The Unique Asian Aesthetics of Jixiang Zhai

15 June 2016

The China Underwear Industry Annual Awards Ceremony, the Gold Awards, was held at the SIUF tradeshow in early May.

The Asian-themed women's fashion brand, Jixiang Zhai, presented a visual feast for the audience with a fashion show that was attended by Chinese and international fashion professionals. Jixiang Zhai has hundreds of retail outlets in China, serving its well-heeled customers who appreciate the Chinese art and culture of dressing, as well as the label's unique new approach to Asian aesthetics. Ms. Yang Fan, as both founder and designer of Jixiang Zhai, is committed to the promotion of Chinese culture through her original designs with a Chinese touch.

Jixiang Zhai showed both at Shenzhen Fashion Week and during the SIUF 2016 Awards ceremony. As a high-end Chinese women's ready-to-wear brand, what do you get from your association with SIUF?
SIUF is the best-known tradeshow for the local underwear industry, and lingerie is increasingly popular with the Chinese market. Jixiang Zhai is a Chinese high-end women's brand, and the consumers of both lingerie and female clothing are women. Both lingerie and ready-to-wear are designed with the same love for a woman's inner and outer sense of well-being. At the same time, our good relationship with SIUF gives us an opportunity to take part in the ceremony and to showcase the beauty of Asian women.
What is the design philosophy of the Jixiang Zhai brand?
It is based on the Asian woman. Jixiang Zhai is a brand that comes from my heart. Due to the reforms and opening up of China, as well as the infiltration of western business culture, I moved from poverty into wealth, but there’s still a deep love for Chinese culture in my bones. I think Chinese women possess a unique beauty, which is what I want to convey in Jixiang Zhai. Although we didn’t have a professional background in fashion design, we started from scratch in an 8 sq. m. shop. Over 14 years, we worked and interpreted the beauty of Chinese women every day, which helps us inject this culture's power into the brand's design.

How do you convey the concept of new in the "new and unique Asian aesthetics" of Jixiang Zhai, in your opinion?
I think our innovation is a fusion of a modern company with history, the future, and the consumer. Jixiang Zhai pursues a kind of business value based on harmonious beauty, rather than short-term interests. The world is constantly changing, and so is the company, which needs to advance with the times, as well as respond to changes and challenges. It does not just follow trends, but solves problems as a team, based on the current situation. That’s the motivation of innovation. Designing clothing for women is to combine everything about her, to showcase the true beauty of the consumer.
What do you think of the underwear market? Do you have any related lines or plans for a Jixiang Zhai lingerie collection?
The underwear market is a highly specialized field, therefore we don't have any plans for lingerie, but we will continue with ready-to-wear.
What are the market positioning strategies of Jixiang Zhai? Who is the brand's target female consumer?
Market positioning is just a business concept to me, and I haven't used it since the company's founding. In other words, Jixiang Zhai is positioned by me. I am the founder, the designer, and consumer, as I wear its clothes every day. Proceeding from people like me, it can be interpreted as the high-end female who belongs to mainstream society, is well-read and has achieved a certain financial status, such as artists, female entrepreneurs, and those leaders who have a certain voice and power in society.

How many Jixiang Zhai stores are there? Which cities are they located in? What is the number (ratio) of the regular and franchise stores?
Jixiang Zhai has a current team of about one thousand people, and 100,000 female end-consumers. There are 100 stores in the country, which are all located in first-tier cities. They are all regular chains, because we hope all of our employees are united and devoted to Jixiang Zhai.
How does Jixiang Zhai stack up against the local competition?
Jixiang Zhai never looks for the consumer. In other words, it meets the consumers. It is a brand with national feelings, and never regards others as competition. We are not doing a hard sell; that is why people like us.
What is the strategy for new shop openings? (For example, the sales area, the choice of Mall location, cooperation options, etc.)
We pay attention to timing, geographical convenience and good human relations when opening a shop. Timing involves the overall retail environment; geographical convenience considers how the local people think; and good human relations is the creation of outreach between consumers and our team. That’s our comprehensive store expansion strategy.
Jixiang Zhai pays great attention to the customer experience. What do you think about e-commerce? Will there be differing strategies for local stores?
I am personally not optimistic about e-commerce and do not pursue rapid consumption. I am a person who likes art, and our consumers are also a group of women with inner thoughts and qualities. I believe in true inner feelings, and do not insist on speed in business. Since the quality of women's material lives started improving ten years ago, so have their spiritual pursuits; I hope people sincerely like Jixiang Zhai, no matter where we sell the products.