets of the USA (19% share of revenue) and Germany (15%).”