British Label A-COLD-WALL* Launches First-Ever Store in China
A-COLD-WALL* is officially opening its doors in China at the prestigious shopping center of Taikoo Li, Sanlitun, in Beijing. Its Fall 2022 collection will be released in-store simultaneously.
The British designer label will make its foray into the Chinese market with the help of Tomorrow, a showroom company that owns a minority stake in it, and the local agency POWER RICH. The two firms will be responsible for A-COLD-WALL*’s retail, wholesale, and e-commerce operations, with the goal of establishing in-depth communication with domestic shoppers and enhancing the brand’s popularity through online and offline channels.
As early as 2020, the premium streetwear player dipped its toes in China’s digital sphere by partnering with Chinese e-tail giant JD.com (read the article below). Over the years, the niche label founded by Samuel Ross has been stocked by influential domestic multibrand retailers, such as I.T, K11, and Foss, developing a solid brand reputation and cult following among local hypebeasts.
With young male consumers increasingly hungry for designs that help them express their personalities and sophisticated fashion taste, the untapped potentiality for A-COLD-WALL* in China is tremendous. On the popular lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, the brand has already amassed over 2,000 UGC instances.
Yet, A-COLD-WALL* must cautiously build its roadmap for growth to avoid falling into the hype trap as its predecessors London Boy, Marcelo Burlon, and Anti Social Social Club did.
The playing field for launching luxury online in China is vast and varied. From apps like WeChat or Little Red Book, and short video platforms Douyin to Kuaishou, there’s a platform and an audience there that will suit your brand’s needs. This week, emerging British menswear brand A-COLD-WALL* launches a digital film at Milan Fashion Week. It does so just as it cements its partnership with JD.com, dropping AW20 collection with the e-commerce giant in November.
The onset of COVID-19 meant that China’s digital landscape had to expand exponentially, incorporating new and daring ways to capture Chinese consumers’ interests. Though many still view this as a two-horse race — Tmall with its Luxury Pavilion versus JD.com and partner Farfetch — JD.com has been seriously upping its fashion credentials since January.
So far, its scoops this year include Zegna, Coach, Balmain, Yohji Yamamoto, and a number of new names from Farfetch China, such as the UK designers Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda Ilincic. The collaboration with London-based A-COLD-WALL*, founded by the articulate designer Samuel Ross, began when the brand won JD.com’s sponsored BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, and has culminated in the brand joining the platform. Read More...
