Continued rise of Chinese fashion and beauty brands: What it means for Singapore retail

SINGAPORE – When thinking of the first market outside China for his massive network of upscale clothing stores, Mr Jin Chenhao knew the answer was clear: Singapore.

The city-state has several things going for it, says the chief executive of Guangzhou-based fashion conglomerate EPO Fashion Group, which owns leading Chinese fashion brands Edition and Mo&Co.

Mr Jin, 37, was in town in November for the grand opening of Edition’s and Mo&Co’s first Singapore stores at Raffles City.

Edition’s prices range from $315 for a pair of pants to $800 for a trench coat, while prices at Mo&Co, which has a second store at Jewel Changi Airport, range from $185 for denim to $685 for a trench coat.

Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Jin says that choosing Singapore was driven by a desire for a more stable pace of international development.

“We’re not in a rush to achieve rapid broad expansion, like some brands that suddenly enter the US, Europe, Japan or South Korea. We prefer a gradual approach to achieving global presence.”

To him, Singapore is a small but sophisticated market that is home to a stable high-net-worth clientele with an appetite for mid- to high-end womenswear, and with a cultural make-up that reflects Edition’s flair for combining Eastern aesthetics with contemporary styles.

Plus, the majority Chinese ethnic population here makes it easier, he adds.

In the past two years, the local retail landscape has seen an influx of Chinese brands. Walk into any mall and you will spot at least one – be it blind-box purveyor Pop Mart or snack brand Panda Chan.

Chinese fashion and beauty brands are a little harder to identify, with a more refined approach in their store designs and offerings. But there are telltale similarities – often bright fluorescent lighting and an enviable polish to the overall look, well-honed from catering to the world’s biggest market.

The year 2025 saw a record number of openings and new additions to the local retail scene. They include C-beauty players Judydoll and Joocyee, sports brand Anta, luxury eyewear brand Bolon, sun-protection apparel brand Oh Sunny and footwear label Vivaia.

Ms Elaine Tan, senior lecturer at Republic Polytechnic’s School of Business, says this is not a gradual expansion but a deliberate, aggressive market entry strategy.

Many Chinese brands have reached saturation and face intense competition in their domestic market, prompting outward expansion, she adds.

“Singapore is an attractive test-bed. It is a high-visibility regional hub with relatively predictable consumer behaviour, strong mall infrastructure and international foot traffic,” she says.

Another factor driving the rapid growth is that brands are capitalising on post-pandemic retail rebalancing, where Singapore landlords are more open to new concepts to maintain footfall and tenant diversity, she adds.

Chinese brands today are, she says, far more operationally mature – with strong supply chains, data-driven merchandising and omnichannel playbooks – enabling them to scale overseas faster than earlier generations of brands.

EPO Fashion Group’s success story in China is one for the books.

Founded in 2004 by Mr Jin’s older sister, Ms Jenny Kim, the group started with Mo&Co. Ms Kim, 52, wanted a fashion label that reflected individualism and confidence. It gave rise to Mo&Co’s rock-chick aesthetic of feminine clothes with punk-rock influences.

She launched Edition, a high-end label for the classier “gentlewoman” in 2010.

The brands grew exponentially and business got too big, prompting Ms Kim, still the group’s creative director, to hand over the CEO reins to Mr Jin in 2021. Today, it has about 1,500 stores across all its brands.

Despite some initial challenges in over-expansion, they successfully rode the period of immense economic growth in China from the 1990s to 2020, says Mr Jin.

“Those decades were the fastest-growing period for all industries in China and saw the emergence of many new brands, including ours. There was rapid growth, an abundance of market opportunities to be seized and fast investment returns to be made.”

From 2010 to 2015, EPO Group maintained an average annual growth rate of nearly 30 per cent.

The pandemic exposed unsustainable aspects of the country’s over-aggressive growth and competition from e-marketplaces – weeding out under-performing brands, Mr Jin says. “In recent years, there has been a major restructuring within the womenswear industry, with well-managed brands capturing more market share.”

After 21 years in operation, they felt the time was ripe to expand overseas.

Ripple effects on retail

The strategy seems to be to gain critical mass on home ground before expanding outwards.

Joy Group, which owns popular C-beauty brands Judydoll and Joocyee, operates more than 80 standalone brand boutiques and has a presence in over 15,000 additional retail outlets across China. The group opened Joocyee’s first international store at Wisma Atria in July, and two Judydoll stores – at Wisma Atria and Bugis+ – in October.

Singapore is an ideal launchpad for Chinese beauty brands due to its openness to Asian beauty trends, strong digital influence and role as a regional trendsetter, says country director Melvin Beh.

“Local consumers are highly engaged with C-beauty through platforms like Xiaohongshu and Chinese dramas, making market entry more seamless.

“Singapore’s diverse consumer base allows us to test, refine and localise products before scaling across South-east Asia. With our stores, we are able to gather real-time insights and feed them to our headquarters, to shape more inclusive shade ranges and products for the wider region.”

Ms Tan says that Chinese brands’ appeal lies in their value-for-money positioning combined with fast trend responsiveness.

“Many operate on a ‘fast retail’ model – shorter design-to-shelf cycles, frequent product refreshes and sharp pricing – which resonates strongly with younger and more price-conscious consumers. These brands are highly attuned to digital-native shopping behaviours, with in-store experiences designed for social sharing, discovery and impulse purchases.”

Malls get to sustain foot traffic and inject novelty in their tenant mix, while consumers get greater variety, competitive pricing and faster access to global trends.

However, there are trade-offs, she notes. Incumbent brands, especially mid-market players, face stiffer competition, putting pressure on margins and differentiation. “From a mall curation standpoint, there is a risk of homogenisation if too many brands follow similar formats or price points.

“In the short term, increased demand from well-funded Chinese brands may help stabilise or even push up rents in certain high-traffic locations. If brand churn – referring to the rate at which customers stop buying from a particular brand over a period of time – increases due to aggressive expansion followed by consolidation, malls will have to manage higher turnover risk,” she adds.

What 2026 holds

CapitaLand, which manages malls including Raffles City, Junction 8 and Funan, is a key player in devoting retail space to Chinese brands.

A CapitaLand Investment (CLI) spokesperson says the real estate group has observed growing shopper interest in Chinese brands, particularly where the design aesthetic, product offering and sizing are well-suited to local preferences.

However, CLI maintains that they make up a small percentage of its overall tenant mix, alongside a wide range of new-to-market brands from South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Europe and North America.

Chinese brands it has welcomed in Singapore include those under the Anta Group – including Descente, Salomon and Wilson – and clothing store Setirom at Plaza Singapura. CapitaLand also operates several malls in China, including Raffles City Shanghai.

The spokesperson says: “CLI has always played a role as a bridge across our operating markets, supporting Singapore brands expanding into China and vice versa. Many of these Chinese fashion brands that have opened in our Singapore malls are already operating in our China malls, where we have seen strong sales performance and positive shopper feedback.

“Looking ahead to 2026, we expect continued momentum from international brands entering and expanding in Singapore.”

Joy Group plans to open three to five more stores in 2026, striking a balance between stores in heartland malls and those in prime central locations, says Mr Beh.

“Singapore is widely recognised as a regional retail and trend hub where global brands converge, so establishing our first overseas boutiques here reinforces the credibility of our brands back home.”

While 2026 looks set for the continued rise of C-brands in Singapore retail, Ms Tan says that not all will sustain long-term success.

That depends on factors including brand clarity beyond price competitiveness, localisation strategies that go beyond superficial adaptations, consistent product quality and the ability to build emotional resonance with consumers, she says.

“Brands that rely purely on trend-chasing or discounting may see early traction, but may struggle to retain relevance and loyalty in the long run. Singapore consumers are discerning and success here often serves as a litmus test for regional or global scalability.”

EPO, whose international perspective and high-end positioning from day one have paid off, intends to make South-east Asia a key overseas market. The company is in the process of incubating new brands that include a lifestyle label and hopes to debut them in Singapore.

Mr Jin believes more Chinese fashion brands, which have a head start with “a very strong supply chain”, will focus on expanding overseas because the domestic market has reached a stage of hyper-competition.

The challenge now is learning to localise and integrating that with its existing competencies.

“If you do well in China, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll do well in South-east Asia or other overseas markets. Oftentimes, the greatest challenges don’t reside in the clothes, but in the brand’s values,” he says.

“A brand’s community shouldn’t be limited by national boundaries. It should come down to the brand itself – what kind of consumers are we constantly in dialogue with? Through products, content creation or other means? The relationship between the brand and its consumers is something we’re constantly mulling over.”

Will Singapore’s fashion scene in 2026 be like the F&B scene, which has become noticeably dominated by Chinese eateries? And if so, is that really so bad? Does style run less risk of homogenisation than cuisine?

What is known is that the current slate of brands to arrive here has barely scratched the surface of what China has to offer.

Market competition spells greater benefits for consumers in terms of choice and prices. And Chinese brands are proving to have a pulse on what many Singapore customers, who have been starved of good shopping options, want.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we referred to Ms Elaine Tan as Professor Elaine Tan. This is incorrect.