Nike recently unveiled a pair of Y2K-style video ads promoting its retro Zoom Vomero 5 running shoes, featuring actor Jin Shijia and athlete Lin Yuwei. These ads, adopting a nostalgic early 2000s digital aesthetic, depict the protagonists leisurely enjoying urban settings with the slogan “Whatever makes you comfortable.” Posted on Weibo, the campaign garnered 1.94 million views. Jin’s video showcases him strolling in the rain with traditional breakfast, while Lin casually exercises in a park amid a trendy photoshoot.
It was announced yesterday that the first i.t Blue Block in Shanghai will open in the third quarter of this year at Xintiandi in Shanghai. i.t Blue Block is a brand new fashion concept space developed by i.t offering fashion and apparel, food and beverages, and more under the same roof. The new space will include restaurants and a nearly 3,000-square-meter store that will feature products from nearly 50 global brands from Asia, North America and Europe.
Chinese fashion brand SMFK yesterday opened its first store in Chongqing, at Xingguang 68. The shop’s storefront features distinctive all-gold decoration. SMFK, despite its “unisex” concept, the brand mainly offers products for women, positioned in the mid-to-high-end market with prices ranging from 500 RMB to 3,000 RMB ($77 to $462). Established in 2016, SMFK has already opened nine stores in seven cities across China, including Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Nanjing. Additionally, in early January this year, the brand opened its first overseas store in Sydney, Australia.
Resellers in China are the slashing prices of iPhone 15 models by up to $180, indicating a prolonged drop in demand. Discounts on platforms like Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com surpass last year’s and reflect challenges faced by Apple due to economic difficulties and Huawei’s resurgence in the smartphone market. Apple’s move to lower prices aligns with a broader deflation trend in China, aiming to boost iPhone demand amid declining sales, which dropped 13% to $20.8 billion in the quarter ended December.
Japanese sportswear brand Asics disclosed its financial data for 2023, revealing sales climbed 17.7% YoY to 570.46 billion yen ($5.19 billion). Sales in the Greater China region surged 24.4% to 77.62 billion yen ($0.71 billion), while regional profits grew 30.2% to 13.11 billion yen ($0.12 billion). The company attributed the performance to the pandemic having ended before the reporting period, with economic activities fully resuming and an increased awareness of health among people.
Inter Parfums announced that its full-year sales for 2023 surged by 21% YoY to $1.318 billion, reaching a historic high, driven by strong demand and strategic growth initiatives, with net profits soaring 26% to $475 million. During the period, sales in the three largest markets, North America, Europe, and Asia, grew by 22%, 21%, and 17%, respectively, while sales in the Middle East rose by 22%, and in Central and South America by 33%. Additionally, sales for the three major brands, Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, and Coach, exceeded $200 million for the first time.
On February 28, China’s online discount retailer Vipshop released its performance for 2023. Benefiting from seasonal demand growth and the rise of rational consumption, Vipshop achieved net revenue of 112.9 billion RMB ($17.37 billion), a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent. At the same time, the annual gross merchandise value was 208 billion RMB ($32 billion), a year-on-year increase of 18.7%; the number of active users was 87.4 million, up 3.9% YoY.
