Overseas niche design brands are witnessing a dawn in the Chinese market. They have either gained favor with Chinese investors, established independent offline stores, or are highly active on local Chinese social media platforms.

Within this trend, Bulgarian luxury accessory brand BY FAR stands out as a prominent case. As one of the earlier overseas niche design brands to enter the Chinese market, BY FAR has gained recognition for its rapid growth. However, in recent years, BY FAR has experienced a decline in popularity after being the talk of the town. Today, let's explore the growth journey of BY FAR, from momentary stardom to its current status in the Chinese market.

BY FAR's Origin: Shaping the Masses via Social Media Marketing

The inception of the BY FAR brand can be attributed to three young Bulgarian friends: Valentina Bezuhanova, Sabina Gyosheva, and Denitsa Bumbarova.

They introduced footwear products in 2016 and ventured into the handbag market in 2017. The brand's design inspiration predominantly hails from 90s fashion, heavily influenced by the fashion styles portrayed in TV series such as "Sex and the City" and "Friends." BY FAR advocates a reinterpretation of vintage fashion with a modern perspective.

At its inception, BY FAR leveraged Instagram as its primary marketing platform. Guided by influential fashion icons with a penchant for 90s style, such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, the brand swiftly defined a niche of avant-garde fashion enthusiasts with a taste for niche designs. This rapid rise to prominence turned BY FAR into a highly sought-after fashion choice.

Potent Influencer Marketing Expands Brand Reach in the Chinese Market

Following a round of influencer marketing on Instagram, photos of BY FAR products from foreign fashion bloggers made their way to Chinese consumers through active fashion influencers on platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Fashion bloggers conveyed the "underarm bag" as the latest fashion trend to Chinese readers, and content recommending mid-range and niche brands continued to proliferate.

Stylish fashion bloggers began using BY FAR products in their own photos, initiating another wave of localized content dissemination. Chinese bloggers strengthened the connection between BY FAR and Chinese consumers by sharing outfit ideas, wearing experiences, and purchasing stories. Therefore, before BY FAR even entered the view of Chinese consumers, it had already gone through an extensive chain of dissemination.

Furthermore, personal shopping services and professional boutique shop assistants helped consumers gain a deeper understanding of BY FAR products. Coupled with limited purchasing channels, BY FAR has consistently faced high demand, creating a sense of scarcity and generating a "hunger marketing" effect. In this context, BY FAR radiates a more dynamic and premium allure to Chinese consumers, who now seek its unique exclusivity.

BY FAR's Transition from Social Media Stardom to "Yesterday's Trend"

Around 2020, when searching for BY FAR on the Xiaohongshu platform, you would find that highly-rated notes were predominantly fashion bloggers' recommendations and shares. However, as time passed, perhaps due to a reduced investment in social media marketing by BY FAR, coupled with a waning sense of trendiness, both the fashion bloggers' influence and spontaneous recommendations from regular consumers significantly dwindled. Even in BY FAR's Tmall flagship store, the best-selling Sofia ankle boots saw a sharp decline in monthly sales, dropping to just 23 pairs. This, to some extent, indicates that BY FAR's peak has become a thing of the past.

In comparison to a few years ago, BY FAR now faces a more intense competition in the Chinese market. Not only have more overseas accessory brands entered the vertical field, but several brands in the niche design domain have officially entered the Chinese market this year. Furthermore, the Chinese domestic market has witnessed the emergence of some online-developed bag brands, such as Guliang Jiji and Beishan Zhibao Suo, adding to the pressure BY FAR confronts.

This year, BY FAR introduced fragrances in its first Chinese store located in Zhangyuan, Shanghai, expanding its market into the lifestyle domain. However, BY FAR needs to act swiftly because the longer the label of a "past trend" sticks, the more challenging it becomes to regain a top position in the fashion hierarchy.

Interested in creating effective Chinese marketing content for your brand targeting the Chinese market? Contact the Lotus Social Team! We're here to help you navigate the intricate world of Chinese marketing and create strategies that leave a lasting impact.