Chinese luggage has become popular in Southeast Asia

In recent years, the luggage industry has developed rapidly. According to the data from China Research Institute of Industry, the market size in 2023 alone reached 161.09 billion US dollars, and is expected to reach 200 billion US dollars in 2026. Behind this figure is the continuous rise in consumer demand and unlimited business opportunities.

Based on factors such as development prospects and the growth rate of e-commerce, a number of sellers are exporting luggage to Southeast Asia, which is still in a period of rapid development, through the Shopee platform.

Some sellers delved deeply into the luggage category and switched from selling women's bags in China to Southeast Asia, and they became very successful in less than three months.

Huge potential, luggage sellers galloping in Southeast Asia

According to the Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report 2024 jointly released by Google, Temasek and Bain , the total e-commerce transaction volume in Southeast Asia will increase by 15% year-on-year to US$159 billion in 2024. At the same time, its Internet penetration rate will reach 90%, further stimulating the development potential of the local market.

With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of e-commerce, the shopping enthusiasm of Southeast Asian consumers is getting higher and higher. In 2024, the average number of online shopping per month will reach 5.4 times, far exceeding the global average. As a result, many categories have ushered in explosive growth. Among them, the luggage category is particularly prominent. The luggage market in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and other places has developed rapidly. The Vietnamese market is known as the "new blue ocean" in the luggage field due to its vast development space. According to Statista data, the market revenue of handbags alone in Vietnam is expected to reach US$512.6 million in 2024.

A seller of leather goods said: "In the past, Southeast Asia only accounted for 20% of exports, but now it has climbed to 70%." Since 2023, the orders they received from emerging markets such as Southeast Asia have exploded. Today, Southeast Asia has become a hot market for many sellers. As the world's largest luggage manufacturer, China's overseas companies have set their sights on this hot land.

The luggage brand VANWALK is also one of the beneficiaries. Originally focusing on women's bags in China, VANWALK saw the business opportunities in the fast fashion category in the Southeast Asian market and entered Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, in September 2024, starting a new journey to Southeast Asia and ushering in the "second spring" of its business.

  (Photo source: Interviewed sellers)

Ze Bin, head of VANWALK's cross-border business, said: "The overall style of our products is highly consistent with the styles of Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, which is one of the important reasons why the brand chooses to go overseas to Southeast Asia." In addition, for Chinese companies going overseas, the geographical advantages of Southeast Asia cannot be ignored. The short distance, fast logistics timeliness, low cost, and better risk control all provide strong support for Chinese luggage sellers to thrive in Southeast Asia.

The single product was popular as soon as it was launched, and the sellers relied on women's bags to break through the siege

In the fiercely competitive cross-border field, women's bags have always been a strong growth point for cross-border orders due to their high traffic in the fashion category and their status as the "king of order volume" in the luggage category. VANWALK, which focuses on women's bags, will naturally not miss this opportunity. It chooses to use the best-selling women's bag styles in China as a breakthrough point and uses Shopee to explore market reactions and potential.

Surprisingly, VANWALK has started to grow rapidly since entering Shopee. Subsequently, combined with off-site promotion by influencers and on-site marketing on Shopee, the number of orders doubled from October to December, and the number of orders on the 12.12 promotion day increased by 30 times more than usual. In terms of products, VANWALK has created a hit product on Shopee in less than three months. The new product V2833 launched in October, with its unique advantages of rich colors, large capacity and not being bloated, perfectly meets the needs of local consumers for daily storage and fashion matching. Once it was launched on the market, it quickly won the favor of local consumers, and sales on the platform soared, becoming a hot hit.

VANWALK has achieved such impressive results, on the one hand, thanks to the brand's accurate insight into the market . VANWALK has clearly defined its mid-to-high-end brand positioning since entering the Southeast Asian market. Ze Bin shared: "Consumers in different stations in Southeast Asia have different price sensitivities due to differences in spending power. Singaporean consumers are relatively less sensitive to prices and are more willing to pay a premium for high-quality products; while consumers in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and other stations are more inclined to choose products with high cost performance." Therefore, VANWALK needs to formulate product strategies that meet local consumption habits based on the different characteristics of each market.

"From the perspective of overall style preferences, consumers in these markets have similar demands for fashion design and practicality." Zebin revealed that local consumers are very much looking forward to getting additional added value, such as gifts, when they receive the goods. After learning about this demand, VANWALK quickly adjusted its strategy and increased the number of gifts included with the goods. This move not only met consumers' expectations, but also effectively improved their shopping satisfaction and their love for the brand.

(Photo source: Interviewed sellers)

On the other hand, in addition to its own accurate grasp of the market and strategic adjustments, VANWALK's outstanding performance in Southeast Asia also benefits from the strong support of the Shopee platform.

Leveraging Shopee’s localized fulfillment, VANWALK is a big seller in Southeast Asia

"When it comes to Southeast Asian e-commerce, Shopee is inevitable." Zebin believes that if you want to make your brand bigger and better, the first choice must be the platform with the highest local market share. According to the "2024 Southeast Asian E-commerce Report" by Momentum Works, the total transaction volume of Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms will reach US$114.6 billion in 2023, of which Shopee ranks first with a market share of 48%.

Naturally, Shopee has also become the best stage for many brands to expand into Southeast Asia, and VANWALK is no exception.

In terms of marketing strategy, VANWALK not only has a multi-dimensional layout outside the site, expanding its brand influence by cooperating with influencers, but also actively uses Shopee Live live events to increase product exposure and attract consumer conversions. Zebin believes that this is one of the most effective promotion methods.

In the past two years, Shopee has made great efforts to develop new traffic outlets such as live streaming and short videos, which not only expanded traffic coverage but also provided strong support for sellers to increase sales. Data shows that during the 12.12 promotion last year, the number of Shopee Live viewers increased by 32 times compared to normal days, and the number of Shopee Video short video viewers on that day exceeded 42 million.

Shopee's constantly improving localized fulfillment service has also become another key factor in VANWALK's success. "Southeast Asian consumers have high requirements for logistics timeliness!" Zebin revealed, "Many consumers will be more inclined to place orders after seeing information about local delivery. Shopee's localized fulfillment service can not only improve logistics timeliness and meet consumers' needs for quick delivery, but also cooperate with gift strategies to further enhance buyers' shopping experience. This model has formed a two-way promotion of logistics and user experience, greatly improving consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty."

Facing market competition, VANWALK has already made plans. "Based on the current cooperation with third-party overseas warehouses in the Vietnamese and Philippine markets, we will increase our localization investment." Zebin added, "We plan to go to these regions in 2025 to gain a deeper understanding of the local market. We hope to better understand the local cultural environment and the overall market performance of local luggage categories through field research. In addition, the company will work hard on product iteration capabilities and new product launch speed, and plans to tailor localized products for various markets in Southeast Asia. While enriching SKUs, it will continuously enhance the brand power and depth of brand culture and give the brand more value." At the same time, VANWALK also plans to integrate bag and peripheral designs to form a differentiated competitive barrier.

As for the future, Zebin envisions: "With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of e-commerce in Southeast Asia and the annual growth of the luggage market, I believe that VANWALK will also have more possibilities on Shopee."

Southeast Asia

Luggage

Shopee