Giordano brand began to enter the high-end apparel brand

Confirmed yesterday from Giordano China, the company is trying to move from casual clothing brands to high-end clothing brands in order to obtain greater profit margins. Giordano’s financial report for the first half of 2005 showed that the company’s gross profit was only 1% less than the same period of last year. To this end, Giordano's Hong Kong management told the media that it will shift its focus on high-end casual wear.

According to industry insiders, the Mainland China is a fiercely competitive market for clothing brands with more than 2,000 casual wear brands. Not long ago, Spain's famous casual wear brand Zara also fancy and entered the market for the first time. For Giordano, the mainland market accounts for 24% of total sales, making it the world's largest market. Currently, it has 680 stores in mainland China, accounting for about 45% of its total number of stores.

Giordano said on public securities information that brands in Mainland China are constantly strengthening their strength in various fields, which has aggravated competition in the industry. Therefore, the apparel retail industry in the Mainland will be consolidated in the next few years. Giordano will set a new expansion strategy to consolidate its current market position in the Mainland. Although Giordano is currently unable to determine the number of new stores to be opened in the future, “the company is still actively looking for expansion opportunities,” and the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is also a prerequisite for such confidence.

Giordano currently owns brands that meet all levels of consumption. Among them, the middle price brand includes Giordano core line and Giordano Junior which accounted for 87% of its total revenue, followed by Bluestar Exchange, which accounts for 9% of its total revenue. This brand is mainly for low-end customers, and the remaining 4% of revenue comes from Giordano Ladies of high-end customers, in the first half of 2005, the brand's revenue was 84 million Hong Kong dollars. Earlier William Yue said that Giordano will gradually focus on the high-end market, so he will not be entangled in the competition in the low-end market. This decision indicates that Giordano may increase his investment and publicity for Giordano Ladies.

Giordano’s decision, in addition to avoiding competition in the low-end market, seems to have changed the status quo that has gradually become a low-end brand in first-tier cities. In a small survey of Shanghai consumers, it was found that Giordano’s main consumers were teenagers and students, while middle- and high-income consumers said that they rarely bought Giordano’s casual clothes. Because of the lack of publicity, Giordano’s high-end brand is not well-known in Shanghai. The industry believes that Giordano has a long way to go to the high-end market.