(China Daily) With the Chinese consumer landscape changing rapidly, homegrown brands are struggling to attract affluent young customers. But Erdos, a Chinese household name when it comes to cashmere, is trying something different－creating two brands from one.
Erdos held a fashion show in Beijing on Sept 1, presenting two brands－Erdos 1980 and Erdos. And supermodel Liu Wen and actress Zhang Ziyi were on its guest list.
The show opened with a ballet performance in which dancers were all dressed in cashmere.
The collections on show comprised coats, dresses and sweaters, highlighting simple lines and subtle colors.
Erdos 1980 reinterprets the classic style of the original brand with its emphasis on quality and comfort, while Erdos targets China's well-educated middle class, which looks for both quality and fashion.
Although China's apparel industry is facing difficulties, new opportunities are emerging as consumers today have more specific needs, says Wang Zhen, vice-president of the Erdos Group, who is also the daughter of Wang Linxiang, founder of the company.
"This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss," she says.
"Our customers are changing and diversifying, and we have to meet their needs."
The strategy adjustment is based on long-term market research that includes a survey by McKinsey & Company, which covered 5,000 consumers in more than 30 cities in China.
Founded in 1980, Erdos is a well-known name in China, but it used to be more associated with quality rather than fashion.
But as China's consumers shift toward class and style, the company has been gradually diversifying.
The Erdos Group, which owns the Erdos brands, launched 1436, a luxury cashmere brand, in 2006, and it founded Blue Erdos in 2012, which targets the young crowd with its simple designs and affordable prices.
The Erdos Group, which has more than 1,000 stores in over 500 cities in China, and stores in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, also has plans to expand into other countries.
Meanwhile, the company plans to revamp its store on the Chinese online marketplace Tmall.com in an attempt to cater to the Internet generation.
And Wang hopes that all these moves will cover all the major customer groups in China.
Wang, who grew up in Ordos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was sent to Britain to study at the age of 15.
She later went to Cambridge to study engineering where she acquired a master's degree.
After graduation, she worked for the consultancy firm Roland Berger, where she learned about business management.
In 2006, she left Roland Berger to join the family business, launching the 1436 brand as she felt Chinese cashmere was undervalued.
"We had the best material and the best technique, but we didn't have a good brand. I wanted people to know about the value of cashmere," says Wang, whose previous work experience let her tap international resources at a time when Chinese fashion brands were just starting to be recognized.
The Erdos Group now has French designer Gilles Dufour, who worked with Karl Lagerfeld in Chanel for more than a decade, as its creative director.
And the appointment of supermodel Liu as the company's spokeswoman now means the company has a much more relatable brand image for young people.
The company has also recently reached agreements with an Italian designer to head the Erdos 1980 line, but Wang would not reveal the name.
The Erdos Group is also seeking to collaborate with emerging Chinese designers.
A capsule collection done with China's leading independent designer Uma Wang will be shown at Shanghai Fashion Week later this month.
Source: By Sun Yuanqing (China Daily)