Models attand a Jeanswest show in Beijing in October 2015. Photo: cnsphoto

Lack of innovation and less attention to online sales led to fashion clothing brand Jeanswest's frail business in Australia, which reflects some of China's fashion apparel makers' common problems, a Chinese expert said on Tuesday.

The expert's comment came as Jeanswest, an Australian-founded, Hong Kong-owned clothing company, went into voluntary administration (a process of bankruptcy) on January 15, according to local media reports. 

"Jeanswest's unsuccessful business was due to lack of design innovation and e-commerce platform," Zhao Ping, deputy director of the Consumer Research Department under the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on Tuesday.   

According to a statement released by KPMG, a well-known accounting organization, Jeanswest appointed James Stewart and Peter Gothard from KPMG as joint administrators to run the company.

In a report from Business Insider, Stewart said that "Like many other retailers, the business has been challenged by current tough market conditions and pressure from online competition."

Jeanswest made significant profits and enjoyed success from the 1990s to 2010 when China's clothing demand was greater than the supply, said Zhao, adding that while Jeanswest's products are cost-effective, the company paid less attention to customers' needs such as fashion elements and purchase channels.           

Zhao said, on one hand, domestic fashion brands like Metersbonwe and Semir gradually gained recognition from broad Chinese consumers, and on the other hand, with overseas fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and UNIQLO entering the Chinese clothing market, the clothing industry faced rising market competition.