Seafolly is set to open their first e-retail store in China this Summer, with plans to share the iconic Australian beach lifestyle with millions of women in Asia’s largest consumer market. The decision to expand into China is supported by evidence that China is the fastest growing swimwear and beach casual wear market in Asia, with an average of 9.6% annual market growth from 2013 to 2017, which will remain strong in the next five years.
Global CEO of Seafolly, Mr. Paul Kotrba shared his vision on China as a strategic international market for the brand: “China is critically important for us as we accelerate the expansion of Seafolly outside our home market where we continue to strengthen our leadership position. In the past 12 months alone, 1.4 million Chinese tourists visited Australia, many of whom have come into contact with Seafolly and our unique Australian beach lifestyle. The swimwear industry today is very dynamic and growing at a rapid clip globally, especially so in China where it is forecast to grow close to 10% each year through 2022, thus opening up an opportunity for Seafolly to be the first premium fashion swimwear brand in the market.”
China’s major B2C cross-border ecommerce platform, Tmall Global (as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group) has over 70,000 brands and retailers and receives over 40 million unique online visitors daily. Tmall Global is the leading platform for overseas brands and retailers to reach Chinese consumers, build brand awareness and gain valuable consumer insights in forming their overall China strategy. Seafolly plans to ride on the country’s prosperous online shopping trend by launching the first official direct retail store on Tmall Global with a series of marketing campaigns to support the brand’s developmentinto the new market.
