Since the second half of this year, domestic down jacket brands have risen in price and entered the high-end market. This is not just this year, this trend has continued for several years. According to data from the China National Business Information Center, from 2015 to 2020, the average price of down jackets in China has risen from 438 yuan to 656 yuan, and the price of large-scale cold-proof clothing has exceeded 1,000 yuan, of which nearly 70% of the prices are above 2000 yuan. However, there are some differences in the specific market this year, including that this price increase trend makes the substitute products such as charge clothes begin to have a place in the winter down jacket sales season.
Down jacket has become a "luxury"
There are ice cream assassins in summer, and now there are assassins in down jackets in winter.
In recent years, domestic down jackets have been creating high-end positioning, especially represented by Bosideng. Guojin Securities Research Report shows that in 2018, Bosideng's main brand price increase was as high as 30%-40%, the proportion of down jackets with a unit price of 1,000-1,800 yuan increased from 47.6 to 63.8, and down jackets with a unit price of more than 1800 yuan increased from 4.8 to 24.1.
In addition to Bosideng, high-end line products of duck, duck, Govan and other brands are priced at 1,000 yuan. For example, Govan Black Gold Goose Down Jacket is priced at 5239 yuan, and the highest original price of duck and duck iced shell joint down jacket is 5999 yuan.
On the one hand, product raw materials and transportation costs have been rising in recent years. On the other hand, after the brand increases R & D investment, the functionality and comfort of the down jacket are improved, and the added value of the product will actually lead to the increase of the price of the down jacket.
Brand positioning is getting higher and higher, but the consumption level of consumers does not necessarily follow the brand development. In the market environment of the past two years, it is obvious to all that the public is more inclined to cost-effective products.
According to AI media consulting data, in the survey of acceptable prices for Chinese netizens to buy down jackets in 2023, most consumers are more willing to buy down jackets with prices between 400 yuan and 1500 yuan. Among them, 34.04 percent of consumers choose the price range of 401 yuan to 600 yuan (including 600 yuan), and only 3.30 percent of consumers choose the price range above 1500 yuan.
Charge clothes out "ground gas"
This year's popular assault clothing also has excellent thermal performance to cope with cold weather, so the high price of down jacket also makes consumers pay more attention to the alternative product of assault clothing. Jingdong data show that since 2023, the turnover of charge clothing has increased by 165 year-on-year, and the turnover of charge clothing in the early stage of the Double Eleven event (October 20-25) has increased by 200 year-on-year.
Outdoor sports have become a way of life. As a necessary outdoor equipment, assault clothing has also entered the public's daily life more and more from the outdoor, forming a new aesthetic system of tooling style, functional style, mountain style and so on.
The reason for the initial appearance of the jacket is to adapt to the harsh outdoor, changeable temperature, weather, etc., waterproof, cold resistance, and rain protection are all necessary functions. In order to meet the needs of professional outdoor personnel in the complex and changing environment, the charge clothing usually has the characteristics of heavy, airtight. These characteristics really meet the needs of professional outdoor enthusiasts. But when out of the outdoor and the trend of the circle, professional clothing in the mass market some "acclimatized".
At the same time, the previous professional assault clothing often heavy technology light design, compared to the fashion sense is slightly worse. The current popular outdoor sports, such as Frisbee and other popular to a large extent is to rely on strong social attributes. Social interaction is often accompanied by sharing, and the convenience of sharing makes the public have higher requirements for visual beauty while displaying sports.
Cost is king
Although the sales of charge clothes are booming, it has to be said that in the pursuit of warm winter, the market position of down jackets is still difficult to shake.
Cheng Weixiong, a senior brand management expert, said, "Some non-professional assault clothing brands have attracted a group of young people who are not involved in the world by planting grass and low prices, and this type of assault clothing is actually a substitute for jackets, cotton-padded jackets and down jackets. In the past, the prices of professional assault clothing and down jackets were too high, and such low-priced assault clothing just filled the space for low-priced products." The heat of charge clothing this year is higher, and the market size of down jacket is still small.
But in winter, no matter what category, the pursuit of core performance, warm must be the first. Driven by the outdoor trend, both the down jacket brand and the assault clothing brand are trying to combine the outdoor warmth more appropriately. The relationship between down jacket and charge clothes will not be either one or the other, but there will be a richer integration.
Whether it is a down jacket brand or a charge clothing brand, the first thing you want to grasp is still the consumer's pursuit of warmth in winter, and then want more consumers to pay the bill. In the tide of consumption upgrading in the past, domestic down jacket brands tried to impact the high-end market, while charge clothes entered the mass market in the rise of light outdoor sports and the subsequent pursuit of "extreme cost performance". What they did at their respective stages All are adapting to the current situation, but the difficulty is that the current situation is changeable, and the flexibility of the brand becomes crucial, of course, it is more important to grasp and meet the fundamental needs of consumers rather than the derived needs.