No.1 Luxury Women’s Wear Brand on Tmall During Double 11 was Chinese Brand ICICLE

Chinese brands have seen tremendous growth over the past few years – that is what this website is all about, but most of these successful brands have been in industries such as skincare and cosmetics, food and beverage, appliances, and apparel, and many have commented that we have yet to see Chinese luxury brands able to compete the international players.

But that may be changing. Although it has received very little media coverage, Chinese luxury brand ICICLE之禾 ranked #1 in the luxury womenswear category during this year’s 11.11.

If ICICLE sounds familiar, it’s because we mentioned it in a previous article we wrote about how the fashion in the TV show Nothing But Thirty (三十而已) was extremely popular among Chinese consumers. Among all the international brands that got a boost in publicity from the show, Icicle was one of the Chinese brands that was featured.

About the Brand

ICICLE is an apparel brand founded by a couple in Shanghai in 1997. It is a luxury brand with prices ranging from 1,996 RMB to 19,900 RMB ($300- $3,040). Its style matches with the characters of the TV show Nothing But Thirty and many people started getting to know the brand since then.

Its product’s quality is one of the reasons for its success. Some of them are produced in the same factory that works for MaxMara. It also treats details very carefully.

The other thing is its after-sales service. On social media platform Zhihu (知乎), an Icicle customer shares her experience of having her pants fixed again and again by the brand. She was very pleased that after tailoring, the pants seem quite new to her and don’t show any signs of being altered.

Marketing

ICICLE doesn’t work with big celebrities or KOLs, instead, it works with mid-tier ones. In terms of celebrities such as Chinese singer Chen Linong (陈立农) or actress Tao Hong (陶虹), ICICLE’s products either show up with them in magazines or street photography, especially airports. (PS: Airports have become hot places for celebrities to show their outfit of the day). When it comes to bloggers, the brand mainly works with lifestyle and fashion KOLs.

To target different consumers, the brand has developed several lines including women’s businesswear, travel, sustainable apparel, children’s clothes and menswear. Though it has several product lines, ICICLE places its main focus on white collar females ages 25 to 30 that pursue a sophisticated lifestyle. This group of people are highly educated, confident and have good fashion taste.

Plans for International Expansion

The brand is also going international. It hired former Vice CEO of the French food brand Fauchon as its vice president and opened stores in Paris. The brand is also planning to open a store in London. All these moves signal to Chinese consumers that the brand is being recognized by the international market and its quality is being proven.

Read more: 之禾集团副总裁Isabelle Capron: 明年ICICLE将在巴黎开设第二家门店并进入伦敦市场

ICICLE这个品牌的理念怎么样，经营模式有哪些？