Trade war no barrier to Vans owner as VF Corp links up with Tencent to turbocharge online retail sales in China

Name: Inside China’s ‘shoe capital’: the Jinjiang brands running toward global markets
Uploaded: 2020-08-23T01:30:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Inside China’s ‘shoe capital’: the Jinjiang brands running toward global markets

The US apparel and footwear firm saw a 36 per cent jump in sales from digital channels after its tie-up with Tmall and JD.com

Vans’ upcoming flagship store in Shanghai will have a zone featuring Tencent’s latest video games and a mini program on WeChat

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Vans’ largest flagship store in Europe is in Oxford Street, London. A similar store is due to open in Shanghai in December. Photo: Handout

Pearl Liu

Published: 9:30am, 23 Aug 2020Updated: 1:31pm, 24 Aug 2020

US apparel and footwear company VF Corporation is betting big on China, but with a heavy focus on digital channels.

The owner of Vans, Timberland and The North Face, having opened 160 stores in Greater China in the past year, said it will continue to open several more to boost sales, shrugging off rising US-China tension and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

“China has done an amazing job of very quickly containing [the coronavirus] outbreak to keep consumers confident and [offers] fantastic opportunities for retailers to think about expansion in China,” said Kevin Bailey, executive vice-president and group president, APAC and emerging brands. “We have prioritised investing in Asia with a specific focus on China.”

The China expansion will revolve on digital retailing as seen from its latest tie-up with internet and social media giant Tencent Holdings.

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Inside China’s ‘shoe capital’: the Jinjiang brands running toward global markets

The 120-year-old company, which has a dozen other brands in its stable, is opening its first Vans flagship store in mainland China – its sixth overall after three in its home market of the US and one each in London and Seoul. The outlet will open in Shanghai's buzzing East Nanjing Road, the city’s busiest shopping strip in December.