American luxury brand Alexander Wang has announced the acquisition of minority investments from two China-based entities: Challengjers Capital and Youngor Group. This marks the first time the brand accepts investment from a foreign country.
While the specific transaction amount remained undisclosed, the fashion house did reveal its intention to use the funds for global business expansion, retail stores, e-commerce, marketing and innovation. The acquisition serves as a power move for the brand as it attempts to make a comeback after the designer faced a string of sexual assault allegations in 2020.
Wang projects that the funding will help double its annual revenue of $200 million within the next five years. In addition, it also expects to boost the brand’s digital channel business, which has continued to achieve double-digit revenue growth since 2019. At present, the American brand now operates 13 shops across nine cities in China.
Currently, Chinese investors are ramping up their acquisitions of international luxury brands. For the Youngor group, buying equity in overseas fashion brands as an investment company has become the main means for Chinese capital to have a voice in the global fashion industry. This is especially important as China positions itself to become the world’s largest luxury industry by 2025.
Overall, Alexander Wang’s minority investment serves as an important milestone for the brand, as it embarks on its mission to restore its reputation and expand global retail in an increasingly competitive market.
