Skechers dealers will open over 600 more stores next year

The online shopping market in the Chinese mainland has developed rapidly. In recent years, Liantai Group has been actively expanding the physical stores and online shopping markets of its distribution brand Skechers in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

The group's chief executive officer, Henry Chan, said that he is optimistic about the development of the Outlet and online shopping markets in the Chinese mainland.

Since 2007, the American sports footwear and apparel brand Skechers has been cooperating with the ready-to-wear production and supply chain group Liantai. Liantai has been entrusted with the sales business in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Skechers currently has over 3,900 retail stores in the region, mainly located in several cities on the Chinese mainland. Stores in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia account for approximately 20% of the total sales in the region. Over the past five years, Skechers has recorded double-digit growth in sales in the region every year, with the most significant increase in the Chinese mainland market. On average, two to three new stores have opened in the mainland every day, and about 600 to 700 stores have opened throughout this year.

It means that online stores and physical stores can complement each other

Chen Hengli predicts that Skechers will open another 600 to 700 new stores in the Chinese mainland next year, mainly expanding into second - and third-tier cities.

He pointed out that physical stores currently account for about 70% of the total sales in the district. However, in the long term, he is more optimistic about the development of outlets and online shopping, as their sales growth is relatively higher and they are bound to become new trends in the retail industry in the future. Consumers are now smarter and know how to buy at a better price.

He believes that online stores and brick-and-mortar stores can complement each other rather than waxing and waning, and retailers can achieve mutual development. Physical stores can enable consumers to understand the physical products, enhance their consumption experience, and also increase brand awareness, which is conducive to promoting online shopping. Online stores can offer consumers more choices. For instance, some sizes of shoes are not in stock in physical stores, so consumers can place orders online instead.

Outlet special offers help attract different customer groups

As for outlets, he believes that their customer base is different from that of traditional full-price stores. They mainly sell discounted styles, which helps to attract consumers who are more sensitive to prices. This is different from traditional full-price stores that sell the latest style products. However, retailers still need to pay attention to the fact that the number of Outlets should be balanced to a certain extent with that of full-price stores.

He also pointed out that as the production cycle of the garment industry shortens, a rapid response to market demand has become increasingly important. Compared with the past when the retail industry relied on "vision" to purchase goods, today's retail industry relies more on big data. By analyzing sales records and other data through artificial intelligence and comparing competitors' products, it can more accurately predict market demands.

He further said that Skechers is currently attempting to enhance product diversification in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with plans to increase the proportion of clothing products from the current 10% to 20% to 30%. He believes that the competition in the clothing product market is more intense than that in the footwear market, but he is optimistic about the functional clothing market.