Bosideng: Lightweight down jackets shine in Milan, anchoring long-term with "fashion + functionality + high-end"

A dazzling show at Milan Fashion Week that redefines lightweight down jackets, combined with strong expectations brought by the peak season for down jacket consumption, has once again prompted investors in Bosideng to hit the "buy" button.

Data from the Zhitong Finance app shows that in the nearly 60 trading days leading up to October 19th, Bosideng received a net inflow of HKD 270 million. In addition, recent southbound funds hold 1.237 billion shares of Bosideng, accounting for 11.33% of the total shares, an increase of 192 million shares or 18.4% from mid-July's 1.045 billion shares. With the continuous inflow of funds, Bosideng's stock price has risen from a low of HKD 2.83 on August 25th to a peak of HKD 3.5, with a maximum increase of over 23%.

Lightweight down jackets shine at Milan Fashion Week

Going back to September 24th, during Milan Fashion Week, Bosideng became the first Chinese clothing brand to hold an independent show at the Villa Necchi Campiglio. In this show titled "Redefining Lightweight Down Jackets," Bosideng brand ambassador Gu Ailing took to the stage for the first time as a Chinese clothing brand, wearing the brand's new lightweight down jacket.

The fact that Bosideng held a show in Milan and became a "booster" for investors to firmly buy the company's stock needs no further explanation.

It is understood that Milan Fashion Week, as one of the four major international fashion weeks, has a history of over 50 years and is a trendsetter in the world of fashion. Many top brands choose to release their new season's clothing design inspiration at Milan Fashion Week. Milan Fashion Week has strict control over the participating brands' visibility, clothing design sense, and product craftsmanship.

From Bosideng's perspective, this show can be said to have fully showcased the Chinese clothing brand's ultimate pursuit of craftsmanship on the international stage.

According to the Zhitong Finance app, Bosideng's new lightweight down jacket series deeply integrates Italian Renaissance fashion elements with Chinese aesthetics. For example, the show's products draw inspiration from the sheep hoof sleeves presented in Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Lady with an Ermine," as well as the popular hoop skirts, lace trimmings, ruff collars, and transparent materials of the Renaissance period. Bosideng cleverly combines Italy's proud lace craftsmanship with Chinese Su embroidery art, investing a lot of manpower and time to create clothing, with each piece taking a minimum of 500 hours to make.

It is worth noting that Bosideng has also collaborated with Chinese and Italian design teams to overcome the challenges of combining different materials and retro and modern elements. Bosideng uses down to cross-border splice hoodies, knits, windbreakers, lambskin, shirts, and Chanel-style clothing, creating a full range of down jackets that use internationally certified 700+ fill power goose down, producing outerwear that is lighter and warmer than traditional down jackets. It is reported that Bosideng's newly launched fashion items utilize the company's exclusive patented system of thermal and moisture balance, cloud-like high-stretch fabric, and thermal energy feedback technology. These three lightweight and warm technologies help down jackets to be worn across seasons and in various scenarios. Breaking the seasonal and regional constraints of lightweight down jackets will lay a solid foundation for Bosideng's upcoming peak season sales in the short term, and in the long term, it will help the company lead industry transformation and gain more diverse growth opportunities.

Speaking of breaking seasonal barriers, Bosideng's product matrix also includes an impressive category - sun protection clothing. According to the Economic Information Daily APP, since the launch of sun protection clothing, Bosideng's brand influence has been continuously increasing. Data from Erience shows that from February to July 2023, Bosideng's sun protection clothing had over 8 million social media posts, with a year-on-year growth rate of over 25 times, far exceeding other brands in terms of popularity. Other data shows that as of June 2023, Bosideng's sun protection clothing sales reached 270 million yuan, achieving a year-on-year growth rate of double digits.

Currently, the sun protection clothing market is rapidly moving towards a market size of hundreds of billions, and Bosideng's sun protection clothing products are making strong efforts in the segmented market. The continuous iteration and innovation of the products are expected to drive brand awareness and steady performance growth.

Brand momentum advancing, long-term growth promising

Looking to the longer-term future, Bosideng, leveraging the growth momentum of innovative products such as lightweight down jackets and sun protection clothing, will continue to benefit from the company's "strong cycle" of development.

Taking the down jacket market as an example, according to a report by China International Capital Corporation, in 2018, the penetration rate of down jackets in China was only 9%, much lower than Japan's 70% and Europe and America's 35%. However, the Chinese down jacket market has been growing rapidly, with a CAGR of 12.3% from 2014 to 2021, reaching a market size of 156.2 billion yuan in 2021, with a year-on-year growth rate of 12.8%. The rapid expansion of the Chinese down jacket market is mainly driven by two major industry trends: the increasing demand from consumers for "fashion + functionality" products and the obvious trend of high-endization in the industry.

As a middle-to-high-end fashion and functional brand, Bosideng not only enjoys the growth dividend of the industry but also attaches great importance to product research and development and technological innovation. By relying on technological progress to enhance product strength, Bosideng has launched lightweight down jackets that redefine warmth while improving product diversity and fashionability.

In addition to focusing on product development, Bosideng continues to tap into the consumer mindshare of being a "big brand with good quality and synonymous with down jackets" through the continuous launch of brand events and innovative communication content and methods. With a focus on "professional product innovation" and "breakthrough in consumer experience," Bosideng continuously deepens consumer awareness and reputation, contributing to brand building.

Bosideng's presence at Milan Fashion Week with its lightweight down jackets once again proves that the company's product creativity and brand marketing capabilities have reached a level where it can make a voice on the global stage, and its brand influence in the global market continues to grow. At the same time, Milan Fashion Week has a certain driving effect on Bosideng's expansion into overseas markets, opening overseas stores, and collaborating with internationally renowned designers, thereby allowing the company to gain more market share. In the future, Bosideng's lightweight down jackets will continue to be accompanied by upgraded windbreaker down jackets, as well as the collaboration with Maserati to create a Maserati product series. These innovative products with a "high value" will be continuously introduced to the market, catering to a wider range of consumers. This will break the market's stereotypical impression of traditional down jackets and bring more possibilities for the company's revenue.

Guosheng Securities has pointed out in a research report that Bosideng is the leading brand in the national down jacket market. With brand upgrades, product iterations, and channel optimization, the company's income and profit are expected to continue to grow. Guosheng Securities predicts that from the fiscal year 2024 to the fiscal year 2026, Bosideng's revenue will reach 19.606 billion yuan, 22.908 billion yuan, and 26.641 billion yuan respectively. The net profit attributable to shareholders will reach 2.613 billion yuan, 3.105 billion yuan, and 3.649 billion yuan respectively.

According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, under the strategic goal of "focusing on the main channel and the main brand," Bosideng starts with brand leadership, continuously improves product strength, channel strength, and brand strength, and focuses on the main business, reshaping the positive feedback of being the "down jacket expert" in consumers' minds. In the international market, Bosideng will continue to draw nutrients from the global clothing market's consumption recovery and upgrade, further establishing the brand positioning of being the "globally popular down jacket expert" and depicting a clearer growth vision.