How Did Chinese Brand Ubras Become the No.1 Underwear Brand on Tmall?

If you’ve browsed Douyin recently or frequently watch livestreaming, you have likely seen advertisements for a domestic underwear brand Ubras. The brand was founded in 2016 but didn’t start to take off until 2018. This year the brand has experienced massive success. Throughout the first eight months of 2020, Ubras’ sales volume ranked #1 on Tmall, ranking far ahead of popular Chinese underwear brand NEIWAI who ranked #9. 

On this year’s Double 11, Ubras also ranked TOP1 on the underwear category. On the first round of the shopping festival, which started from October 24 to November 3, it used 33 minutes to surpass its sales volume on last year’s Double 11. It broke 100M RMB sales in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

What’s special about Ubras is that its bras are one-size-fits-all. It is fair to say the brand started a revolution in the underwear industry in China. Following Ubras, many brands start producing one-size-fits-all underwear.

But why has Ubras become so popular over the past two years? And what can other brands learn from it?

The Age of No Underwire

The market is ready for Ubras. In the past, women always wore underwire bras to make their chests look larger and to seem more attractive to men, despite being uncomfortable. However in recent years, Chinese women have embraced feminism, dressing to please themselves and placing comfort first, which has resulted in the growing popularity of bras without underwire. 

Ubras has always produced underwire-free bras, yet its business failed to take off. Why? Because it lacked a differentiator. It’s no underwire bras were very similar to those from popular alternatives Uniqlo, Maniform and NEIWAI and it offered them in three sizes: S, M, L. 

The turning point was when Ubras launched its one-size-fits-all bras in 2018. Because its one-size-fits-all, the bra is able to serve many types of consumers, including teenage girls, working women and moms. At the same time, consumers don’t need to spend lots of time on deciding what sizes to buy. It shortens the decision-making time and improves the purchasing efficiency.

More than half of Ubras consumers are post-90s, and there is a rapid growth of post-95s and post-00s as well. Ubras define this bra as “undefined freedom” and this appeals to young consumers a lot because of the independence the bra delivers.

Its bras can also be worn outside without covering, similar to a crop top or sports bra. It is a little bit sexy yet it is accepted by the public since its not overly revealing. 

Less SKUs Means More Efficient Supply Chain 

For those bras with steel rings, production requires 30-40 steps, and almost every step is an independent supply chain. Though bras without underwire involve fewer processing steps, it still requires expensive materials and involves many SKUs. Too many SKU brings challenges for the supply chain and stocking.

The one-size-fits-all idea upgrades supply chain and reduces the production costs. Based on this, Ubras is able to lower its prices which becomes its advantages when competing with other underwear brands. Its bras range from 120-190 RMB, and if it comes to livestream, the price goes lower. Consumers feel that they get a good deal.

When almost every other brand is niching down, Ubras is going the opposite decision and producing a product for everyone. This works successfully.

As Commerce Livestreaming Took Off, So Did Ubras

Livestreaming has become an extremely popular marketing and sales channel in China this year. For regular bras, it is somewhat difficult to leverage live streaming because streamers can only show the product in their hands, but not have anyone model the product due to government regulations preventing indecent exposure.

As we mentioned before, since Ubras’ products provide coverage similar to a sports bra, it is okay to wear them outside, so it is okay to wear and present them on livestream.

What’s more, consumers usually prefer to try bras at offline stores so they can figure out the right size. Well, the one-size-fits-all idea makes it easier for consumers to purchase online.

Ubras has three types of livestreams at the moment: collaborations with top live streamers, celebrity streams and brand-run streams. After consumers make an order in a livestream room and receive the product, they will be guided to add a personal WeChat account for customer service, deals, product launch info etc. And in the account’s WeChat Moments, consumers are guided back to watch more livestreams, creating a repurchase and retention cycle. 

Social Media Marketing Strategy

Ubras creates content catering to each social media channel and consumer type. For example: 

Weibo: Ubras collaborates with mid-tier influencers on the platform and content is about new product launches.

Douyin: Mostly play videos of its brand ambassador Nana Ouyang (欧阳娜娜).

Xiaohongshu: Ubras collaborates with mid-tier influencers. Content is more about zhongcao (种草) or sharing lots of product features and reviewing the product in a way that convinces other users to buy it. When consumers receive Ubras parcels, they are also encouraged to share the purchases on Xiaohongshu and include specific keywords. If the post is qualified, consumers can get free underwear. 

The Future of Ubras

While one-size-fits-all benefits many customers as they don’t have to spend time choosing sizes, there are a group of people who are not satisfied with Ubras, saying they will not buy its products again. Some are complaining about the store’s logistics. It’s slow especially during Double 11, and when these customers approach customer service to question the logistics, they receive unfriendly response.

Some are talking about its quality. For example, even after hand-washing, the bras are pilling. There are also voices saying Ubras’ bras look bad on small chested women and that the bras make them seem really flat and it gets loose.

It’s normal for a brand to have quality or after-sales issues. After all, Ubras is only 4-years-old and no brand is born perfect. But still, in order to become a sustainable, long lasting brand with loyal, returning customers, quality is key. I think Ubras will spend more time and energy adjusting these issues. I bought Ubras for my mom and myself during the past Double 11 and both of us love the texture of them, and find them to be very comfortable, and I didn’t have the logistical issues that those users mentioned on Xiaohongshu. 

Other than underwear, Ubras is expanding its product lines to pants, shirts, and training bras for pre-teen and teenage girls. Focusing on one-size-fits-all bras makes Ubras a go-to choice for most consumers. The brand is shaping its bras as a star product while expanding its business to more categories, which makes it competitive on the market.

Read more: 深度｜月销量近2亿，Ubras如何成为天猫第一内衣？