Two customers walk out of a Zara outlet in Beijing. Photo: CFP

By Chen Yang

Unlike their parents when clothes were commonly worn by several generations of the same family, China's wealthier younger generations are now taking to fast fashion - inexpensive and quickly manufactured clothing collections that are based on the most recent trends. Large Western retailers such as H&M, Forever 21, Zara and Primark popularized it in the middle of this decade.

Li Liang, a 25-year-old media worker at Huafeng Group in Beijing, is one fast fashion fan. She likes to read fashionista magazines such as Life Style and Fashion Weekly, surf fashion websites and blogs, hang out in shopping malls and add to her wardrobe every month.

You can find the latest fashion items in her closets, from a flower print one-piece-dress to vintage hand-bags. "I like fashion brands such as H&M and Mango, because they always offer the latest catwalk designs at affordable prices," she said. "Zara is kind of expensive, but I can get some great bargains during the sale seasons."

One of her favorite finds was a cowhide handbag designed by British fashion designer Matthew Williamson. "Normally his handbags cost more than $1,000, but I got this from H&M's outlet in Qianmen Avenue for just 199 yuan ($29)," she said proudly. "It cost me five hours in line with 500- 600 people in the rain on April 23 last year, the opening day for H&M's first outlet in Beijing."

"With the young generation's easy access to information and rising fashion awareness, fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara have shown huge potential in China," said Yang Dajun, president of UTA Fashion Management Group headquarters in Beijing.

Cheap fashion booming

Realizing Chinese consumers' increasing purchasing power and awakening fashion consciousness, global fast fashion companies are also speeding up to expand from major metropolises to lower tier cities.

Japanese brand Uniqlo had 64 outlets in China as of May, and it plans to expand to 1,000 outlets before 2020, followed by three European brands - Zara's 45 outlets, H&M's 33 outlets and C&A's 18 outlets.

"The global economic recession has forced global fast fashion companies to turn to emerging markets like China for growth, and they are easily penetrating the Chinese market with strong brand values, up-to-the-minute styles, diverse choices and inexpensive prices," Yang said.

Fast fashion brands' success lie in their efficient business models. With a high degree of vertical integration of design, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and retailing, Zara can move from identifying a fashion trend to having clothes in its stores within 12 days, while H&M takes 21 days and most Chinese clothing companies take 180 days, Lang Xianping, chair professor of finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, wrote in his book All That You Have Thought of is Wrong published in 2008.

Yang said the average profit rate of Chinese fashion brands is between 27-33 percent, higher than foreign fast fashion brands' 10-20 percent. "Local companies have no impetus to enter the fast fashion sector, but with more foreign clothing companies coming to China, they will face challenges in five to 10 years," he said.

Foreign fashion brands are lining up to enter the Chinese market. Gap, the United State's largest clothing retailer, will open four outlets in Beijing and Shanghai soon this year. But analysts said Gap is already lagging behind its global counterparts.

"The competition is fierce in metropolitan areas, and Gap will find it difficult to convince local customers to turn to it," said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research in Shanghai. "Instead it should open outlets in China's second- and third-tier cities such as Chengdu and Hefei, because consumers there are dying for foreign brands."

Rein said the pricing strategy would be important for Gap's further development. "Mid-range brands do not have much market in China, as China's middle class is on the way to wealth, and they prefer great value or luxury brands," he said.

Li's budget for clothes and accessories is 1,000 yuan ($147) per month. "I can accept a T-shirt within 150 yuan ($22), and a pair of jean trousers within 200 yuan ($29)," she said.

Domestic brands follow

But some domestic clothing companies have realized that they have to make changes and step up to follow the consumer trend.

Metersbonwe Group, China's leading causal wear company, launched a brand Me&City in October 2008, targeting young adults aged 22 to 35, the similar target group of H&M and Zara.

It has signed Prison Break star Wentworth Miller, British supermodel Agyness Deyn and Hollywood movie star Orlando Bloom as "brand ambassadors," and stocked about 2,000 different items on the store shelves every year.

But its move has not touched picky consumers. Me&City's sales revenues reached 350 million yuan ($51.6 million) last year, lower than the market expected.

"Me&City's items and stores' interior designs are not as fashionable when compared with Zara and H&M," sniffed Li.

Rein said Metersbonwe has good distribution and sales channels around China, but lacks marketing and ad-vertising strategies to build its brand value among customers.

Vancl, an online clothing retailer established in 2007, performed better in sales revenue. It realized a sales turnover of 1 billion yuan ($147.5 million) last year, through selling a range of products from T-shirts to canvas shoes with young designers' cooperation, but cheaper than H&M and Uniqlo.

But Yang said Vancl is more like a sales channel rather than a fashion brand. "It caters to the low-income group or younger customers due to lower prices, but couldn't provide customer with shopping experiences, so it is difficult to build an emotional connection with customers," he said.

The dark side

Consumers can easily see the bright side of fast fashion - rapidly changing styles and affordable prices - but may overlook quality problems and a non-environmental friendly business model.

Overcoats, sandals, cashmere sweaters and children's coats sold by Zara tested as unsafe by Chinese authorities four times since last August.

Shanghai authorities also found an H&M shirt that contained a pH balance that exceeded State regulations last month. The company said that more than 200 products have been withdrawn from its China market and it will check the levels of alkali in its products imported to China and South Korea.

Rein from CMR said overseeing factories is important for fast fashion brands to maintain a high quality of their products.

"As Chinese consumers get richer, they will have higher standards for quality, and that will force fashion companies to concentrate on quality problems," he said.

Fast fashion's business model can also cause environmental problems, including a waste of resources, a growth in chemical waste output, an expanding carbon footprint, and more rubbish for already overstuffed landfills, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK.

"It's difficult to convince consumers to buy less clothing, and it will also take a long time for clothing companies to realize their environmental responsibilities," Yang from UTA said.