Dickies Opens More Retail Stores in Shanghai
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Over the past decade, China has become a lucrative and growing market for international brands. Dickies, a popular clothing brand in North America, recently opened 2 new retail stores in Shanghai. Dickies entered into China last November, and they have opened a total of 7 outlets in Shanghai thus far. 
At this point, Dickies seems to be focusing on the communication dimension of their brand. They have opened numerous retail outlets and sponsored brand endorsement by Chinese stars in the media. This method should help build brand awareness because the more times and places Chinese consumers see the Dickies name and logo, the more familiar they will become with the brand and its message.
Last year Dickies held a press conference and invited Zhang Zhenyue, a famous Chinese rock & roll star, and Chun Xiao, a Chinese super model, to talk about their attitude towards Dickies. (Internationally, Dickies has used a number of star sponsors including Snoop Dogg, Black Eyed Peas, Avril Lavigne, Madonna, Good Charlotte and Bow Wow.) By having these stars speak about their brand, Dickies communicates to the Chinese consumer that their brand is cool, streetwise, and stylish. They also emphasize the durability of the clothing.
Dickies is currently having a sale where customers can buy one get one free. They need to be careful that short-term promotional tactics do not harm long-term brand objectives. The Dickies brand has a very unique culture associated with it, and they need to ensure this culture is conveyed in a way that is attractive for Chinese consumers. Oftentimes sales and low prices are associated with non-premium products, and Chinese consumers may not like the idea of buying a clothing brand that was originally designed for manual workers.
All in all, it is too soon to tell whether the Dickies brand, in China, will be as durable as its clothing.
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