Sean Xiao serves as the Global Brand Ambassador for MIIOW, which has always attracted young people by its Summer Cool Technology New Product.
“In childhood memories, summer is always hot and humid with few cool and comfortable wind. We can't go back to that time, but technology can make us feel similar experiences.” Standing in front of the camera at the 2024 MIIOW Spring/Summer New Product Launch, Chairman You Lin introduced the latest technological application achievements of MIIOW.
Among the new products of spring and summer this season, MIIOW has newly upgraded "Cooling Technology". This technology uses global top fabrics and adds technology cooling factor, which will bring people a new cool technology experience.
On the occasion of each season, You Lin introduced the latest technology products to users, just like Steve Jobs and Lei Jun. In his words, in the past 26 years, MIIOW has always put users' feelings first, which is also the company's constant source of motivation.
With such an original intention, the MIIOW’ light heating clothes were designated as the only heating clothing product selected by the North and South pole Scientific Expedition Team. In 2022, MIIOW’s technology underwear single product sales exceeded 1 billion pieces. In 2023, the total online sales of MIIOW have exceeded 11 billion yuan, becoming the first technology underwear brand worth billions in China.
After achieving the staged victory, MIIOW established a new goal—100 billion. “I hope to be the top underwear brand in China, even in the world.” You Lin said.
01
In this special era that advocates frugality, the opportunity for MIIOW technology underwear is coming.
Due to unclear and not optimistic expectations for future income,more and more Chinese consumers are starting to save money. This is similar to the situation during Japanese economic recession in the 1990s. “Everyone’s income level is declining. So if you want the quality of the life not to be affected, you need to spend every penny wisely. ” You Lin said.
When Japan entered the era of affordable consumption, Saizeriya and Uniqlo seized the opportunity and became the champions of crossing the economic cycle. When the Chinese market enters the similar economic cycle, MIIOW also wants to create such a brand. "We need to create products that are both high-quality and better-cost."
For MIIOW, "high-quality" has two meanings: first, the company needs to produce "technology underwear". And second, the products need to have good design aesthetics. In 1998, when MIIOW was just founded, most Chinese underwear was made of purified cotton, which could not be regarded as any technology. MIIOW devoted itself to developing Chinese first-generation Lycra thermal underwear. Because it is not bulky but very warm, it was sold out directly. Afterwards, following the path of "technological innovation", MIIOW persisted for 26 years.
MIIOW actively cooperates with top global fabric merchants such as Austrian Lenzing Group, DuPont in the United States, and Mitsubishi in Japan, and focuses on purchasing high-quality lingerie fabrics from around the world, which are applied to cat products. Meanwhile, MIIOW puts 5%-8% of the total annual crickets to the research and development of technology.This is almost 3 to 4 times the average level of research funding in the lingerie industry.
In addition to investing in technology, MIIOW also attaches great importance to design."Nowadays is an era of aesthetics, and the highlight of many emerging brands is their appearance. The product design and brand vision of underwear must keep up with the aesthetic standards of young people." To this end, MIIOW has established joint design studios in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the United States to add fashion index and Eastern aesthetics to the brand.
Taking the spring and summer new product "Beehive Cup 2.0" as an example, this is a "biomimetic breathable and cool feeling bra" ，upgraded by MIIOW after more than half a year of new research and development. In terms of design, the underwear pad is covered with thousands of honeycomb breathable holes, which greatly reduce its thickness and weight compared to the 1.0 version, making ventilation and heat dissipation more efficient. In terms of material selection, the underwear fabric incorporates high-quality spandex fibers from around the world, truly achieving "high elongation, high rebound, and no deformation". It also uses paclitaxel purification technology to achieve better antibacterial and mite control effects.
Earlier, MIIOW and Mitsubishi of Japan jointly developed technological fibers. This technological fiber has a heat storage and heating effect, as well as a skin feel comparable to cashmere. Using this fiber as the fabric, Cat Man has created a "light heating clothes". This product sold 100000 sets in just 3 minutes on the live streaming platform and was also selected as the designated heating clothing product for the Chinese North and South Pole Scientific Expedition Team.
And "better-cost" represents high cost-effectiveness. You Lin often emphasizes within the company that MIIOW's strategy is to "subtract from products and multiply from sales."
On the one hand, in You Lin's view, DIOR's suits, BURBERRY's windbreakers, MaxMara's coats, and other classic styles of these brands are timeless, and MIIOW also needs to create such ultimate and explosive products; On the other hand, only with a high sales quantity of individual products and a scale advantage can MIIOW lower costs on the supply chain end and ultimately give benefits to consumers.
At present, the product system of MIIOW can be divided into four categories: the popular M3 series that focuses on cost-effectiveness, the popular M5 series that upgrades quality and price, the iconic M8 series, and the trendy MIX series within their respective systems. Under this product framework, "focusing on the real needs of users, MIIOW needs to polish a vibrant super explosive product matrix."
Before each product is launched, Cat Man has conducted sufficient user market research and data analysis. For example, the background of the upgrade to "Beehive Cup 2.0" is that the backend data of Cat Man shows that users' search for cooling bra products has increased by 310%; Due to the bulky clothing of winter users and the lack of fashion sense in down jackets, Cat Man has devoted himself to developing the "Hot Eight Degrees" series of products, using aerospace fibers similar to those used by astronauts, completely solving the problem of thickness in traditional underwear.
02
Sean Xiao ---- New Brand Ambassador，and MIIOW ----"Heart to Price ratio" Brand
Last year, MIIOW achieved a sales scale of 10 billion yuan. Its user base has also reached the level of "100 million", with young people occupying the majority.
Since its establishment 26 years ago, MIIOW has always been very familiar with young consumers, both in terms of products and marketing. Previously, young people liked sexy underwear, so MIIOW produced many products with technology as the main focus and sexy style as a supplement. Not only that, MIIOW also invited sexy goddess Shu Qi, male god Rain and others to endorse it. In 2004, the marketing methods of the MIIOW were officially included in the marketing textbooks of Peking University MBA.
Nowadays, young users are increasingly valuing the comfort of underwear. Therefore, MIIOW delves deep into fabric technology and continuously upgrades technology underwear products. Dilraba, Yang Ying, Wang Junkai and other new generation celebrity representatives have all stood on stage for MIIOW. This year, M also invited the new generation of Chinese actor and singer Sean Xiao to serve as the global brand ambassador.
Someone asked You Lin, what kind of brand does MIIOW want to create? Is it a super cost-effective brand that follows the financial cycle, or a brand with inherent emotions that goes against the economic cycle?
His answer is that MIIOW wants to create a "heart to price ratio" brand, combining the characteristics of the two brands mentioned above. The characteristic of a love to price ratio brand is that users love it deeply in their hearts. This kind of love stems not only from cost-effectiveness, but also from the spiritual power, attitude towards life, and emotions represented by the brand.
Young people enjoy shopping online and are accustomed to selecting the best among e-commerce products. "For an exaggerated example, originally I just wanted to buy one piece of clothing, but I had to buy four pieces of clothing at the same time for comparison, and then returned the ones that were not suitable or liked. What the MIIOW needs to do is to make them reluctant to return the goods after receiving them." said You Lin.
Creating a "heart to price ratio" brand is a test for multiple aspects of a company's products, services, marketing, and more. So, how can MIIOW achieve this effect?
In terms of products, MIIOW insists on producing high-quality and cost-effective technology underwear products. Through high research and development investment, top fabric suppliers, and collaboration with design studios, MIIOW ensures excellent product quality. By operating in DTC mode, reducing intermediate levels and purchasing raw materials for core fibers in large quantities, MIIOW can gain a scale and price advantage.
In terms of factories, MIIOW prefers to cooperate with capable factories to build a digital platform, which will be followed up by a professional operation team. Through large-scale procurement of raw materials, intensive factory production, and the construction of a flexible fast response supply chain, MIIOW has achieved an efficient and low-cost operating model, and sold out products can be restocked and shipped within 2 days.
In terms of resources, MIIOW takes the lead in establishing benchmark self operated retail departments for various e-commerce platforms, regularly reviewing and summarizing successful operational methodologies, and empowering partner retailers, channel merchants, and distributors to improve retail operational efficiency and achieve a dual increase in brand volume and price (sales volume and sales price).
In terms of sales, MIIOW has opened technology explosive smart retail stores and retail experience flagship stores offline, upgrading the technology experience of brand stores.MIIOW uses young actors and celebrities as image spokespersons to promote and interact closely with users on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Bilibili online.
With the development of the brand, MIIOW has gained recognition from various sectors of society. In 2021, MIIOW won the "Influential Brand Award" in the "Golden Wheat Awards". In 2022, MIIOW was selected as one of the top 15 most valuable clothing brands in China, and became one of the fourth batch of provincial-level specialized and innovative "SME", as well as Sullivan Authority Certification "MIIOW Technology Underwear" with global sales leading the way and with cumulative global sales exceeding 1 billion pieces. In 2023, MIIOW won the "Most Influential Brand of the Year" award at the 2nd Star Cicada Awards.
03
Technological innovation, helping enterprises achieve better goals -100 billion
10 billion is just a starting point, and 100 billion is the new goal pursued by MIIOW.
According to data from Zhiyan Consulting, the estimated size of the underwear market in 2023 is around 500 billion yuan. The hundred billion yuan target of the MIIOW means that their market share will reach over 20%. “ Let MIIOW be the top underwear brand in China, even in the world, is more important than my life.” said You Lin,this is where his life pursuit lies.
For this purpose, in addition to continuously researching lingerie technology, MIIOW has also made great efforts in talent organization construction, product strategy innovation, and business model innovation.
Since last year, every time You Lin went on a business trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou, he would personally interview several management talents,trying to build a new "Expert database" for MIIOW. "MIIOW now recruits outstanding talents in the industry, including product experts, marketing experts, resource experts, retail experts, digital experts, and manufacturing experts. They will support MIIOW's future high-speed growth."
At the 2024 "Technology MIIOW Billion Festival", You Lin and the general managers of various business units repeatedly mentioned the names of dozens of competitors, covering more than ten vertical sub categories such as underwear, home clothing, men's and women's clothing, children's clothing, sports, and home textiles. They analyzed their advantages one by one and pointed out that MIIOW still has room for optimization in business details in 2024.
In You Lin's view, there are also great opportunities for small product categories. As long as you find specialized selling points, do a good job of differentiating functions and scenarios, benchmark against market competitors, and find the advantages of differentiation, "a small product category can also sell for 5 billion yuan to 10 billion yuan.".
In addition, the business model is also the driving force behind the geometric growth of MIIOW. Unlike traditional lingerie companies that produce and sell their own products or simply sell labels, MIIOW has chosen a platform based light asset model, connecting with upstream high-quality textile and clothing supply chain manufacturers and raw material suppliers on one end, and downstream high-quality retailers and distributors on the other end, bringing low-priced goods to consumers.
In this business model, MIIOW integrates downstream supply chains to bring them orders, significantly increasing its shipment volume, and connects with retail channel merchants to find higher quality technology underwear products for them, ensuring the supply of goods with a high-quality flexible supply chain. In this way, the value of MIIOW is precisely to fill their gaps, and manufacturers and retailers can grow and prosper together in the ecosystem of cat people
The rapidly growing MIIOW has not forgotten the social responsibility he shoulders.In December 2023, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in a certain area of Gansu Province. MIIOW donated 20 million yuan in warmth supplies to the area through the Hubei Provincial Charity Federation as soon as possible, helping the affected people and rescue personnel overcome the cold winter.
Looking back at the past 26 years of entrepreneurship, the success of the MIIOW brand stems from its continuous product innovation, deep brand accumulation, and efficient business model. This coincides with the theme explored in the book "The Dilemma of Innovators", which is "How Innovators Can Respond to Challenges and Maintain a Leading Position in Market Change.".
MIIOW has won the trust of consumers and the recognition of the market through their precise grasp of the market, ultimate pursuit of products, and team building. Looking ahead to the future, MIIOW will continue to be user centered, constantly innovating and striving to achieve the dream of becoming a global leader in lingerie brands.
文丨廖紫琳
编辑丨石磊