Why are jackets so popular and prices of down jackets rising?

This winter, although the cooling of the surrounding areas of Shanghai has been delayed, the "price increase of down jackets" is a hot topic.

"Domestic down jackets sell for 7,000 yuan" reached 370 million views and 16,000 discussions.

So, how much has the price of down jackets increased this year? Are consumers still willing to pay?

According to data from the China National Commercial Information Center, in the past few years, the average unit price of down jackets in my country has increased from 452 yuan to 656 yuan; the transaction price of large-scale cold-proof clothing has exceeded 1,000 yuan, of which the proportion of more than 2,000 yuan has reached close to 70%.

There are many reasons for the price increase, and some experts say rising raw material prices are the main reason.

As raw materials for down jackets, the prices of goose down and duck down have shown an upward trend in the past two years.

Take the most common 90 white duck down and 80 gray duck down on the market as examples. As of November 29 this year, the price of 90 white duck down was 2.26 yuan per kilogram, an increase of 18.32% year-on-year; the price of gray duck down was more expensive, about 640.32 yuan per kilogram during the same period, an increase of 32.08% over the same period last year.

Moreover, according to the "Down Clothing" promulgated on April 1 last year, the production standards for down jackets are more stringent, and the indicator is changed from the original "down content" to "down content" to prevent businesses from using inferior feathers in order to reduce costs. or other fillers.

Of course, some people believe that the price increase of down jackets is just to increase profits and seize the high-end market.

Regardless of the reason, judging from reviews and sales data, consumers don’t buy it.

Capturing related topics on Weibo, "high price" is the most common complaint among consumers. Because of this price, many netizens said they "cannot afford it" and even called it a "luxury product".

Netizens’ disapproval is directly reflected in sales.

Generally speaking, October is the best-selling season for winter clothing. But this year's sales were not satisfactory.

According to data analyzed by Mojing, on the Taobao and Tmall platforms, in October this year, the sales volume of down jackets was 8.1641 million pieces, a year-on-year decrease of 35.1%; the sales volume was 3.757 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.6%.

Among the top ten brands by sales, year-on-year sales are also declining.

Domestic brand Bosideng’s sales on Tmall and Taobao in October reached 169 million yuan, accounting for 5.2% of the market. However, sales fell by 13.4% year-on-year.

As the price of down jackets rises, jackets have gradually been dubbed the best alternative, with sales and popularity soaring.

In terms of volume, more and more people are searching for “jackets”.

It’s not just the Baidu search index that skyrocketed, it rose 44% year-on-year in November. On platforms such as Xiaohongshu, the popularity in October reached 5.1664 million, with 41,700 related notes, and all kinds of jackets and outfits were in full bloom.

JD.com data shows that since November, the transaction volume of categories such as jackets and pants has increased by more than 150% year-on-year.

On Douyin, sales of jackets in October reached 5.84 million, a year-on-year increase of 202.60%, and sales of 1.55 billion were achieved, a year-on-year increase of 219.3%.

From a brand perspective, the top ten brands by sales are all selling like hotcakes.

Luotuo, which ranks first in sales on Douyin, sold 770,000 jackets in October, with sales reaching 378 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 265.6%, and a market share of 24.3%.

Taking the top ten sales as a reference, on the Tmall and JD platforms, the average prices of down jackets are 713.9 yuan and 1,792.9 yuan respectively, while the prices of jackets are about 300 yuan cheaper, with average prices of 491.89 yuan and 1,444.1 yuan respectively.

Among them, jackets priced at less than 266 yuan are the best-selling ones. In November, a total of 4.228 million pieces were sold on Douyin, accounting for 72.4% of the total sales, with sales reaching 516 million yuan.

In the public mind, the common scenes of jackets are mountaineering, cycling and other outdoor activities. Therefore, jackets are not inferior to down jackets in terms of warmth. In addition, it is windproof, waterproof, wear-resistant and stain-resistant, and the liner can be removed to realize the function of one garment for multiple wears.

In addition, businesses are also interested in taking advantage of the situation to improve and market jackets. Many new jackets have emerged. Now, there are various styles of jackets on the market.

Capturing relevant comments on Weibo shows that when young people buy clothes, in addition to "good looks", "cost-effectiveness" is also an important criterion.

For example, netizen "Gu Yao" said, "If the down jacket can be worn, it is okay to buy it more expensively, but at this price, it is better to choose other cost-effective clothes, or wear them interchangeably with a jacket."

Down jackets seem to be "abandoned" by the public, but in fact, in China, the down jacket market is still in a stage of rapid growth, and there is still a lot of room for growth.

According to data from the China National Garment Association, the size of China's down jacket market has increased year by year in recent years. In 2015, it was only 76.7 billion, but it has exceeded the 100 billion mark in 2018 and the 150 billion mark in 2021. From 2015 to 2021, The average compound growth rate reached 12.6%.

According to predictions from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, by 2028, China's down apparel market will exceed 330 billion.

“Large room for growth” is mainly reflected in the current consumption structure.

First, the penetration rate of down jackets in China is low.

Although the market size has reached hundreds of billions, China has a large population base and the penetration rate still lags far behind developed countries such as Europe and North America.

Data shows that the penetration rate of down jackets in China is only 9%, while in developed countries it is generally above 30%, and in Japan the penetration rate is as high as 70%.

Similar to jackets, “cheap” is also an important criterion for consumers when purchasing down jackets.

According to data analyzed by Mojing, in October this year, a total of about 8.16 million down jackets were sold on Taobao and Tmall, but about 91% of the down jackets were priced less than 1,000 yuan, and 70% of the down jackets were less than 460 yuan. The high-end market has yet to be developed.

Third, domestic brands have not yet captured the mid- to high-end market.

Although Bosideng's price increase has caused controversy, from the overall market perspective, domestic brands are lacking in the mid-to-high-end market.

The average price of Bosideng's products is about 1,000 yuan, and 62% of the products are priced below 500 yuan. The average prices of other domestic brands, such as Yaya and Xuezhongfei, are even lower, around 517 and 439 yuan respectively.

At present, the mid-to-high-end market is dominated by foreign brands, such as Canada Goose and Moncler.

In October this year, Moncler's sales on Tmall and Taobao exceeded 20 million yuan, and its average price was close to 9,000 yuan, nine times that of Bosideng.

Therefore, there is still a lot of room for growth in China's down jacket market. How to further stimulate consumers' consumption potential, increase industry penetration, and enter the mid-to-high-end market are the next problems that domestic brands need to solve.