The menswear floor of the New World Department Store in central Chengdu, a city of 14m in western China, offers the kind of fast fashion you might expect to see in any second-tier city in the US or Europe.
The signage on the concessions is in English but it displays unfamiliar brand names. “I’m David” sells urban casual wear, “Scofield” is meant to have a British feel, while “Mind Bridge” and “Gather Jewels” are both preppy Ivy League style.
They may look the part, but these clothes struggle to compete with Uniqlo, Zara and H&M, all of which have their own stores nearby. Brands such as these illustrate the problems and opportunities facing China as it attempts to jump-start the consumer spending that will rebalance its economy away from heavy investment in factories and property.