Chinese clothing brands have enjoyed the spotlight after Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, grabbed international attention with her maiden visit abroad as she told of her domestically-sourced attire.

"The first lady is the best brand spokesperson to help Chinese brands get involved in global competition," said Xu Zhihua, CEO of PEAK. "'The First Lady Effect' is one of the biggest and most direct kinds of support a homebred brand could wish for, as it's more prominent than any slogan or advertisement. At the same time, it also shows the uncommon strength of Chinese clothing brands compared with the international brands."

In the past, the entry of international brands in China brought inspiration and competitive stimulus to China's garment industry, which has its own advantages and strengths in many ways. However, China has failed in creating an international and powerful brand with strong, industry-wide influence. A case in point is that among sports brands, most consumers prefer the foreign brands such as Nike or Adidas. The Chinese sporting goods market has already entered a fiercely competitive period of change.

The concept "First Lady Effect" has not been seen before in China. Some domestic clothing brands have tried to build and enhance brands by frequently sponsoring big events, but the impact was not ideal. Analysis argues that the main cause of this lies in the thinking without broadening and the lack of experience in sponsorship marketing. In contrast, sport brands have started to make their mark with event marketing. A classic case is PEAK, which has rapidly risen to become the leading domestic sport brand through marketing efforts over the short span of just a few years.

In 2005, PEAK accelerated internationalization strategy comprehensively, including sponsoring international events such as the European Basketball All-star Game and Stankovic Cup Basketball Game, hand-in-hand with top NBA teams like the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, and signing more than 20 NBA stars like Shane Battier and Tony Parker, making PEAK one of the most international sport brands in China.

"Building a long-term brand, the most important point is that ideas should keep up with the pace of development, and learn to use a new era of marketing," said Xu. "'The First Lady Effect' has given the national brands more confidence in the development, and we should dig deeper into unique products of China's culture to spread a powerful brand to the world."

Global Times