Accessing China’s Fashion Market

Just Campagne is a family-run business based in France, designing and making 100% hand-made leather bags and accessories. With three boutiques, two in Paris and one in Biarritz, the company is looking to develop in the Asian market, in particular in China.

In their early days in China, they carried out a market study in Beijing by organising private events for potential clients to show them their products. The feedback that Just Campagne received after the events was very positive and encouraging.

Célia Berkouk, Head of Marketing & Sales at Just Campagne, first heard about the EU SME Centre during an event organised at Capital M by VIVA – a Beijing-based women’s professional network. After being introduced to the Centre and receiving advice on the Chinese fashion industry from Rafael Jimenez, the Business Development Expert at the EU SME Centre, Célia very quickly got valuable advice to get started.

“They fully understood that our product category is not aimed at the mass-market, ” said Célia. China is a high potential market for Just Campagne, because customers are in search for niche and exclusive products with great quality and service. The Centre suggested exploring in detail the showrooms scene in Shanghai which, despite being relatively recent, is a fast way to approach the Fashion Complements market in China.

 “Getting to know in detail how the supply chain works for the so-called showrooms is a bit tricky without the counselling of true experts. The EU SME Centre reacted fast informing my company to whom to contact in the Shanghai fashion scene to navigate through the world of showrooms.”

Understanding payment methods of Chinese travellers and “daigou” was also very useful for Célia. Just Campagne adopted Chinese payment methods for developing brand awareness for Chinese people travelling abroad and visiting one of the stores in France. All the boutiques accept UnionPay and the ones in Paris accept AliPay as well.

No less important was the insistence on registering the company’s trademark in China. Early on, the Centre referred Célia to the China IPR Helpdesk to seek advice on their trademark issue.

A top tip from Célia is “always check your trademark registration status in China before going any further. Small companies don’t always have this in mind straight away, but especially for Chin, this is the very first thing to be done!”