Why are the new middle class who are cautious with their wallets frantically snapping up a "high-end down jacket with intangible cultural heritage"?

In the era of rational consumption, who is still mining gold in the new middle class? 

Regarding the trend of the current consumer market, the dumbbell-shaped differentiation has become the consensus of the era. As brands in the affluent class and the mass market show a stable growth, the new middle class in the middle-income class is gradually tightening their purse strings. 

This group, once defined by the luxury industry as Aspirational Luxury Consumers, contributed to the brilliant growth of the luxury industry during the epidemic with their aggressive consumption. According to data from Bain & Company, the global personal luxury goods market sales increased by 13% to 15% year-on-year in 2021, and by 2022, this year-on-year growth has reached an astonishing 20%. 

But times have changed. In the era where consumption decisions are driven by rationality, those mid-range luxury brands that rely on selling logos to attract the middle class are more vulnerable to impact.

Gucci, whose sales have been continuously declining, has caused the founder of its parent company Kering Group, François Pinault, to no longer be among the world's 100 richest people; and Burberry, the former trench coat giant that can no longer be sold, has also seen its stock price halved due to poor performance, and there were even rumors that it might be acquired by the down jacket brand Moncler. 

At the same time, these mid-range luxury brands that rely on the middle-class group to achieve performance growth, and follow the trend of excessive price increases implemented by the top brands to exclude young people and the new middle class, have also caused controversy in the industry. Andrea Guerra, CEO of Prada Group, once criticized this point, "The price increase strategy in the luxury industry is a 'huge mistake'". In his opinion, the continuous price increase will only weaken consumers' trust. 

Indeed, consolidating the high-net-worth customer group is the foundation for brands to maintain a good business in a turbulent market environment. But for long-term growth in the future, the new middle-class group with continuously accumulated income is still indispensable. Especially when the number of new middle-class people in China has exceeded 245 million and has shown a continuous growth trend for three consecutive years, how to re-understand the new middle class is how to understand China, the world's largest single consumer market.

What is the consumption of the new middle class like now? 

On the one hand, the era of conspicuous consumption has come to an end. Taking the quiet luxury trend led by top brands in subdivided fields such as Loro Piana and ZEGNA as an example, the brand business that simply sells logos has failed, and consumers have shifted from a sense of "luxury" to a sense of "shame for luxury"; on the other hand, In the era of rational consumption, the products of brands need to be more scrutinizable than in the past. After all, the shift from cost performance to quality-price ratio represents that this group of consumers will no longer be fooled by a logo. 

They value the product itself more than the brand. If the unrestrained price increase is the only weapon of the short-sighted in the industry, then returning to consumers and the product itself is the core proposition for middle-class brands that have lost a huge market share to seek growth in the future. Nowadays, under the pressure of the overall consumer market, some Chinese brands have emerged and have taken the lead in winning the recognition of the current new middle class by improving the quality construction based on consumer needs. 

On December 18, 2024, China's high-end goose down jacket brand Gaofan, in collaboration with its global brand ambassador Yang Mi, launched the top-of-the-line new product of the black-gold goose down jacket - the Paris Haute Couture series - at the Beijing SKP boutique. Later, Yang Mi wore the Paris Haute Couture non-heritage master's hand-embroidered style exclusively customized for her by Gaofan and staged a private clothing show. 

This Paris Haute Couture non-heritage master's hand-embroidered goose down jacket, with a global limited edition of 8 pieces, is jointly designed by the former DIOR haute couture designer Maria and the non-heritage Miao embroidery inheritor Ou Donghua. By combining the Paris haute couture craftsmanship with the Chinese non-heritage Miao embroidery technique, it realizes the resonance of Eastern and Western aesthetics and culture. Once launched, it has ushered in a booming lottery reservation on Gaofan's Tmall official flagship store, and even on secondary markets such as Xiaohongshu and Dewu, many people are willing to pay more to purchase it. 

With the brand ambassador Yang Mi setting off a rush to purchase the Paris Haute Couture series, the peak work of Gaofan's black-gold goose down jacket, both online and offline, an interesting question is: Why are the new middle-class people who are tightening their wallets "scrambling" to buy a haute couture goose down jacket?

Why is Gaofan Black-Gold Goose Down Jacket the Quality Choice of the New Middle Class?

How to understand the 245 million new middle class who are currently dominated by rational consumption decisions? 

The popular saying "Save where you can, spend where you should" that has been circulating on the Internet in the past two years reveals everything. The Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily once surveyed 1,000 young people in first-tier cities and found that 86.5% of them clearly stated that the consumption concept of "spend where necessary and save where possible" can enhance their sense of control over life. Essentially, this sense of control is brought about by rational consumption, which means "one can buy expensive things, but not overpriced ones". 

In the era of rational consumption, it does not mean that the 245 million new middle class no longer consume, nor does it mean that their consumption level and quality of life have been comprehensively downgraded. Instead, it constructs a consumer link that builds brand recognition with the product as the value anchor. This also means that these new middle-class consumers pay more attention to the actual benefits behind every penny they spend. 

This also reflects the problems that some high-end brands have in the past: they only have dream-making marketing, but their product strength is lackluster. Especially when a certain top luxury brand does not reflect on why its bags are not selling, but is still using coffee and chocolate to attract consumers into the store - when this marketing strategy that deviates from the product is used to save the business, Gaofan, which has taken the lead in achieving quality upgrading, has firmly grasped the purchasing mentality of the new middle class. 

In a sense, Gaofan has redefined the luxury standard in the goose down jacket field with higher technical content.

Take the pioneering Paris Haute Couture goose down jacket with ten haute couture designs as an example. Gaofan, in collaboration with the former Dior haute couture designer Maria Cristina Petrone, integrates the French haute couture craftsmanship into the ready-to-wear category of goose down jackets, fully aligning with the haute couture standards in the five dimensions of design, material, pattern, color matching, and craftsmanship. 

It should be noted that haute couture is the "crown jewel" of the luxury industry, known for its scarce and expensive fabrics and extremely meticulous and time-consuming handicrafts. By "ready-to-wear" the haute couture standards, Gaofan has established the black-gold aesthetic standard with a black-gold goose down jacket, gaining the value recognition of high-end users. 

At the same time, the Paris Haute Couture black-gold goose down jacket not only integrates Western standards but also combines Eastern aesthetics. The peak work of this Paris Haute Couture series - the Paris Haute Couture non-heritage master's hand-embroidered style worn by the brand ambassador Yang Mi, is a resonance of Eastern and Western culture and aesthetics. 

The former Dior haute couture designer Maria Cristina Petrone, in collaboration with the non-heritage Miao embroidery inheritor Ou Donghua, for the first time, perfectly combines the "Paris Haute Couture craftsmanship" with the "Chinese non-heritage Miao embroidery technique". On the Paris Haute Couture goose down jacket, not only are there the ten haute couture craftsmanships from France presented by Maria, but also the dragon-scale Eiffel Tower and hem patterns embroidered by the non-heritage inheritor Ou Donghua, drawing on the aesthetic mood of Miao embroidery, which took 400 hours. Thus, on Gaofan's Paris Haute Couture goose down jacket, the integration of Eastern and Western cultures has reached a new height. 

As a functional clothing for the cold winter, goose down jackets have gradually become a deep-water area for technological innovation. In the key dimension of fabric, still taking the potential energy style worn by Yang Mi - the Paris Haute Couture black-gold goose down jacket as an example, it uses the black-stone haute couture yarn with a luxurious texture, which comes from the French luxury craftsmanship. In terms of professional functions, it can not only achieve 2 times tear resistance and 4-level water repellency, but also can achieve anti-static and even environmentally friendly and renewable. 

Nowadays, as goose down has become a symbolic symbol of high-end down jackets, Gaofan has chosen the Kirin Down King with a fluffiness of 850+ for the filler that the new middle class cares most about. Behind this, Gaofan has visited China, the Czech Republic, Siberia, Canada, and established an exclusive goose down production base in Hungary to ensure the acquisition of the highest quality flying goose down, and through the integration of technologies from three countries, it has achieved mite resistance, antibacterial and water repellency. 

In terms of heat storage technology, the Gaofan black-gold goose down jacket adopts the new fourth-generation Zhongke heat storage technology, allowing the wearer to quickly increase the temperature by 2.5 degrees. It is worth mentioning that this heat storage technology has also obtained the World Record (WRCA) certification. This nano-scale material with German imported gold film is certified as the world's outstanding antibacterial and anti-static technology heating lining. 

It can be seen that from dirt and stain resistance to warmth retention, from antibacterial and anti-static to heat storage technology, the Gaofan black-gold goose down jacket breaks through the pain points of winter clothing one by one and redefines the luxury standard of goose down jackets. Especially under the design of the former Dior haute couture designer Maria Cristina Petrone, when the highest standard of haute couture in traditional fashion houses enters the ready-to-wear field of goose down jackets, Gaofan has taken the lead in achieving the quality upgrading of goose down jackets. 

Why can Gaofan redefine the luxury standard of goose down jackets? 

Behind this is the confidence of having the resources of the three luxury research centers in Paris, Shanghai, and Milan, and sitting firmly at the top of the global down jacket industry in terms of invention patents with 161 invention patents. Nowadays, Gaofan, which only pursues the perfect quality of goose down jackets, not only gathers the world's top design and R & D forces, but also has become the first high-end goose down jacket brand in the industry to win the five certifications of the World Record Certification Agency (WRCA). 

With strong innovation strength, Gaofan has become the first choice for the new middle class through the quality upgrading of goose down jackets, and its high-end series products perform far ahead. It not only ranks TOP1 among the 2000+ down jacket brands on Douyin, but also according to the Shangpu Market Position Certification, Gaofan has won the first place in the national high-end goose down jacket sales for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023. This year's Double Eleven, Gaofan easily topped the "100 Million Yuan Club" of super down jackets with its sales in the Tmall live stream exceeding 100 million yuan on the first day. 

At the same time, by obtaining endorsements or testimonials from the European royal family, the French Design Association, and fashion media, Gaofan has achieved a breakthrough and recognition among the high-end crowd. Gaofan has not only become the favorite choice of the British royal Rutland family, Princess Diana's twin nieces, the coolest royal princess Lady Alice Manners, and the Belgian royal Ligne family, but also has won the favor of tech industry tycoon Lei Jun, Holiland's "second son" Luo Cheng, and Jieliya's third-generation successor "Towel Young Master" Shi Zhancheng. 

In the view of Wu Kunming, the founder of Gaofan, Gaofan becoming the choice of the new middle class is a trend. When it was established, it was not a product and brand targeted at a certain type of consumer group, but a product made with luxury standards and priced in a reasonable price range. The new middle class, who tend to make rational decisions, will not give up the pursuit of a better life. When the era of conspicuous consumption comes to an end, Gaofan has become the quality first choice of the new middle class with the Paris Haute Couture goose down jacket series that far exceeds the industry standards.

Building the World's Top Luxury Double Store Kings: A Strong Leap of Chinese Brands on the International Fashion Stage

Today, the significance of offline for high-end brands has long gone beyond selling goods. 

Especially in the shopping business districts in the core areas of first- and second-tier cities, retail stores that are transforming into brand experience and service centers have become an important field for brands to deeply communicate and connect with consumers. As a high-end goose down jacket brand chosen by the new middle class, Gaofan, after landing in the French Paris top luxury store king La Samaritaine in September this year, has occupied the central position of Beijing SKP in the form of a boutique at the end of this year.