China Sportswear, Beauty and Jewelry: Expanding Inbound Consumer Base Unlocks Incremental Demand for Culturally Distinctive Brands (J.P. Morgan)
Summaries are public. PDF access requires an active membership; all members have the same access. Sign in
J.P. Morgan argues that China's steadily expanding inbound traveler base is unlocking incremental demand for brands with distinctive cultural positioning across sportswear, beauty and jewelry. Inbound arrivals grew during 2023-2025 and the trend is continuing into 2026, with the widening of visa-free policy acting as the key catalyst. Social media channels such as TikTok are amplifying awareness of Chinese brands and shaping inbound spending behavior. The report quantifies the impact by benchmarking against 2019 (a base that includes a 35% reference value): selected segment exposure currently sits in the 33%-40% range, with a related 2026 metric around 30% and one penetration datapoint at 45%. Sportswear-specific indicators run at 50%-60%, while jewelry measures fall between 30% and 35%, underscoring the pull of gold jewelry with strong cultural attributes; domestic beauty brands leverage cultural storytelling to attract visitors. An indicator tracked from December 2024 to 2026 reached 288, signaling rapid expansion. Looking forward, the bank sees 2027 category growth indicators of 66%-80%, references 2028 as a longer-term measurement window, and flags August 16, 2026 as a potential validation point, alongside designer collaborations such as Kim Jones. Coverage includes China Tourism Group Duty Free (601888.SS, 56.39), Anta (2020.HK, 75.55), Li Ning (2331.HK, 14.84), Chow Tai Fook (6181.HK, 340.20) and Lao Feng Xiang (600612.SS), among others.