Key Takeaways:
- GU (Fast Retailing, Japan) recently expanded into skateboarding via a brand collaboration with Tony Hawk. UTG has the Tony Hawk rights for China, Korea and Japan.
The area where sportswear and street wear overlap is where Chinese brands might see the greatest potential to capture global interest through innovative collaborations and the use of content-commerce strategies honed in the Chinese market. The recent collaboration between GU (Japan) and skating legend Tony Hawk on a skateboarding line is a good example of a move into new product categories that could appeal to Gen Z consumers outside of China. GU belongs to Japanese retail firm Fast Retailing, owner of fast fashion chain Uniqlo, and has more than 400 shops for its GU brand.
Cross brand collaboration GU x Tony Hawk:
https://www.gu-global.com/jp/ja/feature/cms/tonyhawkcollab/men/
While street wear labels launched by Chinese idols are gaining ground in their home market, global demand is likely to depend on their ability to find the right collaboration partners that will give them a broader reach. GU recent collaboration with Tony Hawk is definitely a step in the right direction, and very well could set a blueprint for other, smaller (Chinese) brands to tap international talent with significant street cred and amplify their global prospects in the process.