Alo Yoga’s $3,000 bags draw mixed reactions in China

What happened American premium athletic apparel label Alo Yoga entered the luxury handbag segment with the launch of its first Alo Bag Collection. The Los Angeles-based company's foray hasn’t been smooth, however. With its handbag prices reaching $3,000, Alo's latest launch has drawn criticism on Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), where users argue the designs appear inexpensive and caution that the athleisure brand risks diluting its identity. “Outrageous, outrageous, outrageous! I almost laughed when I saw the price. With this design combined with the quality of their products, I wouldn't even consider it if I removed a single zero,” a blogger posted on Xiaohongshu, suggesting that such a premium move was unlikely to succeed. “I don't understand why this brand is so popular. It's not as good as Lulu in all aspects,” wrote another user. Others, like @jazzy, turned to sarcasm: “This brand is amazing. The quality of the clothes is like defective goods, and the bags are directly copied. The key is that people still buy them.” Not all online reactions were negative, with some users defending the pricing as appropriate for the brand's market segment and others highlighting Alo’s creativity. The Jing Take The criticism around Alo’s launch shows how fragile these premium pivots can be. Unlike heritage maisons, whose legacies anchor their luxury positioning, athleisure brands face sharper consumer skepticism when venturing into new and unfamiliar categories. Alo’s new bag line, developed in Los Angeles and manufactured in Florence, marks its attempt to move beyond apparel into a broader luxury offering. The four debut styles, each finished with a crystal charm like smoky quartz or citrine, are positioned as an extension of the brand’s wellness-driven narrative. Meanwhile, retail prices range from $1,200 to $3,600, with distribution limited to Alo stores in Beverly Hills, Soho New York, London’s Regent Street, Aspen, and Seoul’s Dosan Park. With this launch, Alo’s brand equity may be at stake. If consumers perceive its premium push as opportunistic rather than authentic, it stands to weaken the brand’s apparel business as well as its new luxury venture. Ultimately, the question is whether such “premium pivots” can genuinely reshape consumer perception and carve out a space between fast fashion and heritage luxury — or whether they will expose the limits of brand identity in a tightening market. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media. Additional research by Daphne Hsia

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Alo Yoga’s $3,000 bags draw mixed reactions in China