美國內衣品牌維多利亞的秘密將在華開設首家門店，意大利頂級奢侈品牌La Perla和德國著名內衣品牌黛安芬等也要增開門店，而且要從大城市下沉至二三線城市，從潛力巨大的市場中分一杯羹。全球市場研究咨詢公司英敏特估算，中國女性內衣市場規模五年內增長了一倍多，增至180億美元。

中國消費者的品味正趨成熟，女性在選購用品時更加自信，加之國家主席習近平提倡減少炫富式消費，消費熱點可能將從品牌標志顯眼的包袋與配飾轉向運動休閑服裝，以及更私密的內衣。

“奢侈品……不應該用來炫耀，應該讓自己感覺舒適才對?！?La Perla的亞太區董事總經理琪亞拉·斯卡利亞如是說。

倫敦市場研究機構Euromonitor預計，明年中國的女性內衣市場零售總額將達到250億美元，是美國市場的兩倍，到2020年將增至330億美元。

北京愛慕、曼妮芬和歐迪芬等中國企業同樣野心勃勃，一方面瞄準高端消費者，另一方面加緊提高產品質量。

英敏特亞太區研究主管馬修·克雷布稱：“這意味著，國外品牌不僅要強調質量，還得不斷推陳出新。”

目前中國女性內衣市場群雄割據，沒有一家品牌的市場份額超過3%。由于全球市場前景黯淡，國際品牌紛紛將中國視為拉動業績的主戰場。

La Perla文胸零售價約為2000元人民幣（折合300美元），在中國已有八家門店。La Perla計劃今年成都和重慶開設專賣店，還打算在北京新開店面銷售男性內衣。

“人們對內衣行業已經改變，”琪亞拉向路透社表示，“以前很多人都搞不懂，為什么會有人在別人看不到的內褲上花上千美元?！?

維多利亞的秘密今年將在上海開設一家占地2萬平方英尺（1860平米）的旗艦店。店址位于市中心，原本是路易威登的店面。維多利亞的秘密母公司L Brands負責國際業務的總裁馬丁·沃特斯表示：“我認為新店開張將以非常盛大的方式宣告維多利亞的秘密登陸中國，也標志著潛力巨大的業務正式起步?！?

黛安芬在中國已擁有1000家門店，今年計劃進駐五個新城市，明年將覆蓋11個城市。

去年中國內衣企業都市麗人收購了歐迪芬，打算開拓奢侈內衣市場。都市麗人此前主打大眾品牌，文胸產品最低50元人民幣（折合7.5美元）。

“我們希望逐步轉向高端市場?！倍际宣惾说呢攧湛偙O助理彼得·梁（音譯）表示。

22歲的山東女生高倩南（音譯）說，她一年買內衣要花1500元，沒覺得國內品牌和國外品牌有多大區別。

她說：“一般只要能買國產品牌就盡量買。但如果某個國外品牌的樣式我特別喜歡，也會買國外牌子?！?

國際品牌都表示并未專為中國市場推出產品。不過意大利品牌La Perla指出，某些顏色的內衣在亞洲賣得比歐洲和美國好得多，例如紅色和淺粉色。La Perla還力邀中國超模劉雯參與品牌推廣。

日本和韓國內衣品牌在中國也越來越有人氣。

23歲的林惠娟（音譯）每三個月為購置內衣花費800元人民幣（折合120美元）。她更喜歡日本內衣品牌華歌爾和Narue?！拔腋杏X國外品牌的風格更細膩，選擇也更多。這些方面國內品牌還是比不上?！彼硎?。

然而，征戰女性內衣市場并非坦途。

包括歐迪芬的550家門店在內，都市麗人在中國開有8600家門店。去年該公司大眾市場的銷售增長強勁，但對今年上半年的盈利已經發出預警，原因包括中國經濟增長放緩、消費者謹慎、電商競爭激烈等因素。

香港上市公司安莉芳控股，即內衣品牌安莉芳母公司表示，因競爭更加慘烈，國內經濟環境也更嚴峻，今年二季度集團整體零售額下滑將近20%。

招商證券駐香港分析師尤金·麥（音譯）認為，盡管業績有起伏，女性內衣行業吸引力仍然強大，都市麗人等公司還是比其他服裝零售商表現出色。

麥預計，總有一天女性內衣市場會進入整合期。他說：“這個市場剛剛起步，但近期會陷入混戰。” （財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

U.S. brand Victoria’s Secret will open its first store, and companies including Italy’s ultra-luxury La Perla and Germany’s Triumph are adding stores and moving beyond China’s mega-cities to tap a lingerie market that has more than doubled in five years to $18 billion, according to Mintel Group.

Chinese consumer tastes are maturing, women are more confident about buying for themselves and President Xi Jinping’s drive against conspicuous consumption is likely diverting spending from flashy branded bags and accessories to sports and ath-leisure wear and the more discreet lingerie.

“Luxury is … not about buying to show off, it’s about buying items that make you feel good,” says Chiara Scaglia, La Perla’s Asia chief.

China’s women’s underwear market is expected to have a retail value of $25 billion by next year—double that of the United States—and will grow to $33 billion by 2020, according to Euromonitor.

Chinese firms such as Beijing Aimer, Maniform and Ordifen are also chasing that money, targeting higher-end customers and raising their quality.

“That means foreign brands will have to out-compete local brands not just on quality, but also innovation,” said Matthew Crabbe, director at Mintel.

For now, the market is highly fragmented, with none of the leading firms having more than around a 3% share. International brands see China as a priority to help bolster overall sales given a fairly bleak global outlook.

La Perla, which sells bras priced around 2,000 yuan ($300), has eight stores in China and plans additional outlets in Chengdu and Chongqing within the year. It also aims to open a men’s store in Beijing.

“The perception of the lingerie sector has changed,” Scaglia told Reuters. “At the beginning many people we spoke to were confused as to why anybody should spend over $1,000 on panties for something nobody sees.”

Victoria’s Secret will open a 20,000 square foot (1,860 square meter) flagship store in Shanghai this year, taking over a prime downtown location that used to house a Louis Vuitton store. “I think it will announce our arrival in China in a very significant way, and should be the beginning of an enormous business for us,” said Martin Waters, L Brands International President.

Triumph, which already has 1,000 China stores, plans to open in five new cities this year and up to 11 cities next year.

Cosmo Lady, a Chinese firm that has focused on the mass market, selling bras from 50 yuan ($7.50), last year bought Ordifen to increase its presence in the luxury market.

“We would like to gradually step into the high-end market,” said Peter Lam, Cosmo Lady’s assistant chief financial officer.

Gao Qiannan, a 22-year-old Shandong student who says she spends upwards of 1,500 yuan a year on lingerie, doesn’t think there’s a big difference between Chinese and foreign brands.

“If I can buy a domestic brand, I will, but if I particularly like the international brand’s style, I’ll get that,” she said.

The international brands say they don’t offer products specifically for the Chinese market, though La Perla notes that some colours—red and baby pink—sell far better in Asia than in Europe or the United States. The Italian brand has also used Chinese supermodel Liu Wen in its campaigns.

Japanese and South Korean brands are also growing in popularity in China.

Yin Huijuan, 23, who spends 800 yuan ($120) on lingerie every three months, said she prefers Japanese brands such as Wacoal and Narue. “I feel foreign brands’ style is more detailed and diversified, these are areas where domestic brands fall short,” she said.

Even in the lingerie market, though, there are bumps.

Cosmo Lady, which has 8,600 outlets including Ordifen’s 550 China stores, saw robust growth in its mass market sales last year, but has warned about its profits for the first half of this year, citing China’s slowing economic growth, consumer caution and competing online sales.

Hong Kong-listed Embry Holdings, which owns the Embry Form lingerie brand, said its group retail sales slipped by nearly a fifth in April-June on tougher competition and the economy.

Despite those bumps, the lingerie sector retains a strong appeal, said Eugene Mak, an analyst at China Merchant Securities in Hong Kong, and firms like Cosmo Lady are still outperforming other apparel retailers.

He predicts the market will hit a consolidation phase at some time. “It’s a very young market, but in the near-term it’s going to be messy,” he said.