(Yicai) Sept. 11 -- Looking for a way to give his struggling fashion company a boost, Metersbonwe founder Zhou Chengjian recently surprised viewers by joining a trendy group dance during a livestream on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. More than 200,000 people tuned in at the same time to watch the 60-year-old businessman show off his moves.

Zhou has been trying all kinds of measures, including selling off assets, to turn the business around since he returned as chairman of the company in January 2024. He had handed the reins to his daughter, Hu Jiajia, in 2016, but in the subsequent eight years, the Shanghai-based firm racked up over CNY3.3 billion (USD463 million) in losses.

And the situation remains dire. Metersbonwe’s net profit plunged 87.1 percent in the first half from the year before to CNY9.9 million (USD1.4 million) while revenue sank 45.2 percent to CNY227 million (USD31.8 million), according to the company’s latest financial results.

Cash flow is also tight. As of June 30, Metersbonwe’s cash and cash equivalents stood at CNY62.1 million (USD8.7 million), against CNY983 million (USD138 million) of short-term debt. Competition in the casual wear market is fierce, and, as the market continues to segment, both Chinese and international brands will need to fight harder for customers, the firm said.

New Challenges

In the first decade of the 2000s, foreign fast-fashion brands, such as Uniqlo, Zara and H&M, rapidly entered China. At the same time, e-commerce took off, providing consumers with more choices. Online clothing sales in China surged to 36.6 percent of all garment sales in 2020 from 0.4 percent in 2010, according to data from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.

Metersbonwe and other homegrown brands, which had a strong presence in shopping malls and along the main shopping streets and which relied heavily on offline sales, were hit hard by this shift.

“Consumers who grew up with brands like Metersbonwe are now in their 30s and 40s, while today’s Gen Z consumers, who were born after the year 2000, want something different. Fast-fashion brands are no longer just selling clothes, they have also become a way for young people to express themselves and find their identity. These labels need to appeal to the youth,” a source from a consumer goods brand told Yicai.

Coping Mechanisms

To cope with these changes, the founding families of several Chinese consumer brands have been experimenting with social media and livestreaming to ‘rebrand’ themselves for younger audiences.

For example, Luo Cheng, the second son of the founder of bakery chain Holiland, gained a large following online by creating a series of short videos called the ‘awkward trust-fund baby.’ Similarly, Shi Zhancheng, the son of home textile brand C-Leisure’s chairman, became popular on Douyin by posting short comedy skits such as “The Boss Sanctioned by Post-00s Employees” and the short drama series “Towel Empire.”

As to whether Zhou and Metersbonwe can tap into the internet and new trends to reinvent themselves remains to be seen.

Editor: Kim Taylor