Recently, designer sportswear brand MAIA ACTIVE (hereinafter referred to as MAIA ACTIVE) announced the completion of Series B financing invested by Huachuang Capital, with a financing amount of nearly 100 million yuan. It is understood that after this financing, MAIA ACTIVE will increase investment in product research and development, launch MAIA-Lab™ sportswear research and development laboratory, further develop offline stores in first- and second-tier cities, expand brand influence, and “from heart to shape” “Further deepening the sportswear brand positioning of “designed specifically for Asian women”.
Wang Daoping, an investor in this round and a partner of Huachuang Capital, said: “Sports has gradually become one of the most important lifestyles of modern people. In a world that has always been strongly dominated by European and American brands, In the field of sportswear, we are optimistic about MAIA ACTIVE’s brand proposition of ‘advanced fabrics, Asian body shapes, and sports fashion’, as well as a series of excellent products they have launched that are rich in technology and aesthetic attitude. We hope that MAIA ACTIVE can provide Asian women with More tailor-made, professional and comfortable sportswear products have become the best choice for more quality consumers.”
MAIA ACTIVE was established in Shanghai in 2016 and is a brand specially created for Asian women. Designer sportswear brand. Starting from “making every size beautiful”, MAIA ACTIVE is committed to bringing a better sports experience to Asian women by creating high-quality sportswear, while gaining more confidence and freedom in physical and mental health during sports, and showing themselves Unique beauty, enjoy “It’s good to be me”. By cooperating with leading global institutions, the brand has developed a pattern system and exclusive sports technology fabrics suitable for Asian women, quickly capturing and capturing the minds of young female consumers.
MAIA ACTIVE founder/design director Ou Yirou (left) co-founder/CEO Wang Jiayin (right)
Leading women A new track for sportswear brands
In just over four years since its establishment, MAIA ACTIVE has become an influential new sportswear brand. In 2019, the brand’s annual growth rate climbed to more than 300%, and online sales alone exceeded 100 million yuan. So far, under the influence of the epidemic in 2020, annual sales have still maintained a steady growth of 60% year-on-year (including a year-on-year sales increase of more than 100% from July to October after the epidemic), user unit prices have increased by 10% year-on-year, and the frequency of repurchases has increased year-on-year. Increased by 15% (and the average number of items purchased by repeat users is 25% higher than that of new users). The average sales volume of the five offline stores that have just been opened is nearly 8,000 per square meter. During the recent large-scale Tmall event, MAIA ACTIVE has become the only start-up brand among the top 10 sales in the sportswear category that has been established for less than 10 years.
Since 2019, MAIA ACTIVE has opened 5 directly-operated stores in the core business districts of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, respectively located in Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, Xintiandi in Shanghai, Jing’an Kerry Center in Shanghai, and Xujiahui One ITC Guomao Hui, Guangzhou Taikoo Hui. Less than half a year after its opening, the Shanghai Jing’an Kerry store’s monthly sales have exceeded 1 million yuan, and the average customer price has exceeded 2,000 yuan. In January 2021, MAIA ACTIVE is about to open three new stores in Taikoo Li Chengdu, INDIGO Beijing and Beijing International Trade Center. According to the founding team, the brand is expected to open more than 20 new stores in 2021.
After operating offline stores for more than a year, the two founders shared: “What is very surprising is that our brand not only has outstanding commercial performance, but also has excellent offline performance among users.” The brand’s stickiness and strong participation also surprised the brand. In addition to business data such as an average sales volume of nearly 8,000 and an offline try-on and purchase conversion rate of over 80%, the user membership rate exceeded 95%, and these offline customers were more Actively participate in the brand’s online and offline community activities.” Currently, MAIA ACTIVE’s offline customer unit price is twice that of online channels, and the best store’s square footage reaches 20,000 yuan.
MAIA ACTIVE co-founder and CEO Wang Jiayin said: “When shopping, the new generation of women no longer follow the traditional thinking of dividing brands by shopping mall floors. They care more about the life conveyed in the same shopping scene. For example, in our Shanghai Jing’an Kerry store, the surrounding stores include flower shops, international luxury women’s clothing and designer jewelry brands. Even though the categories are different, they all advocate the same lifestyle and attract people who love life. customer base, this is a suitable position for MAIA ACTIVE.”
Launching MAIA-Lab™ Sportswear R&D Laboratory
Everything starts from Based on user needs, MAIA ACTIVE has always emphasized and insisted on being a sportswear brand “designed specifically for Asian women”. The research and development of MAIA ACTIVE’s products every season runs through the co-creation process between the brand and users. The brand product team will invite nearly 10,000 female users to participate in the survey. Through several rounds of consumer insights, they will understand the real pain points of Asian women when wearing sportswear and continue to conduct precise research and development.
In 2020, MAIA ACTIVE launched the MAIA-Lab™ sportswear R&D laboratory based on cooperation with ALVANON, the world’s leading body type research company, and also established an internal FITTING R&D team to independently develop technology Fabrics and professional styles increase the brand’s competitive barriers. The newly launched “CLOUD Cloud Sense Series” this year has become one of the top brands on Tmall within half a year of its launch when the average unit price is five times the average of the same category.1112100841772006.png”>
The Lyst platform sells an average of 35 pairs of sports tights per hour, and users’ average consumer spending on tights has increased by 17% year-on-year. According to Lyst data, in the past three months Within the period, the search volume for keywords such as “shaping” and “lifting” increased by 392%.
In addition, consumer demand for high-waisted tights has also continued to increase, with search volume increasing by 65% year-on-year. , reaching a record high. At the same time, Lyst also found that consumer demand for jumpsuits is also increasing: in 2019, consumer demand for jumpsuits and dance practice clothing increased by 83% cumulatively.
Yoga clothing is more popular
Yoga is becoming more and more popular, and more and more people are posting yoga photos on the mobile social application Instagram. Some Yoga clothing brands are beginning to create new yoga clothing, making yoga clothing not limited to fitness venues, but also suitable for daily life.
The report shows that animal prints, bold patterns and smooth monochrome patterns, as well as Lululemon Brands such as Lululemon and Beyond Yoga have been popular among consumers in 2019. Lyst expects this trend to continue this year: since the beginning of January this year, searches related to the above products have increased by 38%.
According to Lyst data, sales of yoga peripheral products on the platform have increased by 42% in the past two years. During this period, the search volume for “yoga leggings” increased by 36% per month Growth. More than 32% of sportswear consumers are more concerned about color when choosing yoga clothing. The more popular colors are: light blue, baby pink, lavender, beige and white.
Sportswear is more fashionable
As the lines between fitness and everyday wear become increasingly blurred, the sportswear of the future will be both fashionable and functional. Consumers are interested in zippers and pockets The demand for leggings is increasing. In the past three months, searches for leggings with pockets by Lyst users have increased by 180%, and searches for leggings with zippers have increased by 76%.
In addition, consumer demand for fashionable sports leggings is also growing. Searches for black coated leggings have increased by 250% since November last year. In December last year, American actress Jennifer Lopez I wore a pair of metallic rose gold yoga leggings, and within the next 24 hours, the search volume for metallic luster leggings products increased by 33%.
In addition, consumers are concerned about color Matching is also becoming more and more important. In the past three months, searches for black, burgundy red, and turquoise have increased by 71%; bright neon colors have also become popular, and searches for pink have increased. 61%, and searches for yellow increased by 55%.
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