NikeSKIMS' entry into China adds another variable to the women's sportswear market.

NikeSKIMS has finally officially entered China.

On September 16, NikeSKIMS, a brand jointly created by Nike and SKIMS, announced its launch in the Chinese market.

The first wave of products covers nine apparel fabric series, footwear and accessories, and will open China's first offline pop-up space at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai on September 29, which will remain open until February 2027.

Online sales are conducted through the Nike App and Nike China's official website.

This marks NikeSKIMS' latest geographical expansion, nearly a year after its North American debut in September 2025. Over the past year, NikeSKIMS has been gradually transforming a single product launch into a long-term brand operation by expanding its product categories and markets.

Less than two months after its initial release, the brand launched Drop 2, increasing the number of styles from 58 to 65 and adding accessories such as socks, waist bags, and training gloves.

This year, NikeSKIMS has further expanded its footwear and basic models, attempting to create a complete "head-to-toe" system covering training and everyday wear; its sales areas have also expanded from North America to Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and South Korea.

However, when NikeSKIMS arrived in China, it faced a market with a looser competitive landscape and significantly more crowded conditions.

Lululemon, which has almost defined the high-end women's sportswear market in China in the past few years, has seen its growth slow down significantly.

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, lululemon's global revenue decreased by 4% year-over-year, and comparable sales decreased by 9%; at constant exchange rates, revenue in mainland China decreased by 2% year-over-year, and comparable sales decreased by 8%.

Meanwhile, another North American star sports lifestyle brand, Alo, is rapidly filling the gap.

Alo's physical store hoardings were simultaneously revealed in five mainland cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Hangzhou. The stores are located in Beijing's China World Mall, Shanghai's HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shenzhen Bay MixC, Hangzhou's Hubin Yintai in77, and Chengdu's Taikoo Li.

Its first store in Greater China—the K11 MUSEA store in Hong Kong—opened this month, and the brand currently plans to open eight stores in seven cities in the Chinese market.

In contrast, NikeSKIMS' entry into China this time has been more restrained. Online sales mainly rely on the Nike App and Nike's official website, while offline sales are currently limited to a single pop-up space in Shanghai.

Its three initial stops in Asia—South Korea, Singapore, and Japan—all utilized pop-up stores, Nike stores, and boutiques, without a single independent store.

NikeSKIMS' first wave of promotion in the Chinese market also started with an athlete lineup: swimmers, speed skaters, skiers, and hurdlers jointly showcased the first products, while Alo took the lead in using entertainment stars such as Wang Yibo to amplify its voice.

One sells athletic performance, the other sells a lifestyle.

Alo leans more towards fashion and wellness. From brand positioning to marketing strategies, celebrity endorsements, the California lifestyle, and social media have always been its core labels.

Consumers are not just buying a pair of yoga pants, but a young lifestyle that blurs the lines between exercise and daily life.

NikeSKIMS has placed "sculpt" and "perform" on the same level since its inception: on one hand, SKIMS' understanding of body shape, sculpting, and body expression; on the other hand, Nike's Dri-FIT fabric technology, sports science, and professional athlete resources.

However, both of these sales methods largely target the same group of consumers.

Based on transaction data from the US market over the past 12 months, Consumer Edge estimates that SKIMS consumers are about 20 times more likely to buy Alo than their average sample consumer, about 8 times more likely to buy lululemon, and about 4 times more likely to buy Nike; during the same period, about 20% of SKIMS consumers had previously made purchases from Nike.

For Nike, one of the values that NikeSKIMS brings is that it helps it reach young, high-income women who originally preferred Alo and lululemon.

The market is already crowded, and NikeSKIMS didn't enter China early; the real test is whether it can secure a long-term position in a market that has already been segmented.

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