As German lingerie brand Triumph International (黛安芬) exits China, it leaves in its wake a Weibo hotsearch discussion about female beauty standards, and the question: are Chinese women rejecting traditional ideas of beauty in favour of comfort?
Triumph had been operating in China for almost two decades. They didn’t frame their withdrawal as ideological, but the context of this is hard to ignore. China’s lingerie market has shifted decisively towards wire-free, sports and soft-cup bras – categories built around daily use rather than sexiness. Jing Daily reports this segment now makes up a whopping 68% of China’s lingerie market.
The speed of this transition has favoured Triumph’s competitors. Brands like Neiwai (内外) and Ubras (有棵树) have scaled quickly to meet demand with a product offering that focusses on comfort, elasticated fabrics and neutral palettes. Branding-wise, their message leans into ease and self-definition over sex appeal. Distribution leans towards e-commerce.
Triumph, by contrast, built its China business on department stores and classic European styling. That positioning once carried aspirational weight. But China is changing. Taste is increasingly driven by local designs and foreign brands no longer come with the same built-in appeal they once did. Against this backdrop, Triumph’s market share began to slip. In the ten years between 2015 and the brand’s exit, that market share dropped from 5.2% to 1%.
Triumph exits China: the wider picture
There are other factors at play. Post-pandemic pragmatism didn’t play into Triumph’s higher price range. A rising participation in sports and increasing interest in active lifestyles trend in favour of Triumph’s competition too. Perhaps most of all, more vocal discourse among Chinese women about body autonomy has reshaped the perception of underwear from a fashion choice to a utilitarian one. Comfort has become shorthand for control.
For brands both domestic and foreign, the message is clear. China’s apparel market is a large and competitive one, but it changes fast. Winning the day requires you listen to what women want, not how you imagine they should look.
