从跨境电商到线下场景 国货品牌出海路径到底怎么选？

Chinese brands going global are shifting from online e-commerce to more offline scenarios, but established brands are taking smaller first steps, while younger brands think earlier about how to enter their target audiences.

1. Proya entered the U.S. market through around 400 Ulta Beauty stores, leveraging its membership system to build trust, starting with small-scale trials before replicating in Western Europe. Anta opened its first flagship store in North America in Los Angeles as a brand hub rather than a rapid expansion. Bosideng used its premium line AREAL to launch a pop-up store at Galeries Lafayette in Paris to validate product capability, instead of opening a flagship store directly as it did in its earlier years.

2. Younger brands have chosen different paths: HEFANG first tested the waters through Taobao's cross-border channel, then opened a pop-up in Los Angeles, insisting on the same products and prices at home and abroad and building the brand over one to three years. The women's fashion brand Kaijian went to Paris for the first time only to hold a brand salon, without rushing to sell. Fuyu Manpu set up a pop-up booth of just two to three square meters in a long-established London pharmacy to test acceptance of its premium products.

3. Online channels are not just for selling; they also serve new product testing and consumer education. LUSBY used KOC content on TikTok to achieve $4.75 million in U.S. sales in one year. Luowa Electric modified its product structure based on feedback from local influencers before launching. Mobi Garden used real transaction feedback from Lazada to select priority markets.

4. The key takeaway is: the paths for going global have multiplied and barriers have lowered, but staying is harder. Brands must answer one question—whether they can truly enter local consumers' usage scenarios and sustain operations.

The article offers real cases of how brands choose their routes to overseas expansion. The core insight is to control the pace, enter through a small opening, and build brand trust through localized channels.

1. Brand channel building: Proya borrowed the overseas experience of Florasis, but its main brand only entered around 400 Ulta Beauty stores, aiming to accumulate a replicable retail partnership standard. Anta first entered Europe and the U.S. through large retailers such as Foot Locker, then opened a Los Angeles flagship store as a brand hub. Bosideng replaced its earlier direct-operation large stores with a pop-up at Galeries Lafayette in Paris to reduce risk.

2. Brand marketing and pricing: HEFANG maintains the same products and prices at home and abroad, using a one-to-three-year cycle to build the brand without chasing short-term sales. Fuyu Manpu chose a long-established London pharmacy scenario to directly test whether local consumers are willing to pay a premium for the concept of Eastern aromatherapy. Kaijian held a brand salon during Paris Fashion Week to explore how brand spirit can be expressed across cultures.

3. Consumer trends and user behavior: Overseas consumers have more mature recognition of design-driven products, and mainstream Western consumers need brands to independently operate social media and offline spaces rather than rely solely on cross-border e-commerce. LUSBY's use of KOC content on TikTok to unpack usage scenarios shows that new categories need content education to gain search and purchase. Luowa Electric captured real usage pain points from influencer feedback and optimized its products accordingly.

4. Product R&D insights: Online platforms have become testing grounds for new products; Luowa used 20 to 50 local influencers to identify problems; MORROR ART used Kickstarter to test consumers' willingness to pay for a new category. These approaches provide real market data before a product is formally launched.

The article reveals new opportunities as going-global channels expand from online to offline, and how brands of different sizes choose entry paths, offering direct takeaways for sellers.

1. Growth markets: Exports of self-owned brands grew 25.4% year-on-year, making going global a long-term growth direction. Mature markets such as the U.S. and Europe remain the first choice for established brands, and younger brands are also starting to treat Europe and the U.S. as the first stop to validate design capability, rather than focusing only on Southeast Asia.

2. Changing consumer demand: Overseas consumers have a mature understanding of design-driven products and show high acceptance of Eastern fragrance products (such as Fuyu Manpu's perfumes and aromatherapy). American consumers' life scenarios (camping, RVs) are creating demand for new categories; Luowa Electric used TikTok influencer testing to discover noise issues and optimize its products.

3. Risk response and cautions: Large brands choose small openings to control risk and avoid over-expansion driven by abundant capital. Sellers should avoid spreading too wide in the manner of large domestic companies and instead use an investment-style approach to trial and error. Overseas compliance, supply chain, and operational capability requirements are rising, and market competition is more intense.

4. Opportunities and takeaways: HEFANG first used Taobao's cross-border channel to sell with low trial costs, then built a standalone website and offline pop-up, gradually approaching mainstream Western consumers. LUSBY achieved $4.75 million in annual sales through TikTok KOC content, showing that interest-based e-commerce is a new opportunity for emerging brands. Fuyu Manpu used a two-to-three-square-meter booth to test premium price points, and only after validation did it plan an independent experience store.

5. Latest business models and partnership methods: Proya partnered with Ulta Beauty to gain membership system support; Bosideng launched a pop-up with Galeries Lafayette in Paris; Anta used local large retailers to enter the market and then opened an own-operated flagship store. These offer replicable cooperation paths.

The article highlights changes in product design and production requirements, as well as lessons that digitalization and e-commerce hold for factories.

1. Product production requirements: Export-oriented brands place greater emphasis on rapidly adjusting product structures based on local consumer feedback. Luowa Electric's camping ice maker was modified after influencers reported noise and vibration issues before launch, indicating that factories need the capability for small-batch, rapid iteration to address scenario-specific demands.

2. Product design requirements: Brands overseas emphasize an internationally applicable design language rather than only Eastern symbols. HEFANG uses everyday life elements such as forks and dinner plates in its jewelry and deliberately avoids emphasizing Chinese symbols, reminding factories in OEM or collaborative work to understand the product design logic through which brands communicate with mainstream Western audiences.

3. Business opportunities: Premium down jacket brands use pop-up stores to validate high-priced product lines, aromatherapy skincare brands are testing overseas willingness to pay premium prices, and designer jewelry is entering European and American fashion markets. These trends indicate growing demand for high-quality, differentiated design and supply chain capability.

4. Digitalization and e-commerce lessons: Online platforms have shifted from sales channels to testing and insight tools. Mobi Garden uses real transaction data from Lazada to select priority markets; LUSBY uses TikTok feedback to optimize products. Factories can leverage e-commerce platform data and influencer content to understand overseas consumers' actual usage scenarios and pain points, serving as a basis for production and design.

The industry trend for Chinese brands going global shows deepening integration between e-commerce platforms and offline channels, creating new service space around brands' needs for testing, education, and trust building.

1. Industry trends: Going-global channels are becoming more diverse, with cross-border e-commerce platforms, standalone websites, social media, local retail channels, and own-operated stores coexisting. Brands are moving from online to offline; online roles shift from sales to testing and consumer education, while offline channels bear the function of building brand trust.

2. New technologies and tools: TikTok KOC content has become a scenario for new product validation; LUSBY completed its cold start through content platforms and reached $4.75 million in annual sales. Kickstarter crowdfunding is used to test willingness to pay for new categories; Lazada transaction data is used for market screening. These platform tools are becoming infrastructure for brands going global.

3. Client pain points: Brands entering overseas markets face unclear positioning, difficulty reaching target audiences, and the risk of over-expansion. The founder of Kaijian found that domestic e-commerce experience fails in Paris and needed to re-answer the question 'who is the brand?' HEFANG realized that simply selling goods could not reach mainstream Western consumers, so it had to build its own independent website and social media. Mature brands worry that too big a step may lead to failure and need to test through small openings.

4. Solutions: Service providers can offer step-by-step international expansion strategies, such as using pop-up stores, brand salons, and small booths for low-cost testing; help brands build retail partnership standards, membership system integration, localized operation, and compliance capabilities. At the same time, providers can support brands with influencer resources, content production, and user feedback collection, creating a closed loop from online testing to offline execution.

The article shows how brand demands on platforms are changing: platforms must become tools for testing, education, and market insight, not just sales channels.

1. Commercial demands on platforms: Brands want platforms to provide low trial-and-error costs, such as HEFANG using Taobao's cross-border channel to sell initially. New categories lack exposure on traditional shelf e-commerce and need content platforms to help consumer awareness; LUSBY grew after moving to TikTok. Brands also expect platforms to provide real transaction feedback; Mobi Garden uses Lazada data to select priority markets.

2. Latest platform practices: TikTok Shop uses KOC content to drive new product growth, disclosing that LUSBY achieved $4.75 million in U.S. annual sales; Kickstarter crowdfunding is used by brands as a new product test; Taobao's cross-border channel provides payment, logistics, and operational systems. These cases show that platforms are extending from transaction matching to brand incubation.

3. Merchant recruitment and operations management: Brands have more choices in overseas offline channels. Platform operators should pay attention to O2O coordination, such as Proya entering Ulta Beauty's online and physical stores simultaneously, and Anta operating online through Amazon before opening offline flagship stores. Platforms need to help brands build user trust and consolidate operating standards, rather than simply providing traffic and orders.

4. Risk avoidance: The biggest trap for brands going global is expanding too fast and spreading too thin. Platform operators should guide brands to control their pace during recruitment and service, avoiding over-investment due to rich resources. At the same time, they should note rising compliance, supply chain, and localization service requirements, and provide corresponding management tools and safeguards.

The article documents the shift in Chinese brands' going-global paths from online-dominated to online-offline integrated diversification, revealing new industry trends and business model evolution.

1. New industry trends: In the first half of 2026, exports of self-owned brands grew 25.4% year-on-year, making going global a long-term strategy. Mature brands such as Proya, Anta, and Bosideng all chose small openings to enter new markets rather than large-scale expansion, reflecting risk control awareness. Younger brands started from social media or existing overseas demand, giving rise to 'born-global' players.

2. New challenges: Brands face cultural expression and user communication challenges overseas. Kaijian found in Paris that domestic e-commerce experience fails and must answer the brand identity question; HEFANG found that cross-border e-commerce mainly reaches overseas Chinese consumers and can hardly enter mainstream Western groups. Fuyu Manpu used overseas foot traffic to confirm product acceptance in reverse.

3. Policy and regulatory implications: The article points out that overseas operations require higher capabilities across supply chain, operations, compliance, and services. The implication is that relevant policies and service institutions should support brands in building localized operating systems rather than merely encouraging sales. Direct replication of domestic channel models should be approached cautiously, and gradual internationalization based on market feedback should be encouraged.

4. Business model analysis: Multiple models for the 'first leap' overseas have emerged, such as leveraging local large retailer channels, opening brand flagship stores, pop-up stores, content platform testing, crowdfunding validation, and small offline booths. Online platforms' functions are shifting from sales to new product testing, consumer education, and market insight. These cases constitute new material for studying brand internationalization path choices.