Danish clothing brand closes 1300 stores in China

A family-owned Danish clothing brand, Bestseller, will close all 1300 of its offline stores in China by the end of July 2022.

Even though the company reported its best-ever results in 2020 and 2021, the news report said that the pandemic had brought “great changes in consumer demand, impacting China’s traditional retail industry.”

The clothing company entered the country in 2008 but struggled with reduced footfall at shopping malls on top of high rents, management fee and other expenses, threatening its sustainability the article said.

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 12: People gather in small groups and children play in front of retail stores that are closed at the usually busy Taikoo Li mall, in an effort to contain a COVID-19 outbreak on May 12, 2022 in Beijing, China. China is trying to contain a spike in coronavirus cases in the capital Beijing after hundreds of people tested positive for the virus in recent weeks, causing local authorities to initiate mass testing, mandate proof of a negative PCR test within 48 hours to enter many public spaces, to close schools and retail stores, ban gatherings and inside dining in all restaurants, and to lockdown many neighbourhoods in an effort to maintain the country’s zero COVID strategy. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

They are not the only company to have withdrawn from China recently.

Selected is one more of several global apparel creators that has scaled back in the country, as well as the American DTC brand, Everlane, which coincidentally suspended sales on Tmall Global on the same day as Urban Outfitters.

It is believed that Covid-19 played a big role in their problems and that even before the severe lockdown measures were put into place in China, not enough young consumers were attracted to buy.

About Jaqueline Deeon

ScandAsia Journalist • Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. • Thailand

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