China signals: Songmont’s premium pricing, Kerry’s SpongeBob play, Goodbai’s empire

Three Chinese brands are pulling different levers toward the same goal. Bag label Songmont has lifted its average price to more than 2,200 RMB ($300) from about 1,600 RMB ($220) over the past year while reporting a 340% year-over-year surge in May GMV, a sign that a coherent aesthetic can support premium pricing. In Shanghai, two Kerry malls turned SpongeBob's deadpan "background fish" into a cross-district summer draw. Bai Jingting, meanwhile, has extended his Goodbai label beyond apparel into coffee, IP merchandise and overseas pop-ups, betting on product credibility over celebrity pull. Songmont’s pricing power Market intel: Chinese bag brand Songmont raised its average price to more than 2,200 RMB ($300) from about 1,600 RMB ($220) over the past year, according to consultancy Lijin, yet its GMV still rose 340% year-over-year in May. Its annual repeat-purchase rate reached 42% and climbed a further 12% after the price increase. The bestselling Hobo bag, priced above 2,000 RMB ($275), sold more than 5,000 units in 30 days, generating more than 10 million RMB ($1.4 million) in online sales that month from the single style. The brand now operates nearly 20 stores in China plus a pop-up in Bangkok, and overseas shoppers make up about 50% of footfall at its Shanghai store during holiday peaks. Consultancy CIC said the 1,000 RMB to 2,000 RMB ($140 to $275) segment is gaining share as shoppers weigh brand premiums against everyday use. Market indicator: Songmont’s run challenges the assumption that Chinese consumers won’t pay premium prices for domestic brands. The lever is a coherent “Song-style” aesthetic — naturalistic, quietly intellectual — reinforced through podcasts, exhibitions and lifestyle lines spanning apparel and fragrance. By building a full narrative around the product, the brand has manufactured value that supports higher prices. The harder task is scaling without losing the craftsmanship that underpins the appeal. For other domestic brands, the takeaway is that premium pricing has to be earned through premium storytelling. Kerry’s retail play Market intel: Shanghai’s Kerry Parkside and Jing An Kerry Centre teamed up for “The Fish-tastic Summer,” built around the deadpan “background fish” of “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Jing An Kerry Centre, pitched at young professionals, built a “Summer Slacking-Off Town” anchored by a 17-meter inflatable “limp fish” whose expression read as a stand-in for the modern office worker. Kerry Parkside leaned into a holiday mood with a “Summer Fish Fun Zone,” a five-meter SpongeBob and Patrick sandcastle, a beach cinema and interactive games. A “Bikini Bottom Department Store” pop-up ran at both malls, debuting a build-your-own background-fish doll and more than 200 limited products, while stamp-collecting, a character vote and themed food and drink stitched the two sites into one cross-district route. Market indicator: The campaign is a study in retail activation. By tapping “slacking off” and “shedding the office grind” — live topics among young Chinese consumers — it met shoppers where they already were emotionally. Splitting the concept across two malls, one aimed at weary professionals and the other at families, widened the catchment, and the pop-up and interactive elements converted footfall into spending. For mall operators, the result turned on humor, relatability and a well-chosen IP rather than the IP's marquee value alone. Goodbai goes beyond fame Market intel: Actor Bai Jingting has quietly become one of Chinese entertainment’s more serious retail entrepreneurs. His clothing brand Goodbai — launched in 2021 — has expanded into coffee, IP merchandise and the first standalone store for its Goodees World sub-label, on Shanghai’s Yanqing Road. The brand runs three permanent stores, in Shanghai, Chengdu and Aranya, plus pop-ups in Beijing, Paris and Seoul, and is stocked in Korean retailer Musinsa. Goodbai’s “Wandering Shoes,” priced at 459 RMB ($63), rank ninth on Tmall’s casual-sneaker repurchase chart, behind only Adidas, Fila, Anta, Asics and Xtep. Bai brought in industry partners including designer Shangguan Zhe, the Sankuanz founder and a London Fashion Week alum, who holds a 29% stake to Bai’s 41% and lends the label design and supply-chain credibility. As Bai put it: “Even apart from me as a person, consumers still recognize it, and plenty of people will still like it and find it good-looking. That’s my ultimate goal.” Market indicator: Goodbai points to a different model for celebrity brands in China, one driven by business strategy rather than fame alone. By extending apparel into coffee, IP toys and outdoor gear, Bai is building for longevity, and a presence in Musinsa alongside the Seoul pop-up signals real global intent. What sets the brand apart is the focus on product credibility: bringing in established designers and operators, tracking demand toward outdoor and plush toys, and owning past quality lapses with a recall and an apology. Whether it can truly outlast its founder’s fame is unsettled, but the groundwork is there.

China signals: Songmont’s premium pricing, Kerry’s SpongeBob play, Goodbai’s empire

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China signals: Songmont’s premium pricing, Kerry’s SpongeBob play, Goodbai’s empire

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag