The price is over 10,000, and young people lose their “freedom of down jackets”

Burning Dimension (ID: chaintruth) original

Author | Zhang Lin

Editor | Cao Yang

Can’t afford a down jacket with one month’s salary?

Recently, Bosideng, a domestic down jacket brand, has sparked heated discussions among netizens because of “a high-tech luxury down jacket that uses ‘aviation material technology’, with a price tag of more than 10,000 yuan.” Netizens expressed that “Bosideng is no longer the Bosideng it used to be”, “Who would pay for a Bosideng down jacket worth 10,000 yuan”, etc.

As the popularity of online public opinion continues to rise, the so-called “aerospace material technology” it uses has been further “deepened”. Among them, relevant textile experts pointed out that “this technology has been widely used in the industry, and the price is low.” Netizens even questioned that it is packaging products under the guise of “black technology”, but it is actually blindly priced.

In this regard, Bosideng responded in an interview with the media, “For Bosideng, the increase in product prices does not simply rely on the increase in direct costs such as down jacket fabrics and labor costs, but the price is high. It is based on the design, development and upgrade of the product itself. , technological function upgrades, product quality upgrades, and brand value enhancements are superimposed on the basis of comprehensive factors.”

In fact, this is not the first time that Bosideng has launched a down jacket worth RMB 10,000.

In 2017, after the failure of the diversified transformation, Bosideng cut off most of the non-down jacket categories, opening the door to high-end with the down jacket business. And reshaped the brand image by means of fashion week appearance, celebrity endorsement, cooperation with well-known designers, IP co-branding and multi-channel layout. In one fell swoop, the label of “middle-aged and elderly brands” was torn off, and it became synonymous with “high-end fashion”. In 2019, Bosideng launched the “Dengfeng Series” down jacket, and successfully ranked among the ten thousand yuan down jackets.

As prices continue to soar, Bosideng’s gross profit margin is also rising. According to statistics from Guosheng Securities, in fiscal year 2022, 46.9% of Bosideng’s products were priced at more than 1,800 yuan in online sales, and the gross profit margin also increased to 60.1%, a record high.

However, among the domestic down jacket brands, Bosideng may just be one of the representative brands taking the high-end route. Yaya, which has always followed the people-friendly route, has launched the “GOOSE Series” to benchmark international brands on the way to seek a high-end layout; Govan, which focuses on cost-effectiveness, has launched the “Black Gold Goose Down Series”, which is light and luxurious; The price of “SKYPEOPLE” invested by Kanyun Holdings is also between 3200-7200 yuan.

Therefore, topics such as “down jacket price increase” and “down jacket is getting more and more expensive” have been on the hot searches on social platforms in winter for three consecutive years. I’m sorry”.

Li Xi, a girl born in the 90s, bought the popular “Klein blue” down jacket before, but recently she “planted grass” for the “black gold” that has become popular on social platforms.

“In the past, down jackets were only used to keep warm and keep out the cold, and one piece could be worn for several winters. But now, down jackets have gradually become a fashion item, and the update speed is getting faster and faster. I also want to come in every style as I follow the trend. One piece, but the price is several thousand yuan, and the wallet can’t afford it.” Li Xi said frankly that after some struggles, he finally decided not to buy new down jackets and continued to wear “Klein blue”.

Unlike Li Xi who has “inventory” to keep out the cold, Yu Ning, who worked from the south to the northern city for the first year, urgently needs a down jacket to keep out the cold, but the more and more expensive down jackets make Yu Ning, a post-00s girl who has worked for less than a year, commit crimes. difficult. “I didn’t have the confidence to buy a down jacket until the year-end award was issued last month. Before that, I was frozen for a month.”

In stark contrast to the price of domestic down jackets that have jumped to more than 1,000 yuan, the budget for young people to purchase down jackets is less than 1,000 yuan. According to the survey data of the First Financial Industry Data Center, after 90/95, the proportion of down jackets purchased within the budget range of 700-1000 yuan is the highest at 39%.

In this regard, Cheng Weixiong, an independent analyst of the shoe and apparel industry, said to Ranjiyuan that the polarization of the domestic user market is particularly serious. Down jacket companies need to balance the current market situation of consumption upgrades and consumption downgrades. They cannot simply pursue scale and maximize gross profits. Higher prices and higher cost performance reflect the value of commodities. The price strategy and product strategy need to meet the price sensitivity of users in the popular circle and the comparison of cost performance.

Regarding the high-end exploration of domestic down jacket brands, Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, said that in the next five years, Chinese down jacket brands will compete with international mainstream brands in the global market, and it will be possible to catch up or even lead in the mid-to-high-end market. But obviously, in the high-end field, there is still a long way to go.

Cheng Weixiong added that in the process of competition, product quality is the key, including product design and development capabilities and understanding of the industry, such as the use of new materials, research and development innovation of surface accessories, and new channel technology capabilities. As prices continue to rise, companies also need to meet the needs of different consumers in the market stratification, and carry out the development of full coverage of categories, so that companies and brands have sustainable growth value.

unaffordable down jacket

In order to buy a down jacket that meets her requirements in terms of shape, quality, and price, for nearly half a month, Qiqi, a post-95 girl, browses recommendations from bloggers on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili whenever she has time. But until now she has not placed an order.

“I feel like I could buy a good-quality down jacket for four or five hundred yuan a few years ago, but now I don’t seem to be qualified to buy a down jacket if I don’t have a budget of two thousand yuan.” Qiqi is a petite girl, and the clothing she cares about Most of the similar bloggers are similar in size to her. Soon, she was “planted” by the Korean version of the down jacket recommended by the bloggers.

“Fashion is really a reincarnation. In the past two years, Korean clothing has become popular again. The Korean-style down jackets recommended by bloggers are simple in style, and the colors are light yellow and milk green, which are fresh and age-reducing.” Following the sharing of the bloggers who planted grass After the brand found a store, Qiqi was directly persuaded by the price, “The price of a Korean-style down jacket from a niche brand is actually more than 3,000 yuan.”

In desperation, Qiqi had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, looking for a similar style of down jacket on Taobao, but found that the price was not cheap, and the quality was not guaranteed. According to the buyer’s show, the color is different from the original version.” In a hurry, Qiqi finally gave up her plan to buy a long down jacket and decided to choose a short down jacket for the winter, “Short ones will always be cheaper. “

Qiqi told Ranjiyuan that she finally took a fancy to a short down jacket with milky purple white duck down that was priced at 1,400 yuan in the original version. “The same model I found on a certain wholesale platform only costs 600 yuan. If you lower the requirement for down filling, you can buy one for 300 or 400 yuan, but the quality is estimated to last only one season.” I began to wonder whether it is necessary to spend several hundred yuan to buy an unwearable “look”.

Like Qiqi, Xiaoxiao, a girl born in the 90s, also gave up her plan to buy down jackets and bought a cotton jacket instead, “My budget is to buy down jackets within 800 yuan, but I found that the so-called down jackets are no longer available at this price. A down jacket with both brand and design.”

The down jacket that Xiaoxiao is wearing now was bought three years ago. “At that time, I bought a down jacket from a fashion clothing brand. It was catching up with the 50% off event, and the price was 800 yuan. Although the style is good-looking, the warmth is not very good, especially after wearing it for three years. Now this dress The effect of keeping out the cold is almost equal to that of a woolen coat.”

For this reason, Xiaoxiao originally planned to buy another down jacket, but after shopping around twice, she found out a “reality”. It is almost impossible to buy a decent down jacket in the season with a budget of 800 yuan, unless it is discounted after the end of the season. . “Professional down jacket brands don’t have 1,500 yuan, and it’s hard to buy a style with down filling that meets your needs. Even the average price of down jackets from fashion clothing brands is almost 1,200 yuan or more.”

So, in order to cope with the coming cold weather, Xiaoxiao decided to buy a padded jacket first. “You can buy a good-looking padded jacket for only two or three hundred yuan. The cost of decision-making is low. You can buy any good-looking clothes and create different styles. As for the warmth retention, I don’t think it’s a big problem to only wear it for one season.”

Different from Qiqi and Xiaoxiao, 2022 is the first year for Yu Ning to work in a northern city. As a southerner, she was so excited to see a real snowflake for the first time at the beginning of the year. No matter how helpless she was, the down jacket became what she just needed.

“As a southerner, I have never bought a down jacket before, so I don’t know how to choose it, as long as the style and price are right. So I finally bought a light down jacket from a casual clothing brand for 699 yuan.” Yu Ning told Ranjiyuan, I am still “sloppy”, and it is a torment to go out every day, and it is freezing cold on the commute.

Yuning’s colleagues couldn’t stand it, and forced her to go shopping to buy a down jacket, but in the end, Yuning still refused to buy it on the grounds that “there is no favorite style”. “Actually, I lied. The clothes I chose cost more than 2,000 yuan. After all, I just started working, so buying a piece of clothing for 2,000 yuan is not a trivial matter for me.”

Fortunately, there was a year-end bonus. With this money, Yu Ning bought a 2,500 yuan down jacket. “It’s funny to say, I got the confidence to buy a down jacket because of the year-end bonus, and down jackets are really too expensive now.”

Wearing a down jacket worth more than 2,000 yuan, Yu Ning also had the feeling of “really fragrant”. “The down jacket I bought before is thin, so I have to wear many layers every time I go out. But I heard from friends in the north that I should actually wear less under it in winter, because the heating in the northern house is sufficient, and it is easier to put on and take off when entering the house. I have never used it before. I have experienced it, but since I bought this down jacket, I have really experienced this feeling. It is not bloated, does not hinder movement, and more importantly, I finally don’t have to be cold.”

Why is it getting more expensive?

It is not difficult to see from the remarks of the above-mentioned consumers that down jackets are getting more and more expensive, which has become an indisputable fact.

According to the data of the China National Commercial Information Center, from 2014 to 2020, the average unit price of down jackets in my country has risen from 452.6 yuan to 656 yuan; the transaction price of large-scale winter clothing has exceeded 1,000 yuan, and the proportion of more than 2,000 yuan has accounted for nearly 70%.

However, Ranjiyuan recently discovered through offline stores that the average price of some brands of down jackets has exceeded 1,500 yuan.

According to the clerk of ONLY, a fashion clothing brand in a shopping mall in Beijing, the average price of down jackets in the store is about 1,500 yuan, and the reason for the price increase of down jackets in the past two years is attributed to “increasing costs” and “improved sense of technology, down jackets can be machine washed”. and “more stylish styles”.

The clerk of the Bosideng brand located in the same shopping center also told Ranjiyuan that the average unit price of down jackets in the store is around 1,500 yuan, and the filling of some series has also changed from duck down to goose down, which is lighter and warmer. “Under the influence of imported down jacket brands, consumers are increasingly accepting domestic mid-to-high-end products, which is one of the reasons why the price of domestic down jackets has risen.” However, the clerk also admitted that there are indeed many young consumers. After trying it on, I was “dissuaded” by the price.

As mentioned by the above two salesmen, the reason why domestic down jackets have become more and more expensive in recent years is related to rising costs on the one hand. As an important part of down jackets, down materials largely determine the cost and quality of down jackets. In recent years, affected by multiple factors such as the epidemic, the imbalance between production and demand has been caused, which has further pushed up the price of down.

Fu Miaokui, chairman of down supplier Liuqiao Group, once said in an interview with the media that the average unit price of down will rise from 150,000 yuan/ton to 300,000 yuan/ton in 2021, doubling. Liuqiao Group has the ability to produce more than 100,000 tons of down per year, but the annual production of down in 2021 has dropped by 10% compared with last year.

On the other hand, with the entry of foreign high-end down jacket brands such as Canada Goose and Moncler into the Chinese market, under the market education of these high-end brands, consumers’ acceptance of mid-to-high-end brands has also increased, but at the same time, they are also more concerned about the styles and fabrics of products. , quality, fashion, aesthetics, etc. have more diverse and high-quality requirements.

Of course, this also laid the foundation for the high-end road of domestic down jacket brands, and many brands have also moved towards high-end. According to the incomplete statistics of Ranjiyuan, in addition to Bosideng, which has already launched a price of 10,000 yuan, the price of SKYPEOPLE’s down jackets is generally between 3,000 and 7,000 yuan; the price of the “95 goose down jacket Goose series” launched by Yaya has also increased to 2,599 yuan. Gao Fan, who originally focused on cost-effective positioning, launched the “Black Gold Goose Down Series”, which is also priced at 2,899 yuan.

“The price of down jackets in my country has stayed within 1,000 yuan for a long time in the past. Now, with the improvement of people’s living standards, consumption levels have also increased. At the same time, driven by overseas brands entering the domestic market, my country’s down jackets have also begun to raise prices, and they have embarked on a mid-to-high-end route.” Zhang Yi said to Ranjiyuan that foreign luxury brand down jackets have spawned a domestic mid-to-high-end down jacket market with a price of 2,000-5,000 yuan.

“From the perspective of product quality itself, my country’s production capacity, manufacturing capacity and technological level are no different from other countries. Some domestic companies do OEM for overseas brands, which also provides a premium space for the price rise of some mainstream domestic brands.”

In addition, factors such as fashion design, quality improvement, technological innovation and seasonal restrictions are also reasons for continuously pushing up the price of down jackets.

A practitioner in the clothing industry told Ranjiyuan that in fact, the production cost of a down jacket is about 100 yuan, and it is very common for clothing brands to price more than 10 times the cost.

“In order to enhance the sense of fashion, clothing brands may choose IP joint names, or cooperate with well-known designers, and then carry out brand marketing, which will cost a lot. But unlike other clothing, down jackets are greatly affected by solar terms and weather. , it can only be sold for one season a year, and the price will naturally get higher and higher if the goods are overstocked if you are not careful.”

How to take the road of high-end?

The “Research Report on the Development Trend and Competitive Strategy of China’s Down Apparel Industry” shows that China is the world’s largest production base for down apparel. According to the data of CITIC Securities, the market size of China’s down industry will reach 162.2 billion yuan. It is estimated that the market size of my country’s down jacket industry will reach 195 billion yuan in 2024, and will continue to maintain rapid growth.

Therefore, the consumption of down jacket products in China is dominated by domestic brands, with a relatively high market share. But the problem is that domestic brands have been distributed in the low-end product market for a long time, and the high-end market is mainly occupied by imported down jacket brands, which leads to low gross profit of domestic down jacket brands and little room for brand development.

In order to change this situation, domestic down jacket brands have changed their usual marketing strategy of low-price promotion from R&D and design to production technology and marketing methods. Various marketing methods such as live streaming and delivery of goods have enhanced brand awareness and paved the way for high-end routes.

Accompanied by the diversification of marketing is the high cost of marketing. Taking Bosideng as an example, according to its financial report, from 2020 to 2022, Bosideng’s sales and distribution expenses will be 4.276 billion yuan (RMB, the same applies if not marked below), 4.807 billion yuan and 6.171 billion yuan, accounting for 39.4% of the group’s total revenue. , 29.7% and 38.1%, and the growth rate of operating income was 22.7%, 18.9% and 16.3% respectively, slowing down year by year.

Of course, the price of the product has also risen accordingly.

Also take Bosideng as an example. According to the research report of Dongxing Securities, before the brand transformation of Bosideng in 2017, the average price of the tag of its products was 1,000-1,100 yuan; after 2018, the price began to rise continuously, and the price increase reached 30%-40%. The proportion of down jackets with a unit price of 1,000-1,800 yuan has risen to 63.8%, the proportion of down jackets with a unit price of more than 1,800 yuan has risen from 4.8% to 24.1%, and the proportion of down jackets with a unit price of less than 1,000 yuan has dropped from more than half to less than 20%.

Judging from the financial report data, Bosideng’s high-end strategy seems to have succeeded. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, Bosideng’s revenue is 16.214 billion yuan. From the perspective of revenue composition, the brand down jacket business is still the company’s largest source of income, contributing 13.223 billion yuan in revenue during the period, accounting for 81.6%.

However, in terms of sales volume alone, high-end products, especially ultra-high-end series, obviously cannot replace low-end and mid-end products and become the main source of revenue for Bosideng.

According to Bosideng’s financial report, as of March 31, 2022, among the online sales of Bosideng brand down jackets, products below 1,800 yuan/piece accounted for 53.1%. In addition, Ranciyuan found in the sales volume of an online flagship store in Bosideng that among the down jacket category, the prices of the top ten best-selling products are all below 1,000 yuan, and the price range of down jackets with monthly average sales of more than 1,000 pieces is 600 yuan. -1500 yuan. In contrast, its 10,000 yuan down jacket, such as the Dengfeng 2.0 aviation technology innovation down jacket, only has 5 people to pay.

Cheng Weixiong told Ranjiyuan that as far as the current domestic down jacket market is concerned, from the perspective of the industry’s price increase rate and production costs, few consumers will pay for domestic down jackets that cost more than 3,000 yuan. More consumers still focus on down jackets worth less than 1,000 yuan when consuming.

“At present, there is no real high-end brand in the domestic down jacket industry, because high-end brands have their own brand stories and origins, and are more original and different, and have higher price increase ratios. They have excellent brand images and high-quality products. The product is effectively integrated with its own culture, and has a high-end life scene and a certain consumption base.” Cheng Weixiong further said.

Cheng Weixiong said that for Bosideng, although its exploration of high-end brands has brought about growth in performance, it is still in an awkward position. In the perception of users, Bosideng is still a popular down jacket brand. Bosideng should not be “higher than high” on the way of price increase. The product price needs to return to the position required by the market. It is not that the price increase can improve the brand power.

In addition, it should be noted that high-end is by no means done once and for all. Behind the high prices are higher requirements from consumers and stricter supervision from the market.

“In the down garment industry, it is correct and necessary for the brand to transform towards mid-to-high-end, which will drive the progress of the industry.” Cheng Weixiong believes that at present, the brand of China’s down garment industry is in the cultivation stage of transformation to high-end, which needs to include research and development. , Sales, advertising and other aspects of a lot of investment. However, if Chinese down jacket brands really want to develop towards mid-to-high end, they still need to continue to make efforts in brand power, product power, and service power.

*Li Xi, Yu Ning, Qiqi and Xiaoxiao are all pseudonyms in this article.

*Disclaimer: Under no circumstances shall the information or opinions expressed in this article constitute investment advice for anyone.

(Disclaimer: This article only represents the author’s point of view, not the position of Sina.com.)

This article is reproduced from: https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/csj/2023-01-13/doc-imxzyzcq2183212.shtml
This site is only for collection, and the copyright belongs to the original author.