China signals: Brooks surges, Labubu diversifies, Xiaohongshu scales

Sportswear is firing on all cylinders — Puma up 9%, Adidas up 17%, and Brooks soaring 136% in China. Hang Lung opened its 11th mainland mall, not as a luxury destination but as an experiential, lifestyle-driven bet on first-to-market brands. Pop Mart sold out Labubu-themed refrigerators at $828 apiece in seconds, with some resale listings reaching $9,000. Xiaohongshu integrated its community, e-commerce, and monetization units under a single president as part of a commercialization push. Sportswear’s Q1 surge proves localization pays off Market intel: Three sportswear brands delivered standout Q1 performances in China. Puma saw Greater China revenue rise 9%, driven by direct-to-consumer strength across owned retail stores and e-commerce channels, and supported by Hyrox race sponsorships in Beijing and Wuhan. Adidas posted a 17% increase in Greater China — continuing an unbroken growth streak in the market — as part of a global 14% revenue surge to 6.59 billion euros ($7.18 billion). Brooks Running reported a 136% sales jump in China, contributing to the brand’s strongest quarter in its history. Market indicator: All three labels have invested heavily in local strategies: sponsoring grassroots competitions, releasing China-specific collections, and building category authority. Adidas’ run of China growth is telling — it suggests a sustained turnaround, not a one-off bounce. For international brands watching from the sidelines, the message is that deep, patient localization (not sporadic marketing campaigns) is what separates the winners from the also-rans. Hang Lung’s Hangzhou gamble: foot traffic first, luxury later Market intel: After eight years of development, Hong Kong developer Hang Lung soft-launched Hangzhou Westlake 66, a 16-billion-RMB ($2.2 billion) mixed-use complex in the prime Wulin Central Business District. Contrary to market expectations, the mall takes a “light luxury and trendy” approach rather than anchoring with top-tier names — over 200 brands are present, 80% of them making their market debut, alongside a strong dining lineup headlined by first-to-market concepts including Jellycat’s first blue-label store in Zhejiang. The strategy is deliberately two-step: cultivate a young, loyal customer base now, then use a neighboring Baida Group building, leased for 20 years, to bring in heavyweight luxury tenants by 2028. Market indicator: Hang Lung is testing a new thesis: in China’s saturated luxury mall landscape, the old “anchor with Hermès, fill with everyone else” playbook has waned. By leading with first-to-market brands, dining, and experiential retail, the developer is betting that foot traffic and cultural relevance will eventually lure luxury tenants — not the other way around. For luxury brands, this shift signals that even top-tier developers are rethinking what makes a destination successful, potentially opening doors for more flexible, experiential retail partnerships. Pop Mart strives to diversify Market intel: Pop Mart launched a Labubu-themed refrigerator in two designs — “Home” and “House of the Monsters” — limited to 999 units per model, or 1,998 units globally, at 5,999 RMB ($828) each. Both sold out seconds after release, driven by more than 60,000 pre-sale reservations on JD.com alone — over 30 times the available supply. On secondary platforms, prices spiked immediately: on Dewu, units were listed at up to 22,999 RMB ($3,176), a premium of more than 280% over retail. The launch coincides with a renovated Labubu Forest Zone at Pop Land, the company’s Beijing theme park, which saw visitor traffic rise 70% year-on-year in 2025. Pop Mart has also announced a partnership with Sony Pictures to develop a live-action animated film based on The Monsters IP. Market indicator: The refrigerator launch is a masterclass in scarcity-driven hype, but it also points to a deeper strategic pivot. Pop Mart is aggressively diversifying beyond blind boxes — into appliances, theme parks, and film — to reduce its dependence on The Monsters IP, which contributed 38% of 2025 revenue. Yet the fridge’s secondary market performance shows that Labubu’s cultural cachet remains immense. For brands looking to replicate this model, the challenge is balancing IP monetization with genuine product innovation. A refrigerator that trades at nearly four times its retail price on the secondary market isn’t an appliance; it’s a collectible. The question is whether Pop Mart can transfer that magic to its other ventures. From Pop Land to Sony Pictures: Is Pop Mart becoming China's Disney? Xiaohongshu restructures for monetization push Market intel: On April 30, Xiaohongshu announced a major organizational restructuring, integrating its community, e-commerce, and monetization businesses under a single president, Conan (Ding Ling), who will report to CEO Xingyu. The company simultaneously established two AI-level departments — Dots, focused on model development and product technology, and the Enterprise Intelligence Department — and formally launched Rednote as a dedicated overseas business unit. Its cross-border e-commerce platform Redshop will follow in June 2026, initially inviting 50 seed merchants focused on intangible cultural heritage crafts and handmade goods across eight markets: Hong Kong, Macau, the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and Malaysia. Rather than competing on price with Temu or Shein, the platform is betting on cultural distinctiveness and storytelling as its differentiator. Market indicator: Xiaohongshu is evolving from a lifestyle community into a full-fledged commerce and content machine. With over 400 million monthly active users, the monetization runway is enormous. The AI investment signals a push to improve ad targeting and content discovery, while Redshop represents a serious attempt to capture cross-border commerce. For brands, this means Xiaohongshu is becoming an increasingly essential channel — not just for seeding and awareness, but for direct sales, especially for products with strong visual and storytelling appeal. The platform’s bet on cultural differentiation over price competition aligns perfectly with where premium brands want to play.

China signals: Brooks surges, Labubu diversifies, Xiaohongshu scales

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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China signals: Brooks surges, Labubu diversifies, Xiaohongshu scales

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag