(Yicai Global) Oct. 13 -- Sales of down jackets, thermal underwear, and other winter items are booming in China after cold weather hit the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Shaanxi, according to figures from online retail platforms and merchants. People in the south of the country are also preparing for the winter to come.

Down jackets, cotton-padded clothing, thermals, duvet covers, and other winter goods are this month’s top sellers, per statistics from e-commerce giant JD.Com’s new department store channel. Down jacket sales jumped 112 percent from a year earlier, while those of long-staple cotton quilts and duvet covers soared 11 times and eight fold, respectively.

Sales of Bosideng, Snowflying, and Yaya brand down jackets climbed 270 percent, 184 percent, and 120 percent, JD’s data showed. Makers of thermals, woollen gloves, snow boots, and earmuffs also saw turnover more than double. Snow boots brand UGG nearly tripled its turnover, while undies maker Bananain more than quadrupled its.

Down jacket, wool, and cashmere brands have started selling their new autumn and winter collections on Tmall, Alibaba Group Holding’s business-to-consumer online retail platform, before the upcoming Double 11 festival, the world’s biggest shopping event, and had peak sales, according to the person in charge of Luxury Pavilion, an up-market section on Tmall.

Sellers are wasting no time getting goods ready for Double 11, which will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 11, Yicai Global learned from online thermal goods suppliers.

Xu Jiang, who owns four clothing stores on Tmall, told Yicai Global that sales of double-sided woollen coats have jumped since last month, so he has stocked 300,000 for Double 11, up 20 percent on last year.

Some international brands are also seizing the opportunity. In the run-up to Double 11, Italian luxury down jacket brand Moncler opened its first Chinese e-commerce store on Luxury Pavilion on Oct. 9.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione