Chinese apparel retailer China Dongxiang is reaping rewards from a sharper focus online as second-quarter sales rose by the mid-single digits. 

Online sales were up by between 30 and 35 per cent for the company, which holds the Kappa licence for China, Macau and Japan. In contrast, offline sales rose by only the low single digits, the company said in a statement. 

China Dongxiang operated 1228 stores at the end of the period, excluding the Kappa Kids and Japan businesses), which represented a net increase of 48 year on year. 

“The group has been strengthening its management and control over omni-channel distribution of products by actively developing and preparing a cloud warehouse system in order to speed up the movement of omni-channel distribution of products,” the company said.

“Thanks to the effective marketing strategies, the group has maintained the growth in its online business. In spite of the underperformed offline sales for short-sleeve products in this quarter, sales performance of Kappa’s vulcanised shoes remained strong, offsetting the negative impact from seasonal fluctuation of apparel products.”

CEO, president and executive director of China Dongxiang, Zhang Zhiyong, said the group’s Kappa brand business is in a period of transformation. 

“The group has continued its reforms by adopting a series of effective measures focusing on customers, channels, brands and products and made good progress with interim achievements in line with our expectations. In addition, the group has been eagerly attracting talents and resources of design so as to improve and optimise its product mix. The group will be more focused on product reform based on the brand’s target customers, injecting key driving force for the brand’s growth.“