On December 21st, Chinese outdoor lifestyle brand Banana Down announced on its official Instagram page the opening of its first overseas store, located on the first floor of Westgate Mall in Singapore, offering a range of classic sun protection products including small black umbrellas, sun-protective apparel, and folding sunglasses.
Westgate Mall is owned by CapitaLand and is located in the heart of the local business district. Adjacent to Banana is Japanese eyewear chain Owndays, local Singaporean fashion brand Recoil and Chinese fashion and casual clothing brand YISHION, while Chinese hipster brand Bubble Mart also has a store on the same floor.
Ezra expanded to the Asian market in 2006, Singapore became the headquarters of Southeast Asia in 2011, and is currently opening 8 offline stores in Singapore; Bubble Mart was stationed in Singapore's commercial landmark Funan mall in 2021, officially opening the offline expansion of the Southeast Asian market, and has now opened 8 offline stores in Singapore.
Banana was founded in Hangzhou in 2013 by two post-80s, Ma Long and Lin Ze, who launched their first sunscreen product - a double-layer small black umbrella, just as the brand Banana is derived from the term "under the banana leaf", and from the very first product is to meet the needs of young female consumers for outdoor sun protection. From the very first product, it was designed to meet the needs of young female consumers for outdoor sun protection.
In 2019, Banana Next's products will be expanded to include sun-protective clothing, masks and other non-umbrella products, and in 2021, it will be further extended to canvas shoes, Martin boots, innerwear, warm clothing and accessories, covering scenarios such as exquisite camping, leisure sports, urban life, travel and vacation, and hiking.
Banana said it will be the number one sunwear brand in China in terms of total retail sales and online retail sales in 2021, with a market share of 5.0% and 12.9% respectively, and online retail sales exceeding five times that of the second largest brand.
The choice of Singapore for the first overseas store of Banana is obviously inseparable from the local tropical climate conditions of heat and strong sunlight, and local consumers and overseas visitors will inevitably have a strong demand for "sun protection"; on the other hand, Singapore, which has a similar culture and lifestyle with China, is the preferred choice of many Chinese fashion brands for expanding into the overseas market in the recent past:
Urban Revivo: In January 2017, UR's first overseas store opened on the first floor of Raffles City;
Hellas House: in January 2017, Hellas House opened its first overseas store in Raffles City, Singapore;
NEIWAI INSIDE OUT: In July 2023, NEIWAI INSIDE OUT flagship store in Singapore and the brand's first overseas offline store opened in Singapore on the first floor of Raffles City.
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